You’re good at what you do… and with many years of experience, writing your executive resume should be easy. Right?
Related: 3 Ways Your Executive Resume Falls Flat
In a word, no. Writing about yourself and then formatting critical points into a condensed, potent story of your leadership acumen takes time and skill.
However, a few extra steps in summarizing your executive history WILL make a difference in how employers take notice of your strengths. Your competitors will be using a razor-sharp presentation and compelling leadership story – and you’ll need to do the same in order to stand out.
Set aside time, even in small increments, to gather the following pivotal pieces of information for use on your resume:
1. Accolades
A major part of your personal brand message, the feedback from others can reflect strengths you hadn’t thought to leverage.
Perhaps others have written glowing testimonials for you throughout your career, or you’ve collected letters of reference. Maybe you’re a champion at accumulating LinkedIn Recommendations.
If you’ve saved these testimonials, add a “sound bite” quote (shown prominently in this sample IT Director resume).
Even if you didn’t save proof of your feedback, there’s still ways to use the information. As shown in this example, you can mention an accolade, but focus primarily on the achievement behind it:
Commended by COO for reversing decline in Product Manufacturing unit, saving 32% in production costs by leading new Lean Six Sigma projects.
Going forward, be sure to note and retain all testimonials (whether anecdotal or formal), as this data will come in handy for updating your resume.
2. Metrics
Dollar figures, percentages, and other figures are the cornerstone of a powerful executive resume. Without quantifying your accomplishments, your resume will read just like anyone else’s, and fail to hit the right notes about your bottom-line contributions.
Try these simple methods to quantify achievements for use on your resume:
Jot down a brief outline of the top success stories from throughout your career.
Ask yourself questions about the results of each story, such as “How much money did we save?” or “What percentage of growth did the company experience during this period?”
Put figures to the size and scope of each achievement (size of teams, budgets managed, etc.)
Compare your results to what might have happened if you hadn’t been in the position. This analysis is particularly helpful in quantifying the ROI of your skills.
Now, add the quantifying data within the story itself:
Drove costs down 13% by instituting centralized purchasing system used in all global divisions.
Led and motivated teams to complete 3-year project against aggressive schedule, avoiding $400K in penalties and winning $2.4M in add-on client business.
Created database product that became flagship offering (accounting for 65% of the company’s revenue).
Even though you can (and should) flesh out these accomplishments in more detail, getting the basic outline in place will help jog your memory and lead to other quantifiable aspects of each success story.
3. Presentation
It can’t be stated enough: a plain, old-school looking resume will often reflect badly on an executive candidate. If you wouldn’t deliver a presentation without some flash, then don’t let your resume suffer, either!
Borders, a touch of color, or graphs showing achievement have their place in an executive resume. In a conservative field, you’ll want to stick with a minimal level of color in various places.
However, a resume destined for use in a dynamic and innovative industry (social media marketing, CPG sales, etc.) can benefit from a shot of something different.
This sample CEO and COO resume uses shading, a chart of revenue and profit performance, and a dash of color to break up the text and provide more interest.
In summary, today’s executive resume demands strategic planning, research, and dynamic formattingto avoid being mistaken for the career obituary of years past.
To compete at a leadership level, you’ll need to take extra steps to produce a powerhouse document, complete with strong content and an engaging presentation to tell your story.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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