Sleep, glorious sleep...the quiet sedate area where my parents live gives me plenty of excuses to catch up on sleep...and I have been taking full advantage this weekend:)
I hope it is all coming together for you...by now, we are halfway through our career success series. If you have been diligent about following the exercises, you would have shed past career mistakes, be feeling very confident about your life/career achievements, and have clarity around your personal brand.
So what do you do with all this great wealth of personal insight?
Let's find out...on the sixth day of the holidays, my career coach said to me:
Create a standout resume
The best way to centralize your value proposition and unique strengths is in a well-written, compelling resume. Understand that the resume is the first step and can serve as a foundation for other career marketing documents.
Here are some tried-and-true resume strategies to consider
A. Do You Have Target Position(s) In Mind
No matter how well you present your career background, if you are not keeping the employer's needs in mind, you are creating a useless document.
- Only include relevant experience, qualifications, education, training and projects that position you for your target position.
If you are targeting senior-level marketing positions then your entire resume should only speak to that - the fact that you have a real estate license and a Master in Social Work is commendable, but not relevant.
B. Is Your Resume Profile Appealing?
In these days of electronic and technology-based communications, an employer or recruiter can be viewing your resume through a Blackberry, iPad or Palm Pilot.
Make sure that the top third of your executive resume really stands out with a clear title header, personal branding statement and powerful summary that speaks your VALUE to employers.
C. Does Your Resume Have Breathing Room?
Please, please, please do not try to squeeze 15+ years of progressive leadership experience and achievements onto one page. A two-page resume is acceptable and even expected when you are senior-level professional.
- Prioritize the content for your executive resume according to your target position and that would help you create a balanced document.
- Give preference to the positions and career achievements that you have build in the past 15 - 20 years and summarize any early experience in a paragraph
- Place education, training and certifications on the first page if they are critical requirementsfor the position. For example, a project manager should list PMP certification next to his/her name or senior auditor would indicate his/her CPA designation right up front.
- Do not be emotionally tied to any aspect of your career or accomplishments, if it is not RELEVANT or ESSENTIAL to your career goals and target company, leave it off the resume.
D. Is Your Resume Showing More Achievements And Less Tasks
Don't bore readers with a laundry list of your tasks and responsibilities instead focus on your achievements and how you have impacted a company's growth.
- Use bullets to draw quick attention to key defining achievements and limit five achievements for each position going back to about 15 years.
Remember, the executive resume is simply the key that opens the door for further in-depth conversation, but it still has to compelling enough to warrant a phone call or a closer look.
Related posts:
Day 1: Conduct an honest self-assessment
Day 2: Say goodbye to career mistakes and disappointments
Day 3: Jump start your long lost career dreams
Day 4: Take credit for your life and career achievements
Day 5: Identify and promote your personal brand
About Abby, Executive Career Architect, Job Search Expert, Master Resume Writer
Ask yourself these questions:
-- Does your executive resume accurately describe your management style and leadership capabilities?
-- Is your executive resume rich with compelling Challenge-Action-Results success stories that indicate your value contribution?
-- Does your executive resume convey enthusiasm or energy motivating employers to contact you?
-- Has your executive resume been generating a stream of employer responses for the right jobs?
If you have answered no to any of these questions, you should be talking to Abby Locke. She is an executive resume writer helps senior-level executives to achieve career success through cutting-edge, brand-focused career documents and proactive career management strategies.
Her distinctive executive resume samples have been published in 13 national career publications. Have you seen our holiday specials?
