7 Changes to Improve Your Executive Resume Today

Executive Resumes

Your executive resume is one of the most critical vehicles for conveying your leadership qualities, achievements, and strategic vision. It may be tempting to treat it as a sort of laundry list, touting job titles and their tasks, but really, it’s about showing impact, leadership potential, and success.

Executive resume writers (like my team) follow a set of guidelines to create an executive resume that demands attention.

The following are seven simple things you can do to turn your resume into a powerful personal marketing tool:

1) Highlight Achievements in Relationship to Return on Investment – ROI

Why It Matters: You are the driver of growth and profitability as an executive. Quite often, one of the key measures of your success will be your ability to improve ROI. Start thinking of what you can add to that and show how you offer it. Backing it up with accomplishments will help prove that.

How to Implement: Instead of listing responsibilities, show added value to the companies you have led. Use hard metrics, such as percentages and dollar amounts, to demonstrate impact. People love numbers. Make sure you have them listed on your resume.

Example: Instead of saying, “Oversaw sales department”, say, “Grew sales revenue 45% over three years to drive an incremental $5M in revenue.”

Pro Tip: Be specific. What exactly was improved-cutting costs, increasing efficiencies, launching new products? Quantifying your achievements gives the recruiter an idea of what you bring to the table.

2) Exude Executive Presence

Why It Matters: My friend, Gina Riley, explained it perfectly at the NRWA conference recently.
Executive presence isn’t about looking the part; it’s about actually developing into leader-permeated confidence, authority, and strategic thinking. It also helps eliminate doubt about the job seeker’s candidacy.

How to Implement: Include language that emphasizes your role in setting strategic direction, making high-stakes decisions, and leading initiatives. Don’t forget to add soft skills and how you impact others.

Example: “Led the strategy vision and execution of a $50M company transformation while securing stakeholder buy-in across five departments.”

Pro Tip: If applying for a more executive-level position, use words like “executive strategy”, “visionary leadership”, and “transformational change”. This should be reflected on your presence in your LinkedIn profile.

3) Demonstrate Team Leadership and Development

Why It Matters: Being able to build and lead successful teams is, for many roles, a key component of being an effective executive. How you lead is just as important as the results you showcase.

How to Deliver: Emphasize how you impact team performance- through the development of better leaders, improved engagement, or greater retention.

Example: “Led a team of 100+, across three regions, to realize a 30% increase in employee engagement and a 15% reduction in turnover within two years.”

Pro Tip: If you’ve ever mentored future leaders or built leadership programs, be sure to include that here. It shows that you’re all about talent development and making sure that the organizations within which you work are going to grow and thrive.

4) Add Board Experience

Why It Matters: Board experience indicates a high level of trust, capability in governance, and strategic acumen. There needs to be a mix of hard skills, soft skills, operational expertise, financial skills, and vision.

How to Execute: Mention formal board roles held in a corporate, non-profit, or advisory capacity. Include specific contributions such as policy development, financial oversight, or strategic guidance.

Example: “Board Member, XYZ Corporation-led governance reforms that reduced compliance risks 20% and accelerated decision-making 25%.”

Pro Tip: Even if you haven’t had formal board experience, highlight your interactions with boards or advisory roles you have played. That could show that you are ready for board-level responsibility.

5) Use Executive Keywords Strategically

Why It Matters: Keywords are important to pass through ATS systems and to the eyes of a recruiter or hiring manager. Your resume will have a higher ranking with the use of proper keywords at the executive level.

How to Implement: Research job descriptions for the roles to which you’re applying and incorporate high-impact terms such as “P&L responsibility,” “strategic planning,” “mergers and acquisitions,” “growth strategy,” and “stakeholder management.”

Example: If the job posting asks for experience with “organizational change,” make sure that your experience includes the precise phrase, such as: “.led organizational change initiatives that resulted in a 35% efficiency increase.”

Pro Tip: Tailor your resume to each opportunity with keywords specific to that role. You can also check out the most-used terms in similar roles’ LinkedIn profiles for ideas.

6) Include a Potent Executive Summary

Why It Matters: Your executive summary sets the tone for the rest of the resume. It has to, in capsule form, provide an overview of career achievements, core competencies, and your leadership philosophy.

How to Do This: Stick to 3-4 sentences; highlight your most valuable accomplishments and strategic skills. It should reflect your career goals and value you will bring into an organization.

