Your Executive Resume. How Good is it . . . Really?
The Objective of Your Resume is to Get You an Interview.
It Does NOT Make the Sale!
Before we get into the resume subject, we need to make something clear. We don't like resumes. Why? We don't like them for a couple of reasons. First, they place you in a box . . . albeit a mental box of your own making. The resume personifies the "hat-in-hand" job application. Second, people (especially senior managers) tend to fill the resume up with every scrap of personal and work history they can cram into five pages. (Anything over two pages will probably work against you except where a curriculum vitae is required.) Third, they are frequently used by HR departments simply as quick, 15-second ways to eliminate candidates. That being said, we're realists. We accept the fact that you will have to build your Executive Resume. Hopefully, in this course we will convince you to use it strategically and sparingly. So, let's get on with it.
If you are seeking a new position with a company that pays over $100,000 a year, you absolutely need help with your executive resume. Unless you possess rare writing abilities and unusual knowledge of the human resources field (assuming it’s consistent in your industry), you are not likely to do as good a job on your resume as someone who writes executive resumes for a living. The more “senior” you are, the more important this advice is. CAUTION: An "executive resume" is not the same thing as a "standard resume!" Yes, you may have looked at many resumes yourself in your career -- and maybe even made hiring decisions based on a resume alone. But these jobs were not executive jobs! You (or your supervisors) were no doubt looking for specific skills . . . not necessarily leadership or management talent. The executive resume has a different role in the hiring process and is read differently. Hiring a resume writer with no executive resume writing experience, or using a resume template, may not produce the results you deserve. Your Executive Resume (which should be accompanied or preceded by a Letter of Introduction) is only designed to get you an interview. As such, the format and language should "tease" rather than educate.
Use the Power of Your Accomplishments to Open the Door to Interviews.
Make sure you use the appropriate "Career Success Headlines" (Accomplishments specifically selected to interest the recipient of your resume) that will pique the reader's interest and make him or her want to meet with you. If (as we strongly urge you to do) you have initiated the contact with a Letter of Introduction that included three or five of your appropriate Accomplishments, you have begun to whet the potential employer's appetite. By including another three or five different Accomplishments (but also appropriately targeted to their business) in your resume or Cover Letter, you are enhancing the positive impression of your potential for helping them meet their needs. Be prepared to talk to the whole story behind each Accomplishment when you get the interview.
Avoid Common Mistakes That Disqualify You.
So what are the common mistakes people make in writing their resume and what problems do they face that they may not be aware of? Let’s start with the obvious and most common problems . . . - Too much information that details a lot of boring history that is irrelevant
- Too many pages . . . anything over two pages better be a pertinent “addendum”
- Chronological listing, with no real benefits or “quantification” of successes on the job
- General, non-tailored information . . . The reality is that you need several versions of your executive resume, each tailored to the company and position you're seeking.
- Poor grammatical construction, misspellings, underlines, boldface uses, etc.
- Inappropriate graphic treatment . . . too many different type faces, colors, photos, etc.
- Sending an unsolicited resume . . . you may want to introduce yourself with a targeted cover letter and follow up with a resume once you know there is interest.
There’s more, but you get the idea. Your Executive Resume should be clean (not cluttered), easy to read and project the impression that there is more substance than puffery . . . that you are definitely someone worth meeting and talking with. What you may not know is what actually happens to your executive resume when it lands on a “screener’s” desk. If you’re responding to an ad, for example, your resume is competing with hundreds or even thousands of other submissions for attention. If you respond too quickly, you might just end up on the bottom of the pile. And, that’s not the worst of it.
Even Executive Resumes Are “Screened” by Junior Personnel.
Most resumes are “screened” by junior people who probably have only a vague notion of the real criteria on which candidates will be judged. They are given a list of things to look for and as they go through the “pile” they separate the resumes received into two groups . . . those that fit their understanding of the requirements and those that don’t. There are any number of things that can disqualify you in this” weeding out” process. Here are just a few of the disqualifiers: - Any mention of race, religion, marital status, health status, etc.
- Hobbies or outside organizational membership other than pertinent industry trade organizations and activities
- Some college names and/or college graduation dates.
Next, someone (hopefully a little more senior) goes through the surviving pile and creates a “top ten” and a backup group. Of course they will then determine which resumes go into the top ten pile and which ones stay in the reserve file colored by their own interpretation of what the job should entail . . . which is another problem. But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Besides, we’re not encouraging you to answer ads. Your executive resume must avoid these pitfalls. Following the executive job search methods outlined in detail in this website will result in a powerful resume that will prepare you for, and generate, strong interviews. If you haven’t already done so, focus your attention on building your Accomplishments Library. It’s the foundation of the entire executive job search system.
Keep reading works by others for additional perspective. And, since this will be an ongoing subject, you might want to subscribe to our RSS Feed for more suggestions on how to build the right resume for specific opportunities or needs. Documenting Accomplishments Accomplishments Worksheet One Accomplishments Worksheet Two Building Your Accomplishments Library Executive Resume Checklist The Biography Advantage
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