Make no mistake about it – executive resume writing trends change constantly.
Even if you are an avid networker, you’ll still be asked for a resume, and failing to adopt current resume writing trends can weaken your message. If you’re not employing these techniques, you may be competing against them.
Consider incorporating these resume trends to sharpen your job market edge among other leaders:
Executive Resume Trend #1: Expressing Passion for Your Work.
What drives you? What type of work or challenges make you excited to come into the office? How do you inspire passion in your teams or customers?
This is the kind of information employers seek about you – and it should land on Page 1 of your executive resume.
It’s no longer enough to state that you’ve directed teams of a particular size or managed millions in budget. Recruiters want to see your ability to motivate teams, influence Boards, and shape customer reactions.
If you’re unsure how to convey this information, use these questions to kickstart the process:
- What distinguishes you from the person who preceded you at your company?
- How did you get started in this line of work?
- What should employers know about you almost immediately?
- How do you select and motivate the right kind of talent?
- What legacy do you want to leave at the end of your career?
Next, take your findings and write a brief statement that sums up your answer, as shown in these examples taken from both CTO and CPG Board member resumes:
Lifelong technology evangelist and innovator commercializing profitable, disruptive products
Board member with strategic outlook on fast-paced CPG sectors
Executive Resume Trend #2: Building a Short Synopsis of Your Career Wins.
Like this award-winning resume for a CEO and Board Advisor, you can incorporate a short listing of achievements that demonstrate peak career performance. Here, a selection of quantifiable accomplishments are listed under the heading: Career Highs: Results Surpassing Market Expectations.
You can easily build your own list of notable success stories by condensing significant achievements down into areas of strength, such as Sales Growth or Employee Retention.
Next, add metrics that demonstrate your expertise (45% Year-Over-Year Gains or 98% Team Engagement Scores). By providing quantifiable figures, you’ll show leadership-worthy detail that backs up your value to employers.
Executive Resume Trend #3: Developing a Powerful, Concise Summary of Your Brand.
Like any marketing tool, your executive resume must drive home your point – fast.
If you’re still using a long and winding Summary of Qualifications, start over and jot down just a few of your core strengths and achievements. Use this data to rework the top part of your resume into a brief (and power-packed) set of brand statements.
Now, you’ll be able to provide employers a quick glimpse into your executive value, saving time and compelling them to read further.
Unconvinced? See how quickly you can digest the following executive resume summaries:
Accomplished technology executive with extensive experience in designing, development, and implementation of high-performance technology solutions. Proven ability to bring the benefits of IT to solve business issues while delivering application and infrastructure performance. Experienced in cross-functional team management, problem-solving, contract negotiations, M&A integration, and crisis management. Well-rounded infrastructure, software and data management, application development, IT financial reporting, security, and project management skills.
It’s painful to read all of this, right? Look at the shorter, tighter version:
Resourceful IT leader behind cost-controlled business improvements – upgrading infrastructure, heading M&A integrations, ensuring right-fit applications, optimizing network operations, eliciting top vendor performance, and building lean, skilled teams. Fiscal control of budgets up to $240M; builds viable justification for IT investments.
As you can see, your executive resume summary must be a quick read, supplying just enough data to avoid losing the reader.
Executive Resume Trend #4: Using Color to Set Off Important Data.
Resumes, especially those heavy with detail, are often easier to skim if you’ve added a bit of color.
Depending on your industry, color can also help distinguish your achievements and leadership style.
Here, this example of a global TORI award-nominated executive resume shows an unusual color combination consistent with this Group CEO’s position in the digital technology industry.
Strategically applied color can highlight key facts in your background – keeping your resume at sound-bite level.
Shading or graphic elements can also draw the eye toward your executive job titles, the speed of your promotions, or data-driven accomplishments.
These changes allow your resume to read more like a “highlight reel,” instead of a lengthy novel.
Executive Resume Trend #5: Adding Social Links – a Necessity in Today’s Digital Age.
Employers want to find out as much about you as possible, so it’s best to offer up the links to your social media accounts front and center on your resume. Even if you’re only starting to build a digital identity, a shortcut can help decision-makers find your online information.
This is especially important if you share a common name with others in your field or geographical location.
Recruiters will look for alignment with your LinkedIn presence and executive resume – and you don’t want to be confused with the other John Smith or Mary Jones in your industry.
In addition, you’ll benefit from linking other social networking information on your resume, particularly if you’ve built a strong Twitter following or regularly blog on industry-related topics.
Executive Resume Trend #6: Using Headlines for Easier Navigation.
By the time you’ve reached the corner office, you’ll have plenty of achievements to list on your executive resume.
DON’T provide endless list of bullets for employers to navigate!
Instead, try a simple headline strategy for easier reading.
Incorporate headlines or taglines into your executive resume to help break up text and give readers something else to focus on.
In this global TORI award-winning international CEO and Business Development resume, the additional titles Global & Regional Strategist, Executive Advisor, Economist, and Expert Marketing & Sales Partner (under the summary) quickly bring employers up to speed on this candidate’s leadership record.
In summary, there’s numerous resume trends that can help create a clear, attention-getting message that captures your personal brand and ROI.
By strategically planning your resume content and layout, you can make a stronger first impression, keep your document concise, and communicate your readiness for a next-level role.
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