Still using a traditional resume?

Are you thinking about making a fresh start with your career? With the new year comes new resolutions, renewed interests and for some, a yearning to make a change. According to a recent Forbes article, “Despite evolving job search tactics, the traditional resume remains one of the most important tools in the job search toolbox.”
While locating, creating and applying to positions have never been more creative between various job boards and social media, a traditional resume is likely to be requested at some point during the hiring process. But just as the process to apply for a job has become more creative, traditional resumes have evolved as well.

Use these resume tips to modernize your executive resume in 2019:

  1. Customize Content: This is one of the most important modern resume strategies candidates can do to increase resume success. It doesn’t matter if a resume is read by a human or a machine, customizing details, results, facts, skills and keywords in the file is paramount to getting a resume processed through to the interview stage. If the reader is simply skimming, customization will help make specific skills and abilities stand out as they relate to the job at hand.
  2. Bring Value to the Forefront: Executive candidates should always infuse their resume with value and that value should be aligned with employer requirements. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to highlight the direct value in a proposition statement at the top of the resume. To succeed in this area, candidates must know themselves, their audience and know what matters.
  3. Proof of Success: In order to captivate a reader, executive resumes require more than just strong, tailored content. Proof of a candidate’s success is vital. In an executive resume, one must successfully prove their claims. Supporting evidence lies in measurable impacts, specific quantities and strong metrics generated during a career. Illustrating the how with concrete achievements or examples of success is what will help a resume to stand out.
  4. Lead with Results: As you are crafting your resume, remember to always lead with critical content and rich results from throughout your career. Leading with results also ensures the reader is spoon fed what they are really looking for immediately, without having to sift through long winded paragraphs or endless bullets. For example, if you have a measurable result to illustrate success, lead with that.

Be sure to visit our Candidate Resource page for more tips to assist with the executive job search.