Even if it doesn’t seem important to revise your executive level CV, it definitely matters in today’s world. Where newer formats, personal branding, and your online presence say a lot about your reach at the executive level.
It’s understandable that most executives are big picture-oriented given their positions held at a string of
So here are 5 tips to keep in mind when writing an executive-level CV:
1. Omit the objective statement.
With so many years of experience under your belt, it should be clear that you’re applying for a position because you’re seeking growth. It’s pretty obvious. Instead, be proactive and convey what you can do for the organisation using numbers to validate your claims.
For executives, objective statements offer little or nothing while the space can be used to capture an employer’s attention by addressing their pain points right from the get go.
2. Increase readability.
Employers or hiring managers don’t just use desktops to read candidate profiles anymore. Tiny screens play a larger role now. See how this has affected the website development industry, this applies to screening candidates as well.
For this reason, use more whitespace. Write concisely. Keep your paragraphs small. Use simple words that are easy to understand.
In making your CV easy to read, you can be sure that they continue until the bottom of the page.
3. Use the “real estate” on your executive-level CV wisely.
As you’ve heard several times over, recruiters only spend about 10 seconds when reading a CV. This is usually the topmost part of your CV. Make it worth their while. Get their attention by giving them what they need to hear. Omit redundant information and get right to the point of addressing their needs. Once you get their attention, you can be sure that they will be reading the entire CV with as much interest when they first started.
4. Keep the formatting simple.
It can be annoying to read a CV that has more than 2 fonts. Use one for the headers and the other for the body text.
Worse still, underlining text too often can be a real irritant as well. Keep this to a minimum. Spell check and proofread your CV for errors that might be embarrassing. Use short paragraphs.
Most of all, stick with a limit of 3 pages for your executive level CV and no more. Just make sure that you eliminate anything that distracts the reader from what you intend to convey.
5. Use active verbs and omit repetitive job descriptions.
Relevant industry keywords and strong verbs can make you appear competent and confident. Your executive-level CV should contain these. On every part of the page. Anything else comes off as passive and not reflecting what you’ve done accurately. With your level of experience or expertise. The words that you use should reflect your personal brand. It matters.
That said, it is important