Spring is the most popular time of the year to get some cleaning done in and around the house. But it’s also a great time to clean up your executive resume! This is one of the busiest times of year for professional executive resume writers, so if you plan on using a resume service to clean up the cobwebs for your resume, now’s the time to make an appointment. However, if you want to learn how to tidy up your executive resume on your own, here are a few tips to consider.
1. Highlight Only Relevant Skills
Your last resume may have been filled with a lot of different skills in hopes of the relevant one getting recognized. Any executive resume writing service today will tell you to highlight only relevant skills, because hiring managers won’t take the time to read through them all. You’ve got six seconds to impress a recruiter, so make them count.
2. Remove any clichés
Words like “passionate,” “reliable” and “dependable” all may describe you perfectly, but the reality is everyone believes those words describe them as well. Do yourself and your resume a favor and remove these clichés, since they don’t add any value to your executive resume.
3. Update Dates
Depending on your age, you may need to update or remove a significant amount of dates on your executive resume. Dates are good to use to an extent, but if you are attempting to highlight experience from 30 years ago, chances are it won’t help you land your next job.
4. Be More Focused
The best executive resume services want you to target your resume more. The days of creating one general resume to send out to many different companies are over. Companies today want to see a resume tailored to their needs, so you need to comply if you want to have a chance.
5. If All Else Fails, Start from Scratch
Updating an old resume can take more time than just starting over from scratch. Sometimes even the best professional executive resume writers will suggest starting over with a clean slate. This will help clear your mind from all of the older accomplishments and experiences and allow you to focus on the more current experiences you can remember.
Professional Resume Services exists to help executives like you clean up their resumes for the next career opportunity. When you’re ready to do some spring cleaning on your executive resume, feel free to reach out to us at any time.
It’s widely understood that you have approximately six seconds to make an impression on a hiring manager with your resume—even for executives. The challenge is making the absolute most of those six seconds in creative ways without being too over the top. In some aspects, it’s good to have a traditional resume, but it won’t hurt to modernize it a bit. Of course, writing an effective resume in today’s competitive executive world can be difficult, so here are some tips for modernizing your resume for 2017.
Focus on the Top Third of the Page
This is a key factor for any resume, whether they’re traditional or modern. Modern resumes, however, allow for more creativity. For instance, consider adding a splash of color. When you talk to executive resume writers about the jobs you’re applying for, they may suggest using colors only for headings or in your personal information section, but not in your achievements. The top third of your resume is what recruiters see first, so it’s important for it to stand out.
Use the Right Amount of Creativity
Most professional resume writing services will tell you to avoid using vibrant colors for your resume if you’re applying for an executive position. If you overdo it, it will look like you’re applying for a graphics or marketing job. Executive recruiters tend to like traditional resume formats, so using the right amount of creativity to get noticed can be difficult. Instead of using bright colors, use different text sizes and bolding as an alternative.
Consider the ATS System
Many executive resume writers tend to shy away from a lot of creative things like tables, text boxes, charts and other similar objects. The reason is if an employer runs your resume through an ATS system, it may not be able to recognize keywords. You can still modernize your resume by using a larger text size, bolding, italics, underlining, highlighting and other features to highlight specific accomplishments. This will ensure your keywords remain intact and you’ll also have a resume that stands out among the rest. On the other hand, not all companies use an ATS system and you want to add a bit of formatting creativity to appeal to human eyes as well (i.e. human resources, recruiters, hiring managers, etc.).
Writing an effective resume takes some time and skill, and that’s exactly where Professional Resume Services excels. If you’re looking to modernize your executive resume this year, feel free to contact us at any time.
You may be under the impression that executive resumes are outdated thanks to the rise of networking and social media. However, a well-crafted resume can be just as effective. In today’s business world, there aren’t many people who aren’t connected at all times. That’s why when you’re sending in your executive resume, you need to make sure it’s mobile friendly. There’s nothing more frustrating for a recruiter or hiring manager than not being able to view a resume from their mobile device. If you aren’t sure how to make your resume mobile friendly, a good executive resume writing service can help.
Recruiters Work On-The-Go, Too
Time is limited for everyone. Since you only have approximately six seconds to impress a recruiter with your resume, even the smallest mistake is magnified. A recruiter may be on a business trip, on lunch break or just away from the desk for any other reason. If they read your email with the resume attached, but can’t view the resume clearly, it could be lost in the shuffle.
