Recruiters in search of their next executive-level candidate have high expectations. They are looking for someone who can make an impact and add real value to the business. With that in mind, you need to successfully prove that you’ve got what it takes.
Your CV is your first opportunity to impress them, so an entry-level application won’t cut it.
As you enter the executive job market, your CV needs to reflect not only your skills and experience but also your expertise and achievements.
Here are five key enhancements you can make to your CV to help you navigate the executive job market and secure your next exciting role.
Level up your skills
It’s time to go through your CV and remove entry-level skills and cliché phrases that no longer add value to your executive application.
Recruiters will assume that you have the basic skills as you’re applying for a more senior role, so don’t waste pressure space on simple transferable skills. Instead, emphasise core competencies that reinforce your suitability for an executive position.
For example, skills like team leadership, strategic planning, change management, decision-making and business development.
Of course, you should also do your best to match your executive skills to those listed on the job description as this will enable the recruiter to quickly determine that you’re a good match for the job.
Communicate your unique value
Before you begin writing your CV, take some time to think about what makes you stand out from other candidates; what you would consider your unique selling point (USP)? Once you know what it is that makes you special, you can market yourself more effectively on your application.
This enables you to build your personal brand and through keywords, facts and figures, you can communicate your unique value.
Start doing this right away in your personal profile, outline the experience or achievements that are most impressive. You can then build on this in your employment history.
Identifying your USP and focusing on this throughout can help you to stand out in a competitive job market and prove your executive-level competencies.
Your executive CV needs to reflect your skills, experience, expertise and achievements.
Prove that your impact with results
It’s not enough to merely list your daily responsibilities, instead, your executive CV needs to prove that you can deliver results. You can do this by providing examples of achievements from your past roles and quantifying these wherever possible.
For example, you might have increases productivity by 25% within 6 months, or maybe you reduced department spending by £10,000 per month.
Whatever results you’ve achieved in each role, make sure you highlight them clearly to ensure that you prove the return on investment that a company will make from hiring you.
Add professional affiliations and credentials
As you grow and develop in your career, it’s likely that you’ll start adding professional affiliations, memberships and industry associations to your name.
So, as you update your CV, make sure to include information about these affiliations, for example, The Chartered Institute for IT or CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma.
These can help to show your professional development and credentials, as well as your dedication and involvement in your industry. This can also help you to stand out from other candidates, as roles become more competitive at an executive level.
If your professional credentials are particularly relevant, you might wish to put them alongside your name at the top of your CV or mention them in your profile.
Otherwise, you can include these in your employment section or even create a dedicated section for affiliations and memberships. But only do this if you have space.
Rethink your format and structure
Finally, in the early stages of your career, your CV might have been just a page long and it’s likely that you placed more focus on your education, hobbies or interests.
But at an executive level, your CV format should be two pages long, placing more focus on your experience and achievements in past roles. It also needs to be professional and polished and most importantly, easy to read.
Avoid choosing a design that is too colourful or ‘quirky’ and make sure you use a clean, easy-to-read font. You should also improve readability by utilising headings, sub-headings and bullet points, making it easier for the hiring manager to scan through and find the key information. And with 70% of businesses using ATS to filter out unsuitable CVs, be sure that relevant keywords are easy to spot for both robots and humans.
If you follow these steps to enhance your executive CV, you can increase your chances of standing out from the competition.
By choosing your content, keywords and power verbs carefully, you can showcase your unique value and effectively demonstrate your executive skillset, improving your chances of securing an interview.