Example: “Transformational executive leader with 15+ years of experience driving growth in Fortune 500 companies. Proven track record of increasing profitability by up to 50% through innovative product development and operational efficiencies.”

Pro Tip: Do not use generic phrases and try to keep the fluffy adjectives to a minimum. Make the summary personalized, at the same time that it is compelling and relevant to what the company is seeking.

7) Emphasize Cross-Functional Collaboration

Why it’s a must: It’s quite common for modern business leaders to work across multiple company teams: finance, marketing, human resources, operations—the list goes on and on. By highlighting cross-functional collaboration and functioning, you’re demonstrating adaptability and an all-round appreciation of the enterprise in question.

How to achieve it: While trying to work out how to describe your experience, reflect on where you have been able to help others get something done. This may involve projects such as the development and launch of a new product with marketing and R&D teams or working with finance on budget development.

Example: “Partnered with marketing, sales, and finance teams in the launch of a new product, delivering first-year sales of $10M and a 20% increase in market share.”

Pro Tip: Action verbs include, but are not limited to, the words “collaborated,” “partnered,” and “coordinated,” which drive home the point of your contribution to teamwork.

Wrapping It Up

Improving your executive resume does not have to be an overhaul of sorts. Minor modifications can work wonders:
– Quantify the achievements of the job
– Create commanding executive presence
– Use keywords appropriately

You will come across as sturdy leadership material. Take these seven steps today, and watch your resume get a complete makeover, propelling your career upward.

How To Avoid Ageism On Your Executive Resume

Resume Writing

Getting older is a part of life.

In some countries and cultures, aging is revered, and the wisdom gleaned from it is anticipated. Elders are looked upon as having answers to life’s questions and experiences that will benefit the next generation.

In the Western part of the world, not so much.

Ageism in the job market is something we all may encounter at some point in our careers. Creating an executive resume that counteracts that bias and showcases your vast experience is critical to continuing to be seen as a leader despite your age.

Let’s talk about that.

LOOKS MATTER

For starters, look at the format of your resume. Is it something that you created back in the 1990’s? An old resume format makes you look… outdated, not keeping up, ancient.

There are hundreds of websites with executive resume samples available to use. We also have done-for-you executive resume templates that you can use to instantly create a modern, stylized resume (shameless plug).

People do judge by looks and if your resume looks old and stale, they may make assumptions that your experience is old and stale as well.

DUMPING GROUND

Have you been adding your job responsibilities to your resume as you went along, with a laundry list of bullet points copied and pasted from job descriptions for the last 30-40 years?

Keep what serves you now and get rid of what doesn’t. If it’s a skill you haven’t used in the last 10-15 years, it doesn’t need to be in your Core Competencies list.

Focus on what you want the reader to know about you now.

EARLY CAREER SUMMARY

If you worked for a well-known company 25 years ago whose name alone will add to your experience, add it to your Early Career Summary.

An Early Career Summary is a great way to leave your information on the resume without it being an actual job, taking up space and looking like a long list of jobs in between. You would add this at the end of your Professional Experience section.

Example:

“Early Career Summary

Began career with Dell Technologies tasked with accountability for new business development and customer relations for direct and channel sales into enterprise accounts. Managed 5 of the top 10 revenue-generating customers in Israel. Consistently exceeded performance targets by an average of 30% annually. Earned 85%+ win rate in a market space dominated by NetApp.”

This is a clever way to keep some of your early experience on the resume without cluttering it with job after job. It is also a great way to minimize ageism (and boredom) on a resume.

LEAD WITH ACCOMPLISHMENTS

When doing a deep dive into an executive resume, I am usually surprised by the accomplishments that are hiding in plain sight.

If you don’t differentiate your daily responsibilities from your accomplishments, you are setting your resume up for failure. If a recruiter doesn’t see your highlights and impact immediately, they may decide not to read any further, especially if they have hundreds to go through.

Separate your accomplishments with a bullet so they stand out and grab the reader.

Example:

Rebuilt the HR team from the ground up, recruiting diverse talent from within and outside healthcare to help reimagine the partnership/service delivery model, establish credibility/trust with stakeholders, and solidify its value. Aligned HR priorities and initiatives with Giant Health’s overarching business strategy.

Or this:

Curated a roster of premium manufacturers, cultivating a robust portfolio of solutions to take to market. Primed SG&T for long-term success and sustainability by building deep, strategic relationships with the manufacturers’ C-level executives, establishing credibility and longevity in a sector reputed for high churn/turnover.

