You have years of working life behind you as a C-level executive. You are ready to move on to the next challenge but not necessarily as a permanent part of a leadership team. A recent survey found that 90% of CFOs would consider a second career in consulting because of the variety and challenge of the work, attractive compensation, and flexible schedule.
For a resume that moves you from C-level to a consultant, you need to stress the following:
- Variety in your experience. You need to convince others—and be sure yourself—that you are able and willing to step into new and unfamiliar situations. If you have worked your entire career at one company in one industry in one position, you will have more difficulty.
- Interpersonal and communication skills at all levels. Highlight those occasions when you rallied a team, turned around an organization, mentored others into higher-level positions, or decreased turnover. Not all teams welcome consultants, even the ones they themselves have hired. You must have the skills to make the relationship work.
- Problem-solving, strategic planning, and innovation skills. Companies hire C-level consultants for a fresh perspective (keep in mind that they may have a pre-set notion of what a fresh perspective should be!). Your resume must show the problems you have encountered and fixed in the past and the ideas you have generated.
- An entrepreneurial mindset. Your resumes should reassure leadership that you know the difference between supplanting the entire leadership team and giving advice. A resume that moves you into a new C-level position is not the same as a resume that moves you to consultant—although some consultants have ended up in permanent positions.
Your years of experience have made you a valuable commodity for organizations that need a temporary C-level replacement or are experimenting with a C-level position. Robin’s Resumes® can help move you from permanent C-level to consultant.