You’ve made the decision. It’s time to pursue executive-level employment in a new industry and you need to refresh your executive resume to gain a competitive foothold despite changing directions.
To help hiring managers immediately see your value, here are 3 critical components to writing an executive resume (CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, CMOs, COOs, CICOs, etc.) when switching your focus to a new industry.
Align Relevant Leadership Experience With Targeted Role
Writing an executive resume that will help you successfully navigate a career change isn’t as difficult as it may sound. The key to updating an executive resume that will help propel you to the front of the interview list is showing a potential employer how your breadth of skills and wealth of experience align with and are of value to their situation.
What makes you the best candidate for the role?
One of the biggest mistakes DIY executive resume writers make is focusing their attention on their objective rather than on the employer’s needs.
To find the answer to what makes you the best candidate for the role you are seeking, you need to reverse-engineer your document —starting with identifying the specific role you are targeting and then reviewing job descriptions to source keywords + language used.
Focus Your Value on Employer’s Needs
Now that you have identified the skills employers covet for your targeted role, the next step is focusing on the value you bring to the table.
Make it easy for the reader to understand who you are and what you bring to the table.
What have you delivered in the past that will help your next employer? Place the focus on the results you’ve delivered and align those to similar outcomes your targeted employer would be looking for.
Shifting the focus from the responsibilities you held to what happens after is what employers need to see. The goal is to promote skills + qualifications beneficial to employers, providing them with a glimpse into why they should hire you.
Downplay Industry Jargon
Fluffing your executive resume up with terminology to impress isn’t the path to winning interviews.
Write for the layman and not the expert. The first gatekeeper may lack familiarity with abbreviations and acronyms; therefore, it is wise to forego including terminology that is not readily understood by the reader—not everyone will know that COPQ stands for ‘Cost of Poor Quality’ in the manufacturing industry. When in doubt, write it out.
Industry-specific jargon or terminology is expected when you are pursuing a highly specialized profession —technology, sciences, and medical fields come to mind.
When making the leap to a new career, your first inclination will probably be proving your candidacy through a long list of everything you’ve done throughout your executive career. This ‘jack-of-all-trades’ approach won’t help you transition into your next role faster. In fact, a more focused approach will thrust your career transition forward.
Quickly transitioning into a new industry all comes down to repackaging your skills, experience, and past successes into stories that will resonate with your target audience— making your value crystal clear, showcasing how you’re the right candidate for the role, and highlighting specific achievements and qualifications relevant to the position + industry you are transitioning to.