Showcasing your most recent high-level accomplishments on the first page will keep the reader’s attention to the present.

How to Put a Positive Spin on Your Employment Gaps

TECHNOLOGY & COMMUNICATION

A common misconception is that the older people get, the less they understand technology

Stay ahead of this by staying up-to-date with the technology used in your field. When in doubt, ask a colleague or younger person to teach you. They are always willing to step in and assist.

Use your executive LinkedIn profile as a place to enhance your thought leadership. Comment, like, post, and engage weekly. Recruiters look at your “activity” section to see what you are talking about.
Make sure to stretch your voice there. Comment on the company page and add to the conversation. Seek recommendations and endorsements that highlight your skills, experience, and adaptability.

Today’s workplace is more relaxed and less formal than it was 20-30 years ago. Be sure to adapt your language and communication as well.

ADDRESS AGEISM HEAD-ON (When Appropriate):

Frame your experience as an asset. Discuss proactively with them during interviews how your experience can add value. Stress that you have the potential to mentor younger teams, lead through transitions, and provide strategic insights from long careers.

Describe a time you adapted. Highlight examples where you’ve successfully adapted to change, whether it’s in technology, market shifts, or organizational restructuring.

By taking these steps and embracing your wealth of experience, you’ll minimize the potential for ageism to impact your job search.

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Tired of trying to DIY your resume? Reach out. We’re happy to help!

How to Put a Positive Spin on Your Employment Gaps

Job Search

Job gaps are a chapter of life that nearly all employed workers will experience at some time. For personal reasons, economic reasons, or other reasons, occasionally job gaps can be stigmatized by prospective hiring executives. In the proper light, however, you can turn those job gaps into effective, positive differentiators that prove your endurance, flexibility, and skills acquired. Here’s how to put a positive spin on your employment gaps into a powerful component of your professional story, complete with examples.

Embrace Your Employment Gaps

The primary and foremost step to making an employment gap work in your favor is to accept it.

Whether it be that you were at home raising a child, had taken a break to nurse a family member, were traveling, undertook other studies, or even utilized the time to address health concerns, an acceptance of these facts can actually make your resume more human and make you more relatable to potential employers.

Example: Sarah, a marketing professional, had, in fact, stayed at home for two years to care for aging parents.

Rather than try to disguise this break in her work history, she put it on her resume and explained skills she had gained as a care provider, like patience, time management, and empathy (all great “soft skills”).

These attributes translate into just about any career situation, and Sarah was using them to demonstrate her well-rounded abilities.

Emphasize Skill Development

Employment gaps can also be an opportunity to gain by way of experience, both personal and professional.

If you utilized that time to undertake some courses, learn a new skill, volunteer, or get involved in something that can contribute to your growth as an individual, mention those in your resume and cover letter.

Example: John, who worked as an information technology specialist, got laid off and experienced one year of unemployment.

During his unemployed year, John took online courses on cybersecurity, volunteered at a local non-profit by doing installations of secure networks for that non-profit, and attended seminars in his profession.

When he applied for new jobs, John was able to add to his resume his proactive measures to keep up with industry trends and his demonstration of lifelong learning.

Use Freelance and Independent Contract Work

Freelance and contract employment that is done in between jobs can demonstrate a lot of initiative and commitment on your part.

You can also get diverse clients and projects which will be added to your resume as well as your professional portfolio. Highlighting this type of work can be a simple yet effective way to put a positive spin on your employment gaps.

Example: Maria was a graphic designer who had freelanced for the past 18 months after she had moved to a new city.

She had been working with several small businesses in the city during that time, which allowed her to do website design and branding.

She also used these in her portfolio, which showcased her versatility and ability to meet the needs of several different clients.

It also showcased that she had worked actively in the past 18 months of her career, even if she was not in a traditional full-time job.

Emphasize Transferable Skills

Acknowledge that sometimes, the gaps in employment can translate into having diverse experiences in other areas or types of work.

Actually, demonstrate the skills you learned during your time off that may get transferred and be applied in the position you want to occupy at your disposal.

Example: For instance, there was Alex, a former teacher who had taken three years out of the field to try to start a small business of his own.

Despite his business’s eventual failure, while it was in operation, Alex learned valuable life skills in project management, marketing, budgeting, and customer service.

When he returned to the field of education, Alex was able to use these skills as a foundation on which to show how they would work as a means to help augment his administrative and teaching skills.

