How to write a powerhouse executive resume!

Top decision-makers in business often can't stop agonizing over how to write their executive resume.

They make multi-million dollar decisions easily and solve a myriad of difficult business problems but capturing their story is difficult.

Determine if it is time to hire an executive resume writer

This is changing with the advent of LinkedIn and the visibility of resume writers but largely the career industry is unknown. Yes, some people never even realize there are professionals who offer the service.

To be fair, this isn't just true of executives. Many job seekers struggle with investing in resume writing services.

In the executive market, investment is usually an easy decision. The hard decision is realizing they no longer can do it alone or that they need professional help in today's market.

When did the market shift?

Executives struggle with why they even need a resume when most of the time, someone headhunted them for the next job.

They start to think that it is them. Maybe they lost their touch. Maybe they don't have value anymore.

What changed? Today's job search has many more players. LinkedIn opened the door to visibility for millions, some of whom would have escaped notice without the online opportunity to showcase your value

Should you choose someone to write your executive resume?

While writing an executive resume isn't impossible for those in leadership roles, the nuances of how to do it correctly are confusing with a myriad of resources, some giving contrary information.

A caller shared that she needed a sleeker resume with keywords. It is true you need to inject keywords in your resume but they must be the right ones. The keywords you need have to correlate with your skill sets as well as your job target.

When I inquired about what she meant by sleeker, she said that she thought all resumes should be one page.

How long should an executive resume be?

The resumes I write are usually two to three pages long but they capture much more in-depth information. The key to every resume I write is capturing the accomplishments and the value a person brings.

Executive resume writers are trained to distinguish executive traits and resume stories from the stories of middle managers or entry-level workers.

The executive resume must capture stories succinctly

 Illustrate the high-level decision-making and skillsets. Examples:

• Revenue Growth – Built $950 million global consumer business, increasing profit by 57%.
• Business Start-up – Developed and executed with CEO strategy and plan operational and financial for a direct selling CPG start-up ­– outstanding test results with unique supply chain innovation cycle time – 14 weeks or less to bring new products to market.
• Product Architecture – Redesigned fundamental architecture of the business, Product Architecture, to categorize products by basic features, which became the company's Product Bible.
• Innovative Financial Management – Instituted arbitrage program to earn income on idle $170M line of credit. Implemented balance sheet and loan sale hedging programs, reducing risk and enhancing returns.
• Operations Strategy – Simplified operations, generating $30+ million, and increased customer service levels from 65% to 96%.
• Risk Management – Led compliance team to protect company’s and customer’s interest and value by understanding compliance, identifying risk, and clarifying potential consequences. Drove leadership through crisis management to present a thorough and well-thought-out solution.

The resume isn't the only job search tool you need today

I translate your resume stories to compelling content for your LinkedIn profile, cover letters, executive bios, and career marketing materials.

Experience my interactive coaching and writing using Zoom's video technology in one-on-one meetings throughout your project. This process is unique to me.

I don't know of any other resume writer who delivers the whole project with the client participating in sessions. This allows you to ask your questions, contribute your feedback to me as we write. You see everything develop in real-time. Learn more.