4 BREAKTHROUGH Executive Resume Strategies to Avoid Being Overlooked

You know what’s the worst when you’re a job seeker? Constantly being overlooked for jobs where you’re CLEARLY qualified and a strong fit. This is where I see job seekers start to succumb to insecurity and hopelessness. And it breaks my heart…

This is where they also start to settle and go after lesser roles than they could and should be targeting. I don’t want to see that happen to you. You can make changes to your resume and prevent/avoid being overlooked.

𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬?

This is what I want to teach you today. Follow these four executive resume strategies, and you’ll avoid being overlooked and may even find yourself fielding offers left and right.

Here are the changes you’ll need to make:

Hook the reader from the first word.

Know what they need. Provide the bait that will hook them.

What is it about some resumes that make them so much more effective than others? 

A resume may have flawless grammar, perfect spelling, follow all the elements of style and possess a polished design, yet when it reaches the recruiter’s desk, it ends up in the virtual waste paper basket. At the same time, the one right beside it lands a quick call and an interview lined up for the next day. 

Why?

Resume writing is really not that different from fishing. You have to know what bait to use. Don’t offer the recruiter and hiring manager what you’ve been led to believe they may be looking for –  find out what they’ll bite on. How can you tie up what you have to offer (your skills and experience) with the bait you know they’ll bite?

The ultimate purpose of your resume comes down to this – the recruiter reading your resume wants to find the best fit for the role they’re trying to fill. You want the recruiter to call you for an interview. How can you position yourself on your resume to show the recruiter that you’re the best fit for the job and, in so doing, win yourself the interview?

Research. Research the company and the role. Then, outline how your skills and experiences align with what you researched about the company and the role. 

I recommend reviewing the job description and highlighting the hard skills included in it. This tells you what skills need to be included in your resume. 

Make a list of what experience is required for the role. Then go back to your resume and give that experience prominent placement. 

What did you find out about the company? Any particular values or culture fit they prioritize? Another point to connect the dots on. 

Each one of these areas is another hook that keeps them reading and cements in their mind that you’re the best fit. 

Reel them in with each section of content.

Now that you have your reader hooked because you did your research let’s move on to practical ways to implement the connections you’ve made into your resume. 

1. Include the target job title at the top of your resume. This communicates quickly and clearly the exact role you’re targeting and qualified for. 

2. Add three high-priority hard skills required for the role underneath the job title. Here, you’re connecting the dots between the skills required for the role and the skills you possess.

3. Seal the deal with an on-point personal branding statement. With your branding statement you’re adding additional evidence that you’re the right fit for the culture and values of the organization while also the type of person who delivers the results the company needs. 

Can the personal branding statement you wrote be applied to another job seeker who is vying for the same role? Erase it and try again. Your branding statement needs to be so you that no one else can say it about themselves. This means you cannot make general, sweeping statements. It must be specific. 

What do you do? Why do you do it? When? Where? For whom? How much? How many? How often?

All questions to help you make every single word of your personal branding statement dialed into who you are and what value you offer that is different and better than any other candidate on the market.

This section’s purpose is to keep them nodding their head as the wheels turn and they realize you are looking more and more like the person they need. 

Here’s an example of how we did this for Carlos when he was targeting a CEO role.

And here’s how this strategy looked when we worked with Jennifer, an RN:

One of my absolute favorite clients, Kristy, struggled to connect the dots between her experience and what her ideal employers wanted to see. My heart went out to her because she had this amazing experience as an HR executive, yet none of it was coming through on her resume. She’d been job searching for 4 weeks and had 0 interviews or responses. 

Something was wrong because if companies had understood the results she was creating, they would’ve been fighting tooth and nail over who would snatch her up first! 

When we revamped her resume with these strategies leading the way, the difference was night and day. Within five days, she had interviews with 4 of the 5 FAANG companies. She received offers from them all and ultimately decided on a VP role with Amazon. Her story does my heart good. I love seeing people land the roles they deserve. And you can, too.

Would you like to land your next role much faster? Schedule a free resume strategy to speak with us about our executive resume writing services. We’ll create a plan to help you land your next executive role in half the time. We have limited spaces available. Check to see if we have an opening, and book your call here: https://greatresumesfast.com/schedule. 

Keep them on the line (and reading your resume).

Use a career snapshot with specifics and quantifiable data. I am not a fan of a career summary because people think summary, and they automatically make those broad, sweeping statements that are so vague and boring they immediately lose the reader’s interest. That is not what we’re doing here. 

Write three to five lines that communicate the breadth and depth of your expertise, adding in keywords and skills. Even better if you bold those skills.

Include quantifiable data with each bullet. If you don’t have revenue generation or cost-savings results that’s OK. Answer other questions:

How much?

How many?

How often?

Don’t think in terms of dollar signs. Think in terms of everything else.

Oh, you led a team? How many people were on the team?

Did you create a program at work? How many people participated? How often did you meet?

How many people did you interact with?

How many clients did you serve? Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually?

There are so many different ways to add facts, figures, and metrics without ever having to be responsible for generating revenue.

Another warning here to avoid broad statements that could apply to other applicants.

Instead, be specific about the value that you can add to the company and how it aligns with their needs, and make sure you’re working on a few high-priority keywords.

Here’s an example of what it might look like to turn a generic career summary into a data-driven snapshot:

Marketing Director who crafts data-driven campaigns that yield ROI upwards of 250%. Spearheaded multi-channel strategies, enhancing brand visibility by 180% in competitive markets. Pioneered a content marketing shift, resulting in a 320% boost in organic web traffic.

Notable highlights:

• Market analysis: leveraging insights to pinpoint and act on emerging trends.
• Brand positioning: establishing market presence in new segments, leading to a 70% growth in customer base.
• Led cross-functional teams: consistently meeting project deadlines and reducing operational costs by 20%.

Use bold text to keep the recruiter reading, leading them from one sentence or bullet to the next. You’re keeping them on the line so you can complete the catch and bring in your haul (interviews).

Complete the catch.

Now, we need to close the deal and get them to pick up the phone and call you for the interview or shoot out that email. You can do that by adding powerful proof to your resume through facts, figures, quotes, testimonials, and/or recommendations.

Job seekers don’t realize that it’s OK to add quotes and testimonials to their resume, and it’s a powerful form of social proof. 

Hiring managers read the quote, though, and think, “Wow, if her last manager said that, then she must be really good.” or “We need someone who can do exactly the same thing for us!”

That is how you get multiple employers chasing you down for interviews and end up with multiple offers on your plate. 

Add all of four of these together, and hiring managers will jump at the chance to interview you. Your biggest problem won’t be being overlooked it will be deciding between offers. 

Would you like to land your next role much faster? Schedule a free resume strategy to speak with us about our executive resume writing services. We’ll create a plan to help you land your next executive role in half the time. We have limited spaces available. Check to see if we have an opening, and book your call here: https://greatresumesfast.com/schedule.