As a C-Suite leader nearing the highest peak of your career, when was the last time you considered your executive resume? It may have been years since you last needed one to secure your next career move. Whilst many C-Suite roles are secured through networking and the headhunting of passive candidates, it always pays to be one step ahead of the game. Follow these strategic steps to ensure you have a cutting-edge resume that marks you out as an invaluable market leader.
Personal Branding and Value Proposition
Personal branding is a vital selling tool that captures your target audience and differentiates you from the competition. Create a powerful message by branding your unique value proposition, ethos and achievements. Ensure that you convey a consistent branding message across all your online channels. Read on for more detail on creating a strong personal brand.
Craft A Strategic Resume
Your resume will be seen by the most senior people in your target market, so a generic CV won’t cut it. A well written resume sets you out as an industry thought leader, follow our specific tips on formatting your resume here. Many large organisations use ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) to identify and track the behaviours of passive talent. ATS can also be used to track how many times you visit their website, which posts you read and which roles you apply for. It is wise to be strategic in your applications as well as in the wording of your resume.
Corporate Storytelling
Think of your resume as your career success story, it is an insight into your experience that will initiate a conversation about who you are and what value you can add. The reader should be able to visualise the strategies, actions and results that you could contribute to impact their organization.
Demonstrate Impact Metrics
An achievements focused resume, with clear financial and business impact metrics, is essential in today’s competitive economic climate. Take ownership of your accomplishments and highlight results such as strategic growth, digital transformation, M&As, structural turnaround and business innovations; providing proof of your impact with metrics. Creating an achievements mindset is also an invaluable tool to prepare you for todays “challenge – action – result – learning” style interviews.
Your executive resume must leverage your personal brand, USPs and demonstratable business and financial achievements to capture the attention of your target market. It is challenging to summarise 20+ years of experience into a powerful and compelling 2-page document; by following these strategies you will showcase yourself as an industry leader worthy of attention.