Put A Positive Spin On The Gaps

When speaking of these gaps in interviews or in cover letters, frame the gaps positively. Talk instead of where you were able to travel during that time, not of the gap itself.

Example: Emily, a project manager, had been away for a year traveling and experiencing new and different cultures.

Rather than stating her travel experience, she stated how her year out helped her enhance her cultural learning , develop her problem-solving skills, and diversity in her capacity to work with all types of work teams.

Such a positive connotation said that her experience away from work was a learning experience and added to her professional value.

Network and Seek Recommendations

Networking can also work as a effective means of describing and justifying your employment gaps with a positive spin.

Ask for recommendations from those with whom you worked during the period of employment gap, which may include your freelance clients, volunteer coordinators, and even your course instructors.

Example: Raj, an engineer, took a leave of two years to complete his Master in Environmental Engineering.

In the interim, he volunteered with a few environmental organizations and managed to get a few projects completed.

He sought recommendations from his professors and volunteers’ coordinators, who could vouch for his hard work and skills.

Such recommendations helped cover up the gap in his work experience and added a good endorsement of his capability.

Demonstrate Resilience within the Gap

Sometimes, employment gaps can be due to trying times. Instead, make them a time of showcasing your strength and ability to thrive over hard times.

Most employers are looking for this characteristic since it lets them know that you can handle challenging times, can adjust, and respond even stronger.

Example: Lisa, as a sales manager, had a debilitating health condition that left her with a large gap in employment.

She detailed, in her job applications what work she had undertaken to stay up-to-date with industry changes while she was unemployed. She was then able to market her resilience, focus, and commitment to her career, taking what might be a detrimental gap and turning it into a tale of personal resilience and career determination.

Add the Context in Your CV

Having a small mention about the employment gaps in your resume itself can, in some way, provide some context for the prospective employers to work upon.

It can help in preventing some misunderstanding and in making you look as transparent with nothing to hide. Put it out there. Let them know there was a gap.

Example: Mark, a software engineer, had a layoff that led to a nine-month employment gap.

He wrote a brief note in his cover letter detailing the layoff and what he had been doing during the gap period, like making contributions to open-source projects and completing a cloud computing certification.

The honesty made the prospective employers visualize the gap and what he did to remain relevant in his field of career.

Reframe The Narrative

Reframing your story means shifting the emphasis from the gap to the growth and accomplishments during the gap period.

This can help you draft an engaging story concurrent with your career objective.

Example: Laura had a two-year break from a position as a financial analyst to start a family.

She did so by highlighting the financial planning and budgeting skills she acquired during this time and the online financial modeling courses she enrolled in during that time.

By highlighting the personal and professional development she was engaging in during this time, Laura was able to construct a positive and forward-looking narrative.

Get ready for Questions in the Interview

Being able to provide answers to questions relating to any gaps in your employment is very important.

Practice your responses to ensure they are concise, honest, and put a positive spin on the experience.

Example: Responding in an interview to being asked about the two-year hole in his resume, software engineer James spoke about how he had spent those two years indulging his love of travel, as well as freelancing on coding projects he was interested in.

He spoke of the varied range of projects that he was exposed to, the range of programming languages he had to learn, and how, as a result, he became a more rounded developer.

In plotting that information in a well-prepared response, he took what might have been a red flag and made it so that he was still keeping engaged as a professional.

Landing the Job

Gaps in employment need not dissuade you from your career.

On the other hand, you must derive the maximum benefit from the same

By recognizing the gap, concentrating on skill acquisition, using freelance to your advantage, carving out transferable skills, positioning the gap positively, building networks, demonstrating resilience, providing the context in the resume, recasting your story, and preparing for the interview questions, you will be in a position to make the employment gaps a very potent tool and be able to put a positive spin on your situation.

Not only do the strategies minimize the visibility of the gaps, they can also make the gap very attractive and beneficial to the overall professional development.

Once again, please remember that everybody has a unique career and the employment gaps are nothing but mere chapters in the professional story.

If properly handled, the gaps can be a good story to illustrate your adaptability, never-ending learning, and resilience in any situation, making you a very attractive option to the prospective employer.

Are you ready to elevate your career? Learn more about our professional resume packages here.

Don’t Give Up The Job Search Just Because The Holidays Are Near

Job Search

I’ve been talking with job seekers lately who ask whether they should job search right now or wait until after the New Year.

