Transitioning into a COO role – or taking the next step from GM or VP of Operations?

To be competitive, your COO resume must deliver a quick, yet potent snapshot of strategic leadership and tactical qualifications.

In today’s job market, most COOs direct broad functions such as marketing, production, sales, and technology, while presenting strategic ideas to the Board and playing a large part in company growth.

Management and team direction, profit growth, process improvement, quality standards, cost savings, and promotional acumen can be equally paramount to a strategic vision that drives bottom-line results.

Your COO resume will need to demonstrate both detailed success stories and an overarching message of leadership. Use these tips and examples as guides to a strong personal brand at the executive level:

1 – Add Success Stories (in Context!).

Your career story is often more engaging when told from the standpoint of problems solved, challenges overcome, or roadblocks removed.

Therefore, you’ll want to include descriptions of the situations behind each result for greater impact.

As an example, this COO resume outlines KPIs, revenue growth, gross margin improvement, and energy industry leadership including oversight of $32M in revenue, plus stronger contract volume in a tight market.

Stories like these demonstrate a whatever-it-takes approach to solving problems, plus decisive leadership that benefits the company as a whole – important qualities for an executive officer.

2 – Incorporate Testimonials.

As shown in this COO resume for a construction development executive, accolades from others in your network can add credence to the executive competencies and qualities that you’ve listed.

Here, these references were strategically placed to show that the candidate (who had taken a consulting role) was qualified to move up into a real estate industry COO position, based on his reputation among peers and a consistent history of multimillion-dollar projects.

3 – Employ Striking Graphics That Catch The Eye.

As it’s been said, a picture is worth 1,000 words; this is even more true of the COO resume, which must quickly tend to operational details – while remaining as concise as possible.

In this example of a COO resume, a colorful graphic outlining “Improvements in Cost, Performance, Revenue, and Safety” was placed on the front page to attract attention and showcase this COO’s leadership wins – displaying immediate value to the reader, while conserving words.

Since metrics are critical to the effectiveness of an executive resume, the text also includes quantifiable results that prove her ability to meet and exceed operational benchmarks.

In summary, COO resumes have come a long way from lists of manufacturing management duties, Board-level meetings, and sales team oversight.

Ensure your resume is on the cutting edge of today’s hiring trends (and stands a good chance of eclipsing your competition!) with graphic and storytelling elements that convey your brand powerfully and succinctly.

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- Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CPBA, TCCS, COPNS, CIC, CTTCC, NCOPE