All executives (at least all that I know) want to show that they can come into a company, break everything down and make it faster, better, stronger and leaner. They want to convince you that they will lead your company into the next level of performance efficiency and innovation because…well, they are executives and they’ve been fixing things for years, right? Uhm, so why are all Executive Resumes bloated and inefficient?
Executive Resumes all look the same really- the name prominently displayed (with a huge – really huge font) followed by a “Professional Summary” the usually begins “An exceptional Leader with 25 years of experience of highly effective, cross functional leadership abilities…” yada, yada, yada. And that’s usually followed by a “Core Strengths” section chocked full of every buzzword imaginable, for instance:
Employee Engagement Strategic Planning
Workforce Management Talent Management
Mergers Organizational Change
Infrastructure Strategic Partnerships
Executive Execution (I’ve actually seen it)
Executives should be able to do all those things however anyone can Google “Executive Resumes” and then load their resumes, CV’s, cover letter, websites, biographies and LinkedIn profiles with all kinds of words. While talking with some of the Recruiters and Head Hunters in my network of thousands, they all say the same thing; “Executive resumes just aren’t attractive or eye-catching.” By eye-catching they are not referencing gimmicks or pictures; they are talking about a visually stimulating design with clear and concise content.
There is a new Executive Resume in town – and it’s streamlined- lean, sexy and totally relevant.
Do you want to impress Headhunters, Recruiters and Hiring Authorities? Then you need to cut through the belabored adverbs and adjectives and just tell them how you have added value in the past and how you intend to add value to their company in the future.
It’s alright to have a number of specialties and accomplishments however, instead hiring someone to stretch the margins of your resume and add a bunch of words; consider hiring someone who will apply the lean process to your credentials. Time is money; Headhunters and Recruiters don’t have time to filter through all of that rhetoric to figure out if you are the right one for the job - remember they have a bunch of traditional Executive resumes to scan through.
Where is it written that an Executive Resume has to be verbose and loquacious?
The ultra-talented and experienced individual does not need a per ponderous of color language as evidence of skill; they simply need to show accomplishments. Illustrate your value by describing how much money you have saved or generated; how you’ve analyzed and redesigned processes making them more efficient and engaging, while maximizing the talents of the workforce. And sure, you can mention the awards that you’ve received and the ones awarded to the company under your leadership – you have to blow your own horn a bit.
Now wrap that up in an aesthetically pleasing package and you have the NEW EXECUTIVE RESUME.
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