The Résumé Studio Blog

A lot of my résumé writing time is spent culling “scope of work” metrics that define the capacity of my clients to tackle new jobs.

Perhaps the quickest way to understand the importance of presenting your own scope of work is to do a bit of role playing.

Imagine that you’re a recruiter.

You’ve been asked to find the ideal candidate in a global search. You’ll be paid thirty percent of that candidate’s $375K first year salary, so there’s no room for failure. The candidate will have to manage a $30B division of a $100B medical device company. That division has 12,000 employees in Europe, Asia, and the U.S.

Would you dream of looking for and presenting your client with a candidate who has managed, at most, a local $20M shop with 200 employees? 

No.

A $20M company is impressive. But you’d never make the match because the business strategies, regulatory complexities, potential risks, operational challenges, and so on, are apples and oranges in comparison.

By mid-career, you’ve got to understand this principle to really leverage your own career direction.

Interested in helping a recruiter imagine you for his or her client’s company?

Fill in these management metrics:

1. The largest budget / volume I’ve managed is: $____. (Can include type, if important, e.g., revenue, development, expense, all agency, etc.)
2. The largest team I’ve managed is: ____. (Can include direct, indirect, functional, and matrixed reporting relationships. Can also present as a range, smallest to largest, X-X.)
3. The companies I’ve worked for have ranged in size from $___ to $___. (Can say X-X or up to X, depending on your career direction and job search strategy.)
4. Those companies ranked ____. (Can pull from Fortune 500, Fortune 50, start-up, top-tier, Lipper Rating … whatever benchmark is used to measure the organization’s size and place in the world.)

Now write your résumé‘s executive summary around these top-level distinctions.

You’ll develop an executive summary that:

• Qualifies you for the right opportunities
• Speaks in your absence
• Lets recruiters imagine your next realistic professional role
• Sets you apart from a majority of peer candidates

Give it a whirl and see if you don’t get an uptick in your résumé’s conversion rate.

Until next time!

Jared Redick
Visit: The Resume Studio.com
Follow: @TheResumeStudio
Connect: LinkedIn.com/in/jaredredick
Call: 415-397-6640

Filed under: About Recruiters, Job Search Tips, Resume Updates, Resume Writing | Tagged: executive job search, executive summary, how to quantify career accomplishments, job search tips, understand recruiters |