No-one can deny the importance of a résumé in a job search. Despite the invention of web portfolios, online applications, and leadership profiles, you will find that a well-written résumé is still a highly effective tool for interviewing, networking, and relationship building purposes. [Editor's note: resumes are an important part of our Video Career Profile for jobseekers]
For executive jobseekers, the job search arena is a whole different playing field. The compensation is higher, but the competition for C-level positions is fiercer than that of the average jobseeker. As senior-level executive positions shrink, a powerful executive résumé /portfolio can give you an edge over your peers.
When taking a close look at résumé s on the whole, there are distinctive features that are unique to the executive résumé. While information like job responsibilities, areas of expertise, accomplishments, and technical skills will always apply to any jobseeker, the executive must also demonstrate leadership capabilities, industry insights, revenue-enhancing performance, and staff management in his or her résumé. In addition, the executive résumé should be targeted, highly-customized, and clearly describe the executive's personal attributes.
Sounds like a tall order, right? So how exactly do you begin to put the pieces together?
Building Block #1: Know Where You Are Headed. Regardless of what circumstances bring you to a job search, you must be clear on the type of positions, companies or industries you will be targeting. Before I even critique a client's résumé, I always begin by getting a solid understanding of what positions they are considering and the companies that interest them.
It cannot be stressed enough that a one-size fits all résumé does not work, it makes you appear unfocused and the reader is left to guess about your career aspirations. Bottom-line - it ends up in the trash pile. [Editor's note: I did an article on building executive resumes which you might find interesting as well.]
Building Block #2: Decide How You Want To Be Perceived. This portion of building the résumé is especially important for individuals seeking to advance from general management roles to senior-level or C-level responsibilities. What personal strengths and career-defining achievements are most valuable to your target audience? Do you want to be perceived as the finance guru or the innovative leader? Each person is different and those distinguishing features and unique value propositions have to be reflected on paper. This is generally very thought-provoking, but the information you can extract is well worth the effort when it is translated into your executive résumé.
Take the time to develop a list of your personal attributes - enlist help from your mentors, colleagues, peers, and family to help give you feedback on those areas. A company is interested in hiring a real person, not just education, credentials, and technical skills.
Building Block #3: Include Only Relevant Information. Gone are the days when creating a résumé meant rehashing every job you held in your life. Most likely, as an executive you will have a minimum of fifteen years or more experience. Do all those experiences relate to your target market? Are you still holding on to your first position or internship since college?
Understandably, having consistency and longevity on your résumé will work in your favor, but the goal is to have a two-to-three page résumé, not a book! In addition, if you have done a variety of training courses, list those programs that would highlight your knowledge and proficiency in areas that your target market wants.
Building Block #4: Gather The Facts, Get The Numbers. Your executive résumé must tell the reader what you have done, but in "big picture" snapshots with active words that bring the résumé to life. There is a huge difference between saying "Manage daily activities for real estate portfolio for investment management company and supervise staff members." and saying instead "Challenged to deliver 10% return on $700 million investment portfolio in unpredictable real estate industry. Oversee all daily activities including ROI maximizations, client relations, loan negotiations, and investment dispositions. Recruit, train, and coach 50 employees.
In three short sentences, without going through the painful step-by-step details, the reader is able to capture what the jobseeker does, the breadth of the work responsibilities, the challenges, and the overall scope of the desired outcome. Being able to incorporate quantitative facts and figures can really enhance the executive résumé. You probably won't remember intricate details from ten or fifteen years ago, but does some research, make logical estimates, and call up old co-workers to get the facts.
Building Block #5: Accomplishments: The Icing On The Résumé. Once you have communicated to the reader what your responsibilities are in a three-to-five line paragraph, it's time to show how you made a difference. In every consultation I conduct, I find that clients can underestimate what they have done. Sure, they can tell you their responsibilities or the company's annual/quarterly goals, but when it comes to summarizing the level of impact they have made - they sometimes stumble. An accomplishment or an achievement can be identified by those actions you took to overcome a challenge or resolve a problem that your company was facing.
An accomplishment does not always mean you scored $1 million in sales. While more impressive accomplishments relate to revenues and profits, your accomplishments can relate to customers, work productivity, cost reduction, and business expansion as well. Again, if you can quantity or qualify those accomplishments, they add more zest to the final document.
Building Block #6: Compiling Your Core Competencies. In this section of the résumé, you will pull together a list of keywords relevant to your target industry, your direct experience, your leadership capabilities, and your technical/business skills. Incorporating keywords throughout the résumé in addition to the core competency section helps you to "speak" the same language as the hiring company. For assistance with finding the right keywords, visit association websites, talk to contacts in the industry, and research company literature and websites.
Building Block #7: Handling the Dates. Anyone who has more than 20 years' experience has to address the issue of age when seeking new employment. A general (and safe) rule of thumb to follow is to avoid listing any employment or education dates from the 60's and 70's.
When making reference to number of years of experience instead of saying "30 years' experience in government relations" say "20+ years' experience or even 15+ years' experience." You have to be prepared to answer in an interview exactly what the "+" equates to in years.
Building Block #8: The Final Layout. After hours of hard work and information gathering, you begin the final assembly and layout of the résumé. In general the sections should go in this order: Name/Contact Information, Title Header (indicating your job title), Executive Summary or Profile, Core Competency Areas, Career Progression, Education & Training, and Memberships.
Getting prepared to develop a new résumé is never an easy task especially if you haven't done a one in a long time. Don't overwhelm yourself with the entire process - start by working on one section at a time before pulling it all together.
By: Abby M. Locke, Executive Director of Premier Writing Solutions (www.premierwriting.com), a Nationally Certified Resume-Writer and Personal Brand Strategist who helps senior-level professionals and C-level executives achieve personal success with customized, branded executive resumes and career marketing documents.
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.
