Resume Mistakes to Avoid When Eyeing C-Level Positions
Author Bio
M Farrukh Iqbal is an IBA Alumnus and works for www.CVWritersPakistan.com. He specializes in digital marketing, search engine optimization, website optimization of results, and formulation as well as execution of result-driven marketing strategies. You can reach him at mfarrukhiqbal1@gmail.com.
Moving up the career ladder in this feverishly contested corporate world is challenging, to say the least. In an atmosphere, where every little detail counts, making basic mistakes can cost you your dream job. Needless to say, that your journey into the corporate realm of the higher-ups is filled with a lot of mysticism, stress, and personal as well as family time sacrifices.
So, without any more background bashing, let's cut to the chase and understand what these mistakes are and how avoiding them can drastically increase your chances of getting a leadership position in an esteemed organization.
Being Too Emotional About All Achievements
The real estate on your Resume is too precious. Executive Recruiters won't spend an extra second if they find out that you have filled your CV to the brink with too much to sort out. When adding an accomplishment, ask this question to yourself, "Will this career highlight help improve my chances of getting a job?". If the answer is a resounding "Yes", add that piece of info, else leave it out. Instead of adding a useless piece of info, add something that would increase your chances of getting a job.
Not Using Relevant Industry Keywords
Modern Executive Recruiters often rely on ATS or Application Tracking Systems to sort out candidates. So, a lot of the Resumes don't even get shortlisted by the computer software. With increasing focus on the use of Artificial Intelligence in hiring, you don't want to miss out on the initial screening by the machine. Make sure that your Resume contains all the relevant and important industry keywords that an Executive Recruiter may use to search you through the available database of candidates.
A Mismatch of Information Between Your LinkedIn Profile and Your Resume
With around 600 million LinkedIn users worldwide and around an estimated 2 million in Pakistan, there is no way you can miss the world's biggest professional network. Just having a LinkedIn profile won't help. Make sure that it is updated and the information on it matches that on your Resume. If that is not the case, you are increasing your chances of getting overlooked. Also, with ever-evolving algorithms governing the LinkedIn search, an updated profile significantly increases your chances of showing up in Recruiters' searches and your profile becomes more discoverable.
Not Being Able to Showcase Your Personal Brand and Leadership Style
Leadership positions are way more than job descriptions and highlights. You need to ensure that you are focusing on the personal branding aspect. C-Level Executives are not just scrutinized for their career accomplishments but also assessed on their ability to make a difference, lead from the front, and inspire others to outperform. If you had a chance to read "What Makes a Leader?", by Harvard Business Review, you would know the different leadership styles like, "Coercive", "Authoritative", "Affiliative", "Democratic", "Pacesetting", and "Coaching", that every organization runs with a certain culture of its own. Thus, your Resume should help the potential employer find a balance between the type of leadership style that you follow and the kind they would welcome. Secondly, your Resume must reflect the fact that you have accomplished results using that particular leadership style in the past and can do the same for any future organization that you would like to consider working with.
Basic Formatting and Structural Issues
Believe it or not, structural issues do exist all the time like too much spacing, use of too many font families, or being inconsistent with the style on the Resume's different pages or sections. This lack of discipline to showcase the information in a somewhat similar manner makes reading your Resume difficult and often vexing for the readers. Ensure that the ebb and flow is such that it is easy on the eyes to read and helps you leave a great first impression.
Lack of a Clear Title on the Top
When you are targeting a job, you must be confident enough to put it on the top where you want to communicate your targeted job. If you fail to put the "targeted job title", it shows a lack of confidence and allows the potential employer to consider giving you a less-than-desirable position. It gives them extra leverage over your ability to negotiate your salary and a senior leadership position in the organization. Therefore, ensure that your Resume from the top clearly communicates the type of position you would be interested in.
Don't leave your Executive Level Resume to the mercy of the circumstances. Optimize every single detail which would better your chances of getting shortlisted and invited for a job interview. Else, you would risk giving up this position for someone whose Resume and LinkedIn profile are better equipped to instill the Executive Recruiters' confidence in their ability to deliver in a challenging C-Level position.