A resume headline can help get you noticed – faster than anything else you add to your document!
Headlines, or taglines, in executive resumes are a simple concept that can help you write about yourself, helping steer readers toward notable accomplishments that prove your value.
Try these resume headline tips to write a headline (or a set of headlines!) that infuse your executive resume with a dose of power and confidence:
1 – Write a resume headline showing your reputation for results.
As shown in this award-winning CFO resume, this resume headline demonstrates career goals and successes in a single glance:
Senior Executive Team Member Enabling Triple Revenue & Profit Results in 4 Years
To write a resume headline like this, string together your job function (President, IT Director, COO, etc.), along with a short description of your performance (Leading Sales Growth, Delivering On-Time Projects).
After writing your headline, simply place it under your career goal (CFO, in this case) to expand on your worth as a leader, as in these examples:
Managing Director & CEO: Executive Leader for Multinational Portfolio Companies
Business Development Executive: Sales Driver Behind Millions in Revenue
2 – Group achievements under an employer-specific headline.
In the same CFO resume, these sentences direct the eye to specific achievements:
Building Pro Plus: CFO Enabling Peak Profitability With Sharply Reduced Costs
Sam’s Club & Wal-Mart: Multi-Divisional CFP Championing Card Portfolio & Cash Improvements
These headlines, unlike the main one described in the first tip, are company-specific and point to the wealth of achievements attained in each position.
Consider grouping a list of success stories for each job under this type of headline, using a similar formula (Company: Job Title and Achievements), as shown in these examples:
Operations Director Stabilizing Manufacturing Plants & Empowering Teams
Hotel GM Delivering 145% EBITDA Increase Through Capital Improvements
3 – Write a resume headline for each group of success stories in your career.
Keep on adding headlines to simplify each group of bullets… writing the sentences first, then a headline such as these examples for a senior executive:
Steered Operation to Rapid Profits From Across-The-Board Cost Savings
Set Stage for Growth by Eliciting Excellence in Team Performance
A sales executive who increased market share could add this headline
Displaced Competition in Named Accounts With New Customer Relationships
In other words, keep your headline simple and related to the successes you want to emphasize.
As you can see, resume headlines can be placed in MULTIPLE sections of your executive resume to help guide employers to relevant content.
These personal branding statements will convey your differentiating inforation, help employers navigate your career path, and distinguish you as a leadership candidate.
