Executive Job Seekers
Many successful executives and businessmen will occasionally need a resume to help them transition jobs. FCOs, general managers, CEOs, business owners, senior level project managers; whatever your job title, if you’re looking for a new job, you’ll probably need to go through the same recruitment process everyone else does: application – interview – selection or rejection.
It’s common practice for executives to move from job to job either by way of promotion or by referral. Many have spent years being their own boss. Under such circumstances, there’s never been a need for a resume, so when the time comes to actively seek a job, it’s difficult to try and capture a wealth of experience and accomplishment in one concise document. This is why executive resume writing services can help.
To gain insight into the thought process of people hiring senior level staff, we reached out to Taylor Johnson, a self-acclaimed serial entrepreneur with an impressive background in corporate finance and the business world. We recently collaborated with him during the launch of BusinessPlanToday.com, a great online platform offering business plan software. Taylor’s an incredible business brain and certainly a bit of a character, with a wealth of experience hiring senior level management to run his many businesses. We had a great time listening to him explain what is expected of someone applying for senior leadership and C-level jobs – and most importantly, what their resume needs to say and do.
Executive Resume Writing
Target specific jobs and organizations
The more targeted your resume can be, the more likely it’ll impress the people looking to hire. We recommend going online and researching 10-20 companies that you would like to work for. You’ll soon notice a trend – do you go for companies that have a great product? Places that are on the forefront of innovation? Organizations with great potential but with plenty of room for improvement?
When asked about the most memorable resumes he’s read, Taylor said: “Sometimes I read a resume and it’s as if that person is the embodiment of what my company is all about. That’s the guy i’ll take on board, and we’ll be playing golf on Sunday discussing the future of the company.”
By identifying the companies you like, you’ll understand what information you need to include in your resume. If you’ve shortlisted a number of jobs already, then research the specific companies looking to hire. Learn about the company directives, what their short and long-term goals are, try to uncover the company ethos. Use this information to pitch yourself as someone that fits in with their system, who shares similar values, and who’s goals align with theirs.
A professionally written resume generates 40% more interviews. For a free consultation with our resume experts call now 1866-706-0973
STRATEGICALLY SELECT CONTENT FOR YOUR EXECUTIVE RESUME
It’s key to remember that the purpose of an executive resume is to earn you an interview, not land the job. This sounds obvious enough, but following this axiom when writing your resume is something most people fail to do.
“I get all kinds of resumes handed to me, some 3 and 4 pages long. I don’t bother reading half of it, especially when they involve all kinds of stories about the guy’s complex re-engineering of the company’s wage system, and where he takes his dog on the weekends. Keep it short and sweet”.
With an illustrious career behind you, it can be hard to objectively assess what needs including in your resume and, more importantly, what needs omitting. One of the major benefits of a using executive resume writing services is that a certified writer can objectively reflect on your career information and strategically select content that markets you in the best way possible.
MAKE SURE YOU REMAIN A SPECIALIST
You may have a background in more than one industry. Consequentially, your resume may fail in pinpointing your specialist knowledge.
“I had this guy once apply for a marketing executive job, his background was in marketing and also HR. When I read his resume I thought, jeeze, this guy’s got a lot of experience, but he didn’t seem overly specialized in either field. There were other applicants with backgrounds specializing in marketing. He nearly got the cut before I’d even met him. Fortunately I gave the guy a chance, and after chatting with him I realized he was highly experienced in both fields, more so than the other applicants. His resume let him down however, because he was trying to cover all bases. Most guys like me wouldn’t have given him an interview.”
EXECUTIVE RESUMES SHOULD BE ACHIEVEMENT FOCUSED
Leadership jobs are based around taking a company or business and making it grow and succeed. Where regular professionals want to showcase their range in experience and job function, executive level job-seekers need to focus on highlighting achievements. This is exactly what a hiring company wants to see – they want to know that by hiring you, they will achieve their goals.
By focusing on accomplishments instead of duties you’ll quickly turn a good resume into a great one. When you start writing, have a think back through your career and outline what your key targets were within each job. Did you boost revenue, streamline efficiency, reduce risk or cost? Consider the tangible goals you were responsible for meeting in each role, and use these figures to accurately demonstrate your past record of success. Where possible try to include quantitative data – growing revenue by $2 million in first year will impress anyone, but the inclusion of numerical data is what catches the reader’s eye. Your past achievements should instill confidence in the hiring company that you’re the man for the job:
“I want to know, if I give you the helm, that my ship will find the promised land, my platoon make it up hamburger hill, the drunk British guy makes it to church on time and I go home with the prom queen.”
USE INDUSTRY TERMINOLOGY AND KEY WORDS
This may be a given, but you’d be amazed how many executive level resumes we’ve seen that miss out key words and fail to use industry terminology and instead use simplified language.
“We’re doing business, I want to hear you use the right words and I don’t want to waste too much time chatting when I could be making more money. Are you going to talk to me about ROI? Good. Save your breath, use abbreviations, contractions, whatever you like. Anyone who’s reading your resume wants to know you can keep up with industry lingo.”
From a resume point of view, the inclusion of key words will also help get your resume through any screening software some websites use to search candidates.
USE PROFESSIONAL FORMATTING AND STYLE
Your resume is a representation of your professionalism. Make sure you take the time to format your resume neatly, professionally, and make sure it’s attractive and engaging. No one expects you to be an expert using Microsoft Word, if you aren’t great at creating complex layouts and formatting styles that effectively showcase your career highlights then go online and seek professional help. This will save time and guarantee your information works to market you in the right way.
USE A RANGE OF RESUME SECTIONS
Resume sections can vary wildly, and there are no prescribed rules on what sections you must or must not include. Did you receive a number of awards? Include an Awards & Honors section. Do you have highly technical skills that are essential for the job? Throw in a Key Skills section. Other sections you may want to consider:
- Certificates and Licenses
- Career Highlights
- Core Competencies
- Professional Affiliations
- Publications
- International Experience
Tying together an elaborate career can be tough, but remain confident in the success you’ve already achieved, strategically incorporate your key career experience and look to garner enough interest to gain interviews. Senior management and executive positions generally involve more complex recruitment and interview processes, so you don’t need to tell it all on your resume – keep it high impact, and your natural aptitude and ability will get you the rest of the way.
We hope you find this article valuable and enjoyed the insight provided by our expert guest, Mr. Taylor Johnson. Taylor’s recently launched company offering business plan software is a great for anyone looking to raise capital and needs a well written business plan. Their website also provides a range of business plan samples in case you’re just looking for inspiration.
If you’re looking for a professional resume writer you can contact our resume experts and discuss your needs at 1866-706-0973 or click to view details of our affordable executive resume writing service.
