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.
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