Designing a compelling resume is a daunting task. We often undersell ourselves when it comes to talking about our robust skills, strength, expertise & experience. We get surrounded & baffled by so many rules. We are told to include the right & appropriate keywords to get our credentials noticed.
When you are heading for senior roles, you need to give your resume an executive feel so that you have level playing field with those big & senior profiles.
If you are targeting C-suite roles, it is not a easy task. The following tips will help you place your profile successfully:
1)Highlight key achievements aligned with your target role-the right executive summary
You are a detailed oriented professional with go-getter attitude. You have lot to showcase when it comes to your achievements, track record, capabilities & experience. All these qualities are first & foremost that an prospective employer would like to see. Therefore the executive summary, which comes on top of your resume, should highlight your value proposition, skills & previous accomplishments aligned with your target role. For instance, if you are striving for CEO role, you will surely benefit from positioning yourself as expert in managing P&L and accelerating business growth. In case you are targeting to be part of struggling company or a business unit, you should showcase yourself as a turnaround specialist. All these things go a long way in presenting your case strongly as their next business leader. Get that killer executive summary.
2) Show business & financial impact
Showcasing qualitative results gives a clear view to reviewer of what kind of team work, collaborative & leadership skills you possess. Equally important is to prove how you can help the company make money, drive growth, reduce cost, optimise operations, improve productivity & efficiency, control employee attrition & improve customer satisfaction index. Overall deliver on all business aspects. The best way to prove it is by putting results & numbers of past achievements in front of the reviewer. Highlight & bolden the key numbers/results so as to enable reviewer clearly evaluate your profile for a potential fit.
3) Include a core competency section
While applying for C- suite roles, you should not blindly send online job applications. Rather, focus more on researching about companies, target job roles & networking. Having said this, mentioning relevant keywords are vital to showcase that executive-ness within you. While your team management, staff supervision & MS office skills are important, they nowhere depict you as a prepared candidate for a leadership role. Instead, include keywords such as employee development, P & L, change management, mergers and acquisitions, process reengineering, global strategy, and so on as a standalone section under your executive summary. You may also include technical skills at the end of the resume if you think these skills are important for target roles.
