When it comes to writing an executive resume, one point that makes it particularly challenging is realizing that you have an extensive experience to show to employers, but space is not enough. In many cases, applicants just add this information as to make sure potential employers have seen the full package.
Surely, you can go ahead and share all of your achievements, letting employers know you are the right candidate. At the same time, if your resume is a long read, your great qualifications may not get the attention you want them to. It is thus important to make sure the resume you write is well written and will be read. Here is how you can go about this.
1. Come up with a Headline
The headline you create is a good way to ensure you catch the attention of employers who are reading your resume. The headline should define who you are much like products are defined by product names. This section is normally one to two sentences, serving to explain how you will contribute to the company and why it is you who should be hired.
2. Make use of Bullet Points
It may seem to you that the use of paragraphs is a good way to present and highlight your accomplishments. However, because of their dense nature, hiring managers find it difficult to read through them and spot the information they need. To avoid this, you may want to turn one or more paragraphs of your resume into bullet points. This will help fine tune your resume, making it easier for hiring managers to navigate easily through it.
3. Use Italicized and Bold Text for an Added Emphasis
If you want to emphasize a statement or a word, making it stand out, why not incorporate italicized or bold text in your resume? With the help of such formatting tools, you will manage to make the text pop. It will guide the reader when moving his eyes through the text.
It is important not to over-format the text of your resume. Pick a couple of statements and words that show your qualifications and format them.
4. Summarize Your Career Experience, Highlighting Your Expertise
Rather than making the manager dig into your executive resume, looking for your background and expertise, you may want to organize these details into separate sections. This will help the manager find the information they need rather than dig for every detail into the job summary.
5. Come up with a Mobile-Friendly Version
While it is true that today’s smartphones make it easy to read emails, much like reading them on your computer, you may think of creating a mobile-friendly version of the resume, making it easy to read it on a smaller screen. One idea is to prepare a text version and post it into an email directly. It will not look strange when employers have it reformatted as to read it. If the manager does not have enough time to open the attachment you have sent, you can use this text as a backup version.
It is very important to create an easy to read resume, as much as it is to create good content. So, put some effort and time into formatting a document hiring managers will love.
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