In the new world of executive
job search, your “Paper” or Word document executive resume will probably
not be your first introduction to recruiters and hiring decision
makers. Whatever they find out about you online may be the deciding
factor – often before you know they’re assessing you.
Today’s C-level / Leadership / Senior-level resume takes the form of a LinkedIn
profile, VisualCV, or online portfolio. Savvy executives know they have
to have a strong online identity, leading hiring professionals to
accurate, on-brand information about them.
Before dusting off your old resume (if you have one), merely updating it
with your latest contributions and career history, and expecting that,
when you put it out there they will come, you need to get a handle on
today’s resume 2.0 and what part it plays in the new world of executive
job search.
If you don’t have a strong online footprint providing them with
plenty of on-brand information supporting your value proposition, you’re
likely facing a prolonged job search.
All things being equal – skill sets, qualifications, relevant
experience, education, etc. – job seekers with stronger web presence are
the ones who are noticed and chosen over those who have little or no
presence online.
1. Targeting
A generic resume that tries to cover too many bases will probably fall
flat. If you don’t write to a specific target audience, your resume
won’t speak to the recruiters and hiring decision makers reading it or
help them connect you to the job they’re trying to fill. They don’t have
the time or inclination to sift through irrelevant information to see
if you warrant interviewing.
2. Personal Branding and Value Proposition
Branding is not optional anymore. Especially in a bad job market,
personal branding is more critical than ever. In a nutshell, branding
links your passions, key personal attributes, and strengths with your
value proposition, in a crystal clear message that differentiates you
from your competition and resonates with your target audience. What
differentiates your unique promise of value from your job seeking
competitors is what will sell you.
3. Forget the Objective Statement
Employers don’t care that you want a “growth position that will utilize
my expertise in XYZ”. They want to know what you’ll do for them.
Objective statements waste valuable space and prime real estate, and
don’t capture attention.
4. Show Financial and Business Impact, Fast
While qualitative results are nice—and can certainly help the
reviewer get a feel for what kind of person you are—decision makers
working to fill executive spots are looking for impact. You are not
likely to land an executive role for simply being a good guy. You’re
going to be hired to make money, drive growth, reduce costs, streamline
operations, optimize staff performance, and, well, deliver.
The best way to make it instantly clear that you know how to do this?
Show the results. Show the numbers. One of the simplest ways to
accomplish this is by creating a sub-section within each job you’ve held
called “Key Accomplishments” or “Key Highlights.” Bold the most
impressive quantitative stuff, so that it’s beyond easy for people to
find this information quickly.
There’s a fine line between including the SEO-friendly keywords you
expect the recruiter to look for, and using hackneyed terms that are so
overused, they’ve lost all meaning.
Resumes are notorious for being laden with clichés,
and management professionals who operate at a high-level are often the
worst offenders for relying upon stale, high-level terms like “driving
success.”
When every word matters, you need to replace non-specific clichés
with specific details, facts and figures, and examples. The best rule
I’ve come up with is to apply this classic piece of writing advice:
show, rather than tell.
In practice, this means expanding on phrases such as “worked to
achieve positive commercial outcomes” by explaining what working and
positive outcomes really meant in that context, as in this example:
“You increased sales by X, you cut costs by Y, you improved efficiency
by how much. You want to make crystal-clear what you’ve done” — and, by
extension, what tangible results you could produce for a prospective
employer.
With the spring and summer hiring frenzy in full swing, these tips will
help craft your resume into a powerful document that's sure to catch the
eye of recruiters and hiring managers and land you that next key role
in your career.