Executives who are ready to move on to a new company or field are often qualified for such a wide range of roles that their resumes begin to go off-track. If you are among those executives, particularly if you anticipate moving into the C-suite, you must start out with a clear preference for your title (CEO, CIO, CMO, CXO, and so on) and the size of the company as well as an honest appraisal of what you liked or disliked about your previous roles.
Why are your preferences, likes, and dislikes important? You want to make it clear whether you are a leader of large teams, a recruiter and motivator of talent, a specialist in mergers and acquisitions, a globe-trotter who enjoys cross-cultural experiences, and so on. The right keywords and phrases in your resume will help ensure that the right opportunity emerges, one that matches both your talents and your comfort zone.
Why would companies believe that you are C-suite material? You will show them by using the context-challenge-action-result formula to demonstrate how you met challenges and delivered specific results—in terms of exact cost savings, profits, increased customers, increased market share, new products or other innovations, and improved efficiency/productivity.
How can you ensure that the right company sees your resume? First, you will research and identify companies that look like a good fit at this stage in your career. Second, you will make sure that your resume includes those details about your previous positions that align most strongly with the position you want. Your resume is a subset of your entire career, not a full biography, and that subset should all be directed toward your future.
What can you do to make sure the right person sees your resume? Here is where face-to-face networking and your online presence are all important. You are probably quite skilled at networking on your company’s behalf; now is the time to apply those skills to networking for your own C-suite career. If you do not have a professional profile on LinkedIn and similar sites, or if your profile is mostly an advertisement for your current company, now is the time to rewrite those profiles to improve how they meet your career goals. More and more companies are searching online for their next executive.
Robin’s Resumes® has created winning executive resumes for over 20 years. Please contact us today.