Resume Tips for Executives and Managers

Friday, September 28, 2007

CV Resume Tips for Executives and Managers

Source: Professional Resumes for Executives, Managers and Other Administrators, by David F. Noble, Ph.D

Business leaders have special resume needs.

One challenge in writing a resume for a manager or company officer is selecting—from an abundance of experience—the right information to display in a resume for that person's career goals, especially as seeming overqualified can be a handicap in a competitive job market.

Another legitimate concern in resume writing for executives is finding ways to play down a person's age while still calling attention to the individual's experience and achievements.

Company leaders not only have more experience but also tend to have multiple skills they have put to work in a range of roles. A person who is currently an entrepreneur as the owner and president of a new company, for example, might have been a regional-sales manager who was also a vice president and who started out in another field like engineering or accounting.

The key is to determine which experiences to emphasize and which to downplay—and what to exclude. Present only the most important information on one or two pages.

Fifteen resume tips for executives and managers:

1. If your resume has an objective statement, make it focused, interesting and unique so that it grabs the reader's attention.

2. If you can sell yourself better with some other kind of section, consider replacing the objective statement with a summary of qualifications, a profile or areas of expertise below the contact information.

3. A profile can replace an objective statement, but be sure to mention the job-search target in a subheading of the profile.

4. Writing a long qualification summary helps to position important information at the top of the first page.

5. Listing qualifications (or areas of expertise, or skills) in columns makes them easy to adjust when targeting a different job or industry.

6. Spend plenty of time determining how to present skills. You might present them under one or more of the following headlines: Areas of Expertise, Certifications, Computer Skills, Demonstrated Strengths, Key Skills, Leadership Abilities, Professional Capabilities, Specialties, Technical Proficiency/Certification or Technical Skills.

7. In the experience section, state achievements, not just duties or responsibilities.

8. In the experience section and for each position held, consider explaining responsibilities in a brief paragraph and using bullets to point for achievements.

9. When you indicate achievements, try boldfacing them, quantifying them or providing a separate heading for them.

10. When skills, abilities and qualifications are varied, group them according to categories for easier comprehension.

11. To tell something about a company where you have worked, try explaining the company name.

12. Group positions to avoid repetition in a description of duties.

13. Play up experience and on-the-job training to offset a lack of higher education.

14. If age is a problem and you want to show you are in good health, consider providing a personal section at the end of the resume with your outside activities and interests.

15. Providing contact information again at the end of a resume makes it easier for the reader to phone the applicant.