No matter how fantastic your executive career has been, no-one will read your four-page resume
The last few days have been quite an adventure for many residents in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The raging storm that hit our area last Friday has left thousands without power and I am very grateful that in the middle of this unbearable heat wave, I still have electricity and AC.
Since summer has officially started, I have noticed a significant decrease in my appetite and have been “forcing” myself to eat small meals so my body would not get dehydrated and depleted. It made me think about perils of both overeating and undereating and of course, I had to find a way to connect it to career management.
A few months ago, I had an amusing conversation with a potential client who had a four-page executive resume, insisted she wanted it to keep it that long, but wanted a resume writer’s special touch. Whenever I suggested that we cut the resume length, she was resistant and adamant that the resume was fine and only needed a little tweaking.
Sigh…no a four-page resume is not fine. No matter how amazing and fantastic your executive career has been, no-one and I mean no-one wants to read your four-page, gorilla resume.
Always remember that a great executive resume is like having a powerful “press release” for your career background, expertise, credentials and value proposition. When you get into the interview, you can give them more of the “nuts and bolts” of why you are the right fit and how you can best support their long-term growth objectives (of course, your executive resume should touch upon these points as well)
So let’s get these critical resume strategies in your head:
1) Your executive resume is the document that will open doors for interviews, but not substitute the actual interview
2) Your executive resume will focus on the more recent and most relevant career information that is directly related to your job search target
3) Your executive resume should get employers and recruiters excited and interested in talking with you further
4) Your executive resume should have tons of career accomplishments and quantifiable results that highlight how well you have done the job and not just your job tasks and responsibilities
5) Your executive resume is one of many career marketing documents that you will need to execute an effective job search in 2012.
Got it, now? Great…now go have a wonderful July 4th holiday!
