Hiring managers and recruiters know what skills they’re looking for when scouting for a candidate to fill an executive level position. It’s for this very reason why they only take a few seconds to decide whether to read through an executive CV or move on to the next.
Add the fact that there aren’t too many executive level positions being advertised and the competition is among job seekers. That’s why it’s crucial to carefully craft your executive CV so that it accurately presents your experience and expertise. Otherwise, you’ll get lost in the crowd.
If you’re planning to apply for a senior-level or executive level position, here are four tips to improve your executive CV:
1. Let your brand shine in your executive CV.
Hiring managers and recruiters aren’t just focused on your experience and expertise. They also want to see if you have the right personality for their culture.
Being able to transfer your personality to paper is a difficult task and can take time. However, it will be worth it because you’ll give them a more holistic insight into what you can provide them.
2. Make your Unique Selling Point (USP) clear.
This is crucial because your Unique Selling Point (USP) is what makes you stand out from other applicants. At the same time, your USP highlights what you believe will make you the best candidate for the job.
If you’re not sure what you can consider as your USP, here are some questions to guide you:
- What motivates you?
- What qualities differentiate you from other management professionals with a similar track record?
- What’s your vision as a management professional?
- What are the themes that have brought success in your career so far?
3. Don’t include everything in your executive CV.
Instead of filling each CV page with detailed work experience information, leave them wanting more.
Keep it short. Include a few bullet points for your responsibilities and accomplishments.
For executives that are very much into details, this can be difficult. Nevertheless, keeping your CV concise and straightforward helps make the details in your CV easy to understand. Remember, recruiters and hiring managers will only spend a few seconds on your documents, so make every word count.
4. Write like a copywriter.
A good copywriter is not only able to quickly grab the attention of their audience but also encourage them to keep on reading.
In the same manner, you need to make sure that you’re able to encourage a recruiter or hiring manager take a little more time to review your CV. More important, you need to be able to end this on a high note so that they would be convinced that you’re worth inviting for an interview.