Make Your Resume as Easy to Read as Possible
There’s a lot of discussion about the best executive resume format, but sometimes the best one is one that’s simply the easiest to read. You don’t have to be one of the best executive resume writers in the world to make your mobile friendly resume more accessible. Mobile devices are designed to make life simpler and more convenient. Make sure your executive resume fits those characteristics to have the greatest chance for success.
Increase Your Interview Opportunities
Many professional executive resume writers will tell you having a mobile friendly resume will increase your chances for job interviews. When you make your resume and contact information easy to view on a mobile device, the recruiter can contact you immediately, rather than having to wait until they return to the office. Hiring managers want to streamline their hiring process as much as possible, so when they have a chance to set up an interview quickly, they will do it most of the time. If you have a resume that’s difficult to read on a mobile device, your interview chances will decrease.
Having a mobile friendly executive resume is important nowadays. To ensure your resume is mobile friendly, feel free to contact us to get in touch with the best executive resume writing service.
There was a time when soft skills were considered resume filler—something to make the resume look longer, but not bringing any value to it — fluff. Times have changed, and companies actually use different soft skills as parameters to weed through the abundance of resumes they get. However, there is still a balance to using your soft skills to your advantage in your executive bio or resume. Here are some of the most common soft skills to add to your executive resume.
Organizational Skills
Every company likes an organized person. This is the most commonly used soft skill on an executive resume cover letter because most people believe they are organized. The reality is this soft skill needs to be on your resume, because most companies will include it in their job requirements.
Team Player
This is a good example of a soft skill where you can give real experiences to demonstrate. Talk about times where you had to give up something that benefited you to help the team as a whole. No one wants to hire a selfish executive, so make sure your executive bio clearly demonstrates how you have been a team player at your past jobs.
Great Communication Skills
The best executive resume writing services will always highlight the importance of good communication skills. At an executive level, you will have to talk to people within and outside your organization, so you have to represent the company with class. This is another soft skill you can highlight with real examples. Talk about different meetings, interviews or speeches you’ve given in the past to show how great of a communicator you are.
Find A Balance of Soft Skills and Hard Skills to Incorporate
No matter which soft skills you decide to incorporate in your executive bio, you have to find the right balance between them and your hard skills. These three soft skills are good complements to the hard skills you list on your executive resume or cover letter, so be sure to use them to your advantage.
The key to incorporating the right soft skills into your executive resume is to read different job descriptions closely to see which ones they are looking for. If you aren’t sure which soft skills you need to highlight, or if you’re having a hard time finding a good balance of hard versus soft skills, feel free to contact us.
March 3, 2017: Professional Resume Services is pleased to announce a member of their writing staff has been granted a Certified Executive Resume Master (CERM) award, as bestowed by Career Directors International. This award comes with the title of “Certified Executive Resume Master,” currently held by 18 resume professionals internationally, including owner, Erin Kennedy. With this title comes the security that a professional resume writer is one of the highest-ranked in the industry—as well as increased trust from executives looking for job search assistance.
To qualify for the CERM award, the resume writer in question must first receive one of the following certifications: ACRW, CMRW, MCRS, CARW, CRS, MRW, CMRS, CPRW, and/or NCRW. They must also possess a sizeable portfolio displaying their expertise in the major aspects of executive resume crafting, such as formatting and personal branding. Once these criteria have been met, the executive resume writer can apply for the award. Applications require a fee, completion of the CDI Executive Competency Review and four samples of previous work pulled from the applicant’s professional portfolio. After four weeks, the applicant will receive notification of their award status directly from the CDI.
Through this new achievement, Professional Resume Services obtains further accreditation and proof of their industry prowess. You can learn more about their services by calling 810-664-1933 or visiting their official website. Congratulations to the winning writer for this outstanding accomplishment!
Your resume is usually the first thing a potential employer will see when you’re searching for a job. Having the proper format may seem like a little detail, but it’s actually pretty important. You want to make sure you have it in a format that will stand out, but you don’t want it to be too over the top and risk looking unprofessional. The best executive resume format clearly highlights your accomplishments in a clean manner. Here are some important things to consider when deciding on a format for your executive resume.