The holidays are upon us and many worry it isn’t a good time.🎅

But–there are many benefits to continuing on with your job search.

🎄 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬. Companies have new budgets in place to entice and hire #candidates. They are still #hiring and actively looking.

🎄 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Your competition is less since many people decide to hold off until the new year. Plus, you will impress companies with your dedication and commitment.

🎄 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. Things are winding down at your company due to the holidays and end of the year, so you have more time to focus on #job search

🎄 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬. People are generally in better moods around the holidays. More time off, seeing family and friends (via remotely this year, unfortunately), shopping, and reflection. It’s a perfect time to reach out and start a #conversation.

I asked career professionals on LinkedIn what their thoughts were on the subject. Read what they have to say:

Hannah Morgan, Job Search Strategist, Career Sherpa: November and December are great months for conversations and you are so right, many companies are either trying to fill roles that are still vacant now or line up candidates to hire Jan. 1. Don’t put on the brakes!

Ed Han, Talent Acquisition Geek, Recruiter: As a corporate recruiter: let me reassure your readers & followers that if the job posting is up, I AM READING APPLICATIONS.
Scheduling interviews may take longer, but if it’s open, that hiring manager has funds earmarked towards that hire and is anxious to use them, because they’ll get asked if they really need the position or not by their boss, or their boss’s boss.

Nicole Reyes, Sn. Technical Recruiter: I’ve noticed that many hiring managers want new hires to start in January of the new year, which means they’re willing to schedule interviews with candidates this time of year. It’s worth your time to search for a position during this period, even if the search is a bit slower because people will be out of the office more with the holidays.

Greg Roche, Career Transition Coach: Take your holiday card list and see who you can connect with in person. Send them a card too, but use this list as a way to get back in touch with people who are important to you, but likely haven’t talked to in a while. This helps you practice connecting and you never know where it might lead Erin.

Andrea Yacub Macek, Top Job Expert to Follow, Career Coach: The best time to network, market, and job search is when you are ready to do so in your season of life. If you need to take a break, do so, and if you want to continue networking or job search, do so; there are always benefits. These are some significant reasons you asked Erin Kennedy to continue instead of stop.

Meg Applegate, Resume Writer, Hinge Resume: The holidays are a great time to check in with your network. Start conversations now, even if after the new year is your goal. You never know what can come of it,

Sarah Johnston, Executive Resume Writer, LinkedIn Branding: Great reminder, Erin Kennedy. Some managers have “use it or lose it” budgets and have positions that need to be filled before the end of the year.

Adrienne Tom, Executive Resume Writer: If a company really needs an employee, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is — they will be looking. Which means, you should be too.

Bottom line: Don’t give up. Keep looking. This is a GREAT time of year to look for a job. 🎄

What Should I Be Adding To My LinkedIn Profile?

Social Marketing/Online Branding

Ever wonder if you are putting the *right* information on your LinkedIn profile?

This is a common question I hear, “I don’t know if this or that should be on there” or “I wasn’t sure so I just downloaded/copy/pasted my whole resume to my profile.”

While you want to establish the information you add is relevant to your brand and impactful, you don’t want it to be a duplicate of your resume. They are meant to complement one another. You want your reader to see a little more of a human side to you as well. Think of the LinkedIn profile as the friendly, humanized version of your resume.

Here are some things to think about when building and adding to your profile:

☑️ Fill out all the sections. Don’t leave anything blank. Fill in the volunteer, certifications, languages, projects, honors, awards. You can add PowerPoints, photos, samples of your work (I have these on my profile) coursework, and things you have done in your career.

☑️ Add a profile photo AND a background cover photo (get rid of that blue LI background!). This makes it uniquely you. I love seeing customized background cover photos on LI profiles. They definitely add personality and/or help brand the client by having a photo of the company, service or product they represent.

☑️ Write a headliner that sizzles. Instead of “Account Executive”, write “Account Executive specializing in the development of groundbreaking sales and service strategies internationally”. Add a little zing to it. Get your reader interested. Some even call the headliner “prime real estate” meaning it’s a great place to add keywords and branding that help direct LinkedIn’s algorithms to your profile. Get as clear and focused as you can. Add buzzwords if you know what they are. Not sure? Find jobs that interest you and notice the same words listed over and over? Add them. Don’t neglect this section.

