As an
executive resume writer, I often work with executives who want to take their
resume from “good” to “great” so they can accelerate their job search.
In applying
for a job, thousands may be competing with you for the honor of being
the one candidate to receive a job offer, so it is imperative that your
resume stands out from the crowd and positions you as the top candidate.
Spending the
time and energy to ensure you have a great executive resume has a tremendous
return on investment. For every multiple of $100,000 in salary, getting hired
one month faster puts $8,000 in your pocket.
Optimizing
the following items will allow you to have a resume that stands out from the
crowd:
Typos
Nothing says
you lack attention like a typo within a resume. Beyond misspelled words,
missing hyphens and an inconsistent layout communicate a sloppy work ethic. And
using spell check tools such as Grammarly are no substitute for thorough
proofreading. These online tools do not catch every word, nor every mistake.
Ensure you
read your resume backward and forward several times, and have others
review it for you. Even after proofreading, look over the entire resume to
ensure bullets are matching, and sections such as company names and job titles
are consistent throughout.
One mistake
can cost an interview or cause the hiring manager to opt for the other
candidate.
Contact
Information
Your contact
information section should be short and to the point. An old-school, wordy and
disjointed contact section distracts the reader from more important sections of
the resume and does not impress. For a succinct, modern contact section,
consider the following:
• List your
mobile phone number and email by themselves; there is no longer a need to
differentiate them.
• Include
your city and state but ditch the street address. If you’re living in multiple
cities, consider even removing the city and state to get the person to fall in
love with your skill set before considering if they’ll have to pay a
relocation package.
Title
Your
headline should be concise and include the title of the job you’re going for.
"Senior Financial Executive” is too broad, but “Chief Financial Officer –
VP Finance” is more specific. The reader should be able to read your headline
and know what type of job you’re pursuing.
Summary
The summary
section is the most important part of the resume. It's a well-targeted branding
statement that communicates who you are, your strengths, and why you’re
unique. It must market you and answer the question, “Why would I want to
hire you?”
If you write
this section properly, the hiring manager will want to keep reading. Afterward,
they should be compelled to pick up the phone and call you, and perhaps even
want to make you an offer. Your brand has to be that well-communicated
to be effective.
Competencies
The key
competencies section of a resume serves two purposes. First, it outlines your
skill set, and second, it houses the most important keywords in your
resume. As an executive, you’ll want to list your competencies from a high level
to keep the list manageable. For example, you might state the competency of
“project management” but not list all of the items that fall underneath that
umbrella.
Experience
The
experience section shows the reader what you’ve accomplished, and similarly,
communicates what you can do for the new organization that hires you. Quantify
and front-load achievements whenever possible.
I’ve seen
resumes that are absolutely packed with everything someone has done. Stick with
communicating what the overall challenge was for the position and a handful of
key accomplishments.
People read
differently today; they skim through easy-to-read short statements interspersed
with the bolding of keywords. They do not read entire paragraphs, and they
cringe if they see copy resembling the length of a short novel.
Consider how
far back to go with job descriptions. Center your experience on what you’ve
accomplished this century (the past 10-15 years), and resist the urge to
describe in detail what you’ve done before that time.
Format
From a
visual perspective, your resume needs to have a stunning layout that “pops” and
draws the reader in. Utilizing attractive lines, boxes, spacing and even color
helps to accomplish this objective.
In
conclusion, ensure your resume is free from mistakes, succinct, targeted,
communicates your brand and has an attractive layout. Those who invest the time
in creating a top-notch resume often walk away with the job offer. If you
follow these steps, you’ll be well on your way to looking great on paper.
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