Chronological Format is Key for Executives
The best executive resume writers will recommend a chronological format for executives. Recruiters like to follow along the timeline of your career. It’s effective for people who have specialized expertise in a certain field because it highlights their attributes and ties them into the job they’re applying for.
Be Clear With Your Points
You may be thinking it’s risky to not include dates of employment or educational experience on your resume. While some employers do pay attention to dates, the best executive resume writing service will tell you it won’t cost you a chance to interview. Again, as long as you are clear with the expertise and experience you have, recruiters generally won’t raise a red flag for missing dates.
Combining Chronological and Functional Formats Can Be Effective
The best executive resume writers may even combine the functional executive resume format with the chronological format. This requires a little more attention to detail and creativity, because you want to highlight your most recent and relevant experience.
Executives with extensive experience will have more success with this combined approach than new executives with little experience would. If you don’t have experience and still believe a combined format would help your chances, the best executive resume writing service can help you pull it off.
Finding the proper executive resume format is a touchy topic. The goal of your executive resume is to make it pop without going overboard. If you would like to discuss the format of your executive resume and what options you have, feel free to contact us at any time.
Resume builders can be helpful for people who need a starting point for crafting their executive resume. However, since most resume builders are limited in what they can do, they can’t be relied on completely most of the time. Many executives use executive resume writing services in addition to an online resume builder to help give the resume a professional appearance. Here are a few points you should remember when using a resume builder for your executive resume.
Resume Builders Can Be Good Starting Points
These programs are great for giving your executive resume a clean and professional look. They can even make your executive bio stand out if you are having a hard time doing it yourself. A lot of executives have the hardest time getting started with the format and appearance of their resumes, so a resume builder is a great resource to use to get started.
Don’t Rely on Online Resume Builders
While resume builders are great starting points, they shouldn’t be totally relied on. The people who have the most success landing a job interview by using a resume builder are involved in customer service, retail, sales and similar industries. It doesn’t mean those professions aren’t important; it just means those are the most in-demand positions at any given time, so the resume builders are programmed to meet those needs. From an executive standpoint, online resume builders may not give you everything you need to properly highlight your skills and accomplishments.
Professional Resume Writers Are Better Options for Executives
If you’re building your resume for an executive position, your time and energy would be better spent using the best resume writing service. You can actually talk to people in order to highlight your achievements, and those people are specialized in helping people land executive jobs.
Many executives will bypass the online resume builder completely, but it’s generally encouraged to do some work upfront before you talk to a service. At the very least, you should write your executive bio in your own words, so a professional can critique it and learn exactly what you’re looking for in your executive position.
There’s never anything wrong with using an online resume builder, but there’s nothing like using the best resume writing service. We are always open to helping you with your resume or locating an online resume builder, so feel free to reach out to us.
Experienced executives may be surprised at how resumes have evolved within the last few years since they updated theirs. In general, the information included in today’s resumes is very similar to what it was dozens of years ago, but the presentation has definitely changed. This is why many executives tend to use professional resume writing services to ensure their resume is up with the times. Let’s take a look back at how executive resumes have evolved over time and where they are currently.
Printed or Electronic?
Most professional resume writing services will suggest utilizing both printed and electronic versions of your executive resume. Printing out your resume and physically handing it to someone may seem old school, but it’s really the only guaranteed way you know they will look at it. With so many jobs posted online today, it can be easy for electronic copies to get lost in the shuffle. However, many companies rely on electronic resumes for keyword searching, so it’s still important to send it electronically as well.
Visual and Digital Resumes
Visual and digital resumes have become more popular over the last few years. They give you the ability to show off your creativity by demonstrating a skill or providing a work product you created electronically. However, the top rated resume writing services caution you about using this method in certain industries. These types of resumes are generally frowned upon when searching for an executive job, but a marketing or creative design hiring manager would likely appreciate it.
What is Best for Executives?
When executives craft their resume, it’s best to keep it simple and professional and make the important points stand out. The best executive resume writers can highlight relevant attributes within a standard resume format to make it pop out at the reader.
Hiring managers for executive positions tend to be traditional when it comes to the type of resume format they want to see. However, making your resume look exactly like everyone else’s is a good way to get yours passed over.
If you need to use professional resume writing services to get tips and tricks on your executive resume format or for any other help, feel free to contact us at any time. Crafting your executive resume is an art, so it’s important to find a good balance between what hiring managers want to see and what is going to get yours noticed over all the other applicants.