☑️ Create an About section that speaks to the reader. That section used to be more formal and many people wrote theirs like a biography–3rd person, boring, etc. These days, it’s all about the conversation. Get them interested in what you have to say. Write in first person. It’s OK to be a little more human here. People expect it—and love it. The About section should be engaging, interesting, and conversational. Think of it as if you are speaking to someone at a networking event. How would you speak? What would you say? You’d keep it professional but interesting, right? You want to tell a story about why you do this type of work and what makes it interesting. Be enthusiastic.

☑️ Add Content! Make sure to add descriptions of what you do at your job. Add your daily responsibilities as well as your accomplishments. This is where I see clients fall short. They add their company and job title but nothing else. LinkedIn rewards content. While you don’t want to copy and paste chunks from your resume, you also don’t want to leave critical information out. Rewrite those areas but make sure to add content to your roles. What were you most proud of accomplishing? What projects have you worked on that added value? What is interesting about where you work?
You can also add numbers and percentages. If you are hesitant about sharing exact figures, you can say, “increased revenue 87% in two years”. Adding numbers adds to your credibility and gives the reader a glimpse of what you have done.

☑️ Get a recommendation. A recommendation or two on your profile livens it up and gives you more credibility. What good do thousands of connections do for you if you don’t have one recommendation? It might feel awkward, but once you’ve asked it’s done and guess what? You’ll most likely get that recommendation!

☑️ Create an endorsements section. Complete the skills and endorsements section and pin the top 3 that related to your job hunt. Again, these are key with algorithms and recruiter searches as well.

When all of this is done, remember the key to a strong LinkedIn profile is engagement. The more you use LinkedIn, the more it rewards you by showing your profile in recruiter searches. Reach out, plan on getting on LinkedIn 10-15 minutes every other day and watch it go to work for you.

Is Your Executive Resume Interesting?

Resume WritingResumes

It happened…the call about the executive job of your dreams opening up just came through via your contact, and the HR Director wants to see your resume. You might be ready to take the next step in your career, but is your resume ready for an executive-level position? Submitting a bland, non-focused resume with boring content will do nothing but get you taken off of the “call for an interview” list.

Moving on from a middle management position to the c-suite is not for the faint of heart, and your resume needs to show that you have the experience, skills, ROI, and drive to do the job, and do it well. Writing your resume is not just including your career history and where you received your degree, it’s more about creating a document that tells the complete story of who you are, what you have achieved, how you achieved it, and the value you will provide at the next level…in a creative and exciting manner. Below are 5 quick tips that will help you to ensure that your updated resume effectively states “I’m ready for the c-suite and you need to hire me”…

Your format matters – People judge books by their covers! Start with an eye-catching format. While you don’t need to put so much color on your resume that it looks like the 4^th of July blew up on your piece of paper, a pop of color will appeal to the reader and help your document to stand out right from the get-go. A font style that is clean and business-like is just as important. Fancy scripts may look pretty, but they are difficult to read and you don’t want people having to work hard to read your text (and believe me, if they have to work hard, they aren’t going to read much past your name).

An exciting executive summary is a must – create a strong career summary that communicates what you have done in your career and the value you can provide at the next level. Include position and industry-specific keywords (not buzzwords…there is a difference!) that match your target position.

Highlight your biggest achievements – include a “Career Highlights” section to give a brief synopsis of your biggest accomplishments if you want. Hint: quantifiable achievements speak the loudest and make a stronger impact than just a bullet list of text. Graphs and charts tell a quick story as well!

Your career history needs to make a big impact in a small amount of time – if you are at an executive-level, it’s pretty safe to say that you have had quite a few years of employment under your belt. Focus on your most recent work experience, and don’t go back more than 15 years into your career history (you can summarize the earlier stuff). A chronological format is the easiest, most clean-cut way to do this. The exception – if your career goals/new job are unrelated to your current job…then you will want to use more of a function format to show that you DO still have the skills and experience for the job you’re trying to land.

Your education information is not as important as your career history – so move it to the end of your resume. Like your career history, degrees received 15+ years ago are probably not going to be as important to the hiring manager as your most recent career experience. Include your degrees and any relevant certifications, but remove the years. The degree is what is important, not when you received it, and announcing “I’m really old…” on your resume is probably not going to win points with the hiring manager. Minimize ageism by eliminating years if they go beyond fifteen. Wow them with your accomplishments and skillset instead.

