The Résumé Studio Blog

I field 2-4 new business calls a day, mostly from mid-career to senior-level professionals and executives looking to quietly see what their future might hold if they nose around a bit.They’re heads of industry — movers and shakers — looking to move up, down, laterally. They’re looking to find meaning and they’re not sure how.

Related post: Why It’s Smart to Take Recruiter Calls

In nearly every instance, they express embarrassment about their out-of-date résumés. Understandable, since they’ve been busy doing the work, not nursing a résumé.

Almost to a head, they overlook six fundamentals by which they’ll be sought and measured in a job search:

1. Company size. A CEO building a startup is often cut from vastly different cloth than a CEO leading a $150B public company. By merely placing the size of companies on your résumé you quickly tell a huge part of your story.

Caveat: Don’t place company / revenue size if the data isn’t publicly known.

2. Team size. A CTO managing a team of three has a busy job, no doubt. But managing a matrixed team of 450+ engineers, developers, creatives, product managers, and marketers across five global locations is another ballgame entirely.

Tip: Showing team sizes as “up to 20” or “ranging X-Y” can help you strategically position yourself.

3. Geographic scope. A CFO managing a team and its productivity from a New York City loft is tough work, but a CFO navigating the risks and implications of international law and culture on three continents runs an entirely different ship.

Related post: Don’t hide your international experience.

4. Quantifiable outcomes. A CMO who demonstrates measured success, whether by real numbers or percentages, will sail ahead of the competition every time. Whether it’s gains in market share, revenue, clicks, eyeballs, or productivity—or cuts in overhead, time, resources, or some other measurement of success—most candidates have great metrics that they should include, but never do.

Warning: Never list proprietary information on your résumé. Additionally, be careful not to reveal publicly unflattering or potentially competitive metrics on your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is not a cut-and-paste from your résumé job.

5. Reporting relationships. It’s often hard to tell whether an organization is flat, matrixed, or somewhere in between. Listing reporting relationships on your résumé adds a layer of context for a seasoned hiring decision maker.

Aside: In cases where reporting relationships confuse or don’t boost the overall picture, leave them off. Just know that you may be asked.

6. Industry-specific metrics: Part of a CNO’s aptitude centers around the number of facilities s/he manages, and the number of beds at each location. Part of a CIOs matrix of aptitude revolves around market cap and portfolio size. Be sure to include the differentiating metrics that tie specifically to your industry.

Tip: If you’re changing industries, write your first résumé draft with industry information intact. It’ll be easier to write. When you’re done, scrub it of most industry-specific language, and write transferable skills in the language of your inbound industry. (As long as it’s not entirely opposing: development means very different things in varying industries, for examples. Do this task carefully.)

Until next time!

Jared Redick

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