Top 3 Executive Resume Mistakes

Applying for an executive position internally and externally can be a challenging task. The job market is stiff, and there are more qualified candidates out there. Since you have been searching for this kind of job for quite a while, maybe this is the right time to re-evaluate your application, career tools, and even yourself. Why? Because the job itself is worth applying for, according to The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or BLS, the job viewpoint for top executives will grow by up to 8% from 2016 to 2026. It's as fast as other jobs and adds about 193,100 new ones into the market.

In addition to that, the average salary of an executive is around  $104,980 per year and $50.47 per hour. you are indeed in tight competition.
 
In preparation for this challenging race, you have to equip yourself with the best executive resume to stand out among others. However, when was the last time you update your career tools? Is your resume properly highlighting your accomplishments? How about your skills? Do you know how to differentiate your hard and soft skills?
 
This blog will discuss and determine the top three mistakes (that you might not be aware of) in writing an executive resume.
 
Using the wrong format
 
No sign why you're not getting a call in most of your applications? Are your skills not sufficient? Or do they just disregard your resume because it doesn't look appealing?
 
Well, don't worry, you're not alone; these difficulties and more leave candidates intimidated and tired. But little do you know that a crucial factor is how you write your resume. Many job seekers suffer the same issues of landing a job today, even for middle management posts. More so if you're going for upper-level positions such as an executive manager.
 
The first thing that you have to prepare in applying for an executive position is your resume or curriculum vitae. An executive position requires an executive resume, and here's how you can write a powerful one.

• Highlight the right skills tailored to the targeted position.
• Stuff your executive resume with powerful keywords scannable by ATS 
• Utilize the appropriate layout that conveys your skills and expertise as a professional
• Make it clean, accurate, concise, and simple while highlighting only the relevant details

 
Not focusing on quantifiable results
 
The primary purpose of an executive resume is to get your foot on the door and set you apart from others. To do this, you have to ensure that your document communicates who you are and what you can do. How? By highlighting your key accomplishments and career benchmarks. These are the projects you accomplished, processes that you streamlined, and initiatives that you implemented that significantly impacted the whole organization.
 
While it's enticing to keep all the pleasing characteristics written in your resume, you should focus more on your business and financial impact. You can do this by demonstrating figures and quantitative results. Further, you can make a "Notable Accomplishments" subsection for each job you've held. Emphasize the most striking outcomes, so your target readers will discover them immediately.
 
You can find various executive resume templates and sample executive resumes online. However, it is better to prepare your resume customized to the aimed jobs.
 
Lack of a personal brand across all documents and LinkedIn
 
Professional skills are our assets in our job search journey; it is part of our brand, our story. To effectively convey a unique identity and clear value to potential employers or clients, try to revisit your personal goals, continuously evaluate yourself, and identify ways to enhance your skills, including asking the right questions: Which areas of work do I excel? What is my motivation? In addition to that, understanding your existing skills and competencies while aligning them with the current trends and market needs will also help you. By doing this, you’ll uncover the skills and traits that will make you distinct and the areas where you need improvement, thus identifying the next industry or career you want to break in.
 
Once discovering the right skills and expertise that you want to highlight, integrate these into all of your documents, especially your executive resume and LinkedIn, so that employers can easily find you during their search. Examples of the top skills for executive management are strategic planning, staff supervision, budget planning, relationship building, project management, marketing management, and contract negotiation.
 
Here at The Resume Fix, we have experts who prepare resumes with the appropriate format and language, custom-made for the job you’re after. What's more, more than your skills and credentials, we realize that how you write your resume is additionally a significant factor in whether you will land that position or not. We incorporate subtleties based on your most pertinent abilities to move beyond any ATS and reinforce your resume overall.
 
​To learn more about executive resumes, schedule a call today to speak with one of our career experts. 
 
(P.S. Tired of spinning your wheels with your career? If you're ready to turn your resume into a hard-hitting marketing tool then take our FREE resume quiz today to see exactly which services are right for you!