If you are being recommended for that coveted c-suite position, be sure you have a resume that can back-up up the recommendation. Don’t embarrass yourself (or the friend that recommended you) by submitting a bland resume that does nothing to market you as the ideal candidate for the job. Instead, take the time to update your resume and maximize your chances of being the candidate whose next phone call is “we’d like to offer you the position”!

How Old is Your Executive Resume?

Executive ResumesJob Search

If it’s been a while since you looked for a new job, you likely haven’t updated your resume during that time. Depending on how long it has been, simply making updates to it won’t be sufficient. When writing an effective resume today, you have to take into consideration how it looks digitally as well as on paper. And a lot of the resume writing strategies that applied a decade ago should be avoided now. Recruiters and hiring managers will be able to easily tell if your resume is dated, so here’s how you can rework yours to catch it up with modern times.

Old Resumes Need To Be Reworked Completely

Any professional resume writing service will suggest rewriting your resume completely if it’s close to a decade old. Sometimes it’s best to start with a blank document so you won’t be tempted to operate under the same framework as your old resume. But when you’ve only written a couple of versions of your resume, and none of them have been recent, how do you know where to start? An executive resume writer is a good resource since they are up-to-date on what should and shouldn’t be included.

Resume Writing Strategies To Consider

Old resumes didn’t typically highlight a job applicant’s personal brand. Today, personal branding is essential to include on resumes, since it’s what sets you apart from the rest. It can be difficult to do this if you’ve never done it before, so there’s no harm in working with an executive resume writer for assistance.

Keywords, formatting, hyperlinks and more should also be modernized in your resume. With more employers using applicant tracking systems to help them filter through resumes, it’s essential to include proper keywords and phrases to ensure your resume gets recognized. Targeting is also highly recommended when writing an effective resume. Employers can spot a general resume quickly, so do your research and demonstrate your knowledge about the company and their needs in yours.

Outdated Details Should Be Removed

Details like where you live, professional references, outdated expertise, an objective statement or other personal information don’t belong on resumes anymore. Of course, if a specific employer asks for this information, then you should have it handy and ready to provide it to them. Nothing demonstrates an outdated resume more than including these types of details, which most employers aren’t interested in.

Professional Resume Services takes pride in being a trusted professional resume writing service for numerous executives. Keeping up with the times is difficult today in the fast-paced world we live in. It’s especially difficult to do so if you have held the same job for many years and need to put together a resume quickly. Whether you’re actively looking for a job or if you just want to give your resume a boost, feel free to contact us for a consultation.

Do You Have the Spark to Advance Your Executive Career?

Career & WorkplaceExecutive ResumesProfessional Resumes

We all hit points throughout our career where we hit a stall or things become stale. This could be due to getting comfortable with your current position or simply not knowing what direction you want to go. Using your LinkedIn profile for networking purposes can help you find some direction and potentially lead to other opportunities. It’s natural to hit a stall in your career, but it’s also possible to move forward when you’re ready. If you know you’re ready to advance your executive career, but can’t seem to find a spark to get you going, we’ve got some tips to help you out.

Let Career Detours Be Inspirational

If your career path isn’t headed exactly how you planned it to, don’t get discouraged. Everyone will have detours in their career. Instead of looking at those detours negatively, view them as inspirational and work harder to get back on track. Revisit your executive resume biography as a reminder of where you are now and where you want to be in the future. When your path changes, look for ways to grow from it and make any adjustments you deem necessary.

Always Look For Ways To Grow

One of the biggest sparks executives experience in their career is learning a new skill. Being able to add a new skill to your executive resume biography is motivating, so consider taking an advanced course or work on projects of your own in your free time. The top resume writing services encourage people to step out of their comfort zone occasionally because it will lead to growth no matter what. Learning experiences are valuable for career growth, but you won’t experience any of them if you don’t take the first step forward.

Network With Like-Minded Experts

Networking can lead to many different opportunities and can be a big spark for your career. You don’t even have to attend a networking event with the intention of finding a new job. Simply talking with like-minded experts can give you new ideas on how to approach your career or certain projects to help you move forward. Be sure to have your LinkedIn profile updated, though, since you’ll likely want to reconnect with people you’ve met through the platform.

At Professional Resume Services, nothing is more satisfying to us than seeing executives get exactly what they want in their career. We are considered to be one of the top resume writing services because we have a wide range of expertise designed to help people advance in their careers. We understand everyone goes through a stall in their career, and we are here to help you get out of it when you’re ready. Never hesitate to contact us if you’re ready to spark your career and take it to the next level.