The Executive Resume: A Slightly Completely different Set of Guidelines

Rosalinda works for a US-based world company. Several years ago, she took over the Canadian division, which had been beforehand underperforming, and turned things round for the better. About six months ago, she seized an opportunity to share some of her strategic ideas and suggestions with upper management. They liked what she had to say and not too long ago opened up a new VP position that is ideally suited to her, particularly since it would involve implementing the initiatives she suggested. She desires to attempt for the promotion, so we worked together to overtake her old resume. We took it from the mid-stage manager resume she used when she first acquired hired to one that displays the executive she’s develop into during her time with the company.

Rosalinda (not her real name, in fact) is transitioning her career upward as a «new» executive, so it’s no shock that she had a lot to find out about the best way to present herself in a new way by her resume. But, I’ve additionally worked with many seasoned executives who don’t appear to know that for those who’re an executive, you must comply with a slightly totally different set of rules when creating your resume.

Under you’ll find three particular reasons why the executive resume is so completely different from a daily resume.

By the way, I am defining «executive» as executive directors, senior directors, vice presidents, c-degree officers, board members, and anybody concentrating on a strategic leadership position in their career.

Length

For the individual contributor or the mid-degree manager, we expect to see a two-page summarized resume that shows about 10-15 years of work history. Experience prior to 10-15 years ago can be displayed or not — it’s totally optional. However, for an executive, we want to see the career progression in full. Besides, in fact, for the minor jobs you had early on — there is not any need to show the job you had as a pizza delivery driver if you had been in school.

There’s also loads more info to be included on the primary web page within the first part, which is the profile or abstract section. On an everyday resume for a non-executive position, this section could also be as short as one or sentences, or it might be as much as a half-web page long. Alternatively, for some executive resumes, especially for c-level and vice president candidates, the profile or abstract section fills all the first page.

Because of those two factors — more years of expertise and more information in the profile — the executive resume is often three, sometimes even four, pages in length.

Executive Profile

As I just talked about, the profile or abstract part will, in most cases, take up your entire first web page of the resume, and the content material of that page is the second main reason why the executive resume is so different from a daily resume.

No matter what degree your function — whether you are an executive or not — the abstract or profile part needs to tell about and show evidence of your worth proposition. Should you’re an executive, you additionally should add in something about your leadership type, as well as incorporate more language relating to your strategic business acumen.

The executive’s profile will include the usual: a succinct positioning assertion, business-particular key words, and something about your unique value proposition. However it can even include key words that mirror strategic-stage thinking and responsibilities — phrases like «P&L,» «investor relations,» and «industry forecasting.»

The keyity of resumes that I develop for purchasers embrace a career highlights section. On the typical resume, it’s a separate section that’s sandwiched between the profile and the experience sections. Typically it shall be included as a part of the profile part reasonably than be inserted as a stand-alone section. Nonetheless, with the executive resume, I always include it as a part of the profile.

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