If your answer is between 6 and 8 seconds, you’re correct. The latest research says recruiters spend that time reviewing a CV before they decide if it’s worth considering.
That’s why it’s critical to seek professional guidance and mentorship to help you ace your resume and any subsequent interviews. MentorCruise empowers you with actionable career advice to master the art of CV writing.
In this article, we’ll dig deeper into how you can build an attention-grabbing executive director resume to land your dream job. Let’s start with the basics.
Essential Executive Director Resume Elements
As you build your executive director CV to advance your career, consider the following critical features:
Contact Section
Your details, such as your first and last name, email, phone number, and address, should appear at the top of your resume. If you’d rather not disclose your exact address, you can include your current city and state instead.
If the role requires it (or you want to show off a little), you can also include a link to your website, blog, or social media handles. This can help prospective employers find out more about you.
Thus, they can determine if you would make a good fit in their company culture before inviting you to an interview.
Work Experience
Recruiters want to see if you’re the perfect candidate for the job by looking at your experience. So be sure to include detailed information regarding your employment history.
Ensure that the work experience you list is relevant to the vacancy you’re applying for. Remember that hiring managers want to check if your competence matches the job description.
For example, the following skills are relevant for an executive director position:
Knowledge of performance standards for finance-related activities
Demonstrated experience developing and implementing financial strategies
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Proven familiarity with regulatory and business best practices
Strategic thinking and analytical abilities
Education
Another vital element you must include in your resume is your educational background. Add this information at the bottom of your CV to make it visible to hiring managers and recruiters.
State your degree and the name of the institution from which you graduated. It’s also a great idea to indicate if you passed with honors.
Skills
Your abilities are the most vital aspects of your executive director resume that recruiters analyze. You should include soft and hard skills in your document.
Ensure your expertise is at the top of the resume, immediately below your name. That’s because you want to draw the recruitment manager’s attention to the crucial part of your CV.
Based on the vacancy details, highlight the essential skills.
In our example below, we’re building a resume for an executive director. Our application form will have skills like strategic planning, leadership, risk management, etc.
Certifications/Awards
Display your awards in chronological order if you received them in recognition of your accomplishments. Also, you may include the publications you have written, languages you speak, or computer skills you possess.
Executive Director Resume Example
Craig Williams
Address: 3975 Smith Road, Marietta, GA
Phone number: 770-937-8149; Email address: [email protected] LinkedIn
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Public Speaking ~ Financial Management ~ Strategic Planning ~ Risk Management
Staff Training and Development ~ Community Relations ~ Fund Raising
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Goal-oriented, a thought leader, and an enthusiastic professional with over 10 years of unparalleled leadership experience in corporate businesses. Developed turnaround strategies for several Fortune 500 companies, designed and implemented business plans in various managerial portfolios, improved organizational efficiency through staff and training development, and was honored as a results-oriented, effective, strategic, and analytical thinker.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
DAYSTAR TECHNOLOGIES, Lancaster, CA
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jan 2018- Present
Lead in product innovation and development, ensuring DAYSTAR TECHNOLOGIES supplies customer-based products.
Extended international market share by 15% by creating and implementing the company’s 5-year strategic goals.
Enhanced California’s drug rehabilitation programs by raising and donating $1M to two non-profit organizations, as part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility.
DELTA AGRIC, Lancaster, CA
INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Feb 2014-December 2017
Lowered churn rate by 10% and doubled sales of fertilizers by 20% per annum by developing and executing a 2-year turnaround strategy.
Expanded market share by 10% by innovating and launching three emerging agricultural technologies for small-scale farmers
Tripled web traffic by 6% yearly by revamping the marketing strategy by outsourcing digital marketing services.
OAK INSURANCE, Southfield, Michigan
MANAGING DIRECTOR APRIL 2012 -JAN 2014
Doubled sales by 25% by designing and launching five car insurance plans, aligning them with customer needs.
Increased our market share by 8% by expanding the customer base by opening three branches in Southfield.
Enhanced productivity by 15% by empowering 50 sales personnel with closing strategies through coaching.
EARLIER CAREER
NORTHBOUND RETAIL, Southfield, Michigan
FOUNDER/DIRECTOR
___________________________________________________________________
ABC FINANCIAL SERVICES, Shoreview, Minnesota
BRANCH MANAGER
_________________________________________________________________________
EDUCATION
MBA: Management
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY (2009-2010)
___________________________________________________________________
AWARDS
MANAGER OF THE YEAR (MICHIGAN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION): 2017
_________________________________________________________________________
Use the above example to inspire your CV creation. Download this Microsoft executive director template to create your resume. Customize it to suit the specific job description.
Tips to Create an Executive Director Resume
What makes a good resume? The following ideas can help you create a magnetic executive director CV that hiring managers will love.
Adapt the STAR Method to Your Resume.
The STAR approach stands for situation, task, action, and results. While it’s mostly used in interviews to answer behavioral questions, you can adapt it for use in your resume too!
Let’s break it down.
Situation: Highlight your competencies in the first part of your resume to grab the recruiter’s attention. Indicate those skills that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.
Task: Talk about specific tasks you completed to solve a problem or achieve business objectives.
Action: Indicate the steps you took to carry out the tasks.
Results: List your accomplishments in terms of KPIs, such as revenue, etc. The example below will show you how to describe your statistics to explain your successes.
Pick the Right Resume Format.
How your resume looks is critical because you should leave the hiring managers with a positive impression. Choose a resume format that is easy to read and captures your information concisely.
List your work experience in chronological order, beginning from your current job to your first employment. It helps employers follow your employment history.
Make Your Contact Information Easy to Find.
Don’t forget to indicate your email address, city, state, name, and phone number. You can also add your LinkedIn and other relevant social media profiles.
Make sure that your details are easy to read and clearly listed, as these will be used by recruiters to contact you.
Keep Your Resume Clear and Short.
Employers receive an avalanche of job applications, so they don’t have much time to read a lengthy and winding resume. Make sure your executive director CV is brief and has all the job details, including your education, experience, and skills.
Should a resume be on one page? Ideally, yes. But it depends on your work experience and job requirements.
According to Zippia.com, 77% of employers say experienced workers shouldn’t use a single-page resume. Hiring managers prefer a two-page CV for managerial roles.
It means your executive director resume should be long enough to address all the job requirements.
Customize Your Resume for Your Industry
As every industry differs, you shouldn't use the same resume for different sectors. Read the job ad several times to grasp what the hiring managers want. Then create a resume that meets those specifications.
For instance, an executive director can work for profit and nonprofit-oriented organizations. As a result, examine the job posting to determine the particular industry and the type of organization to which you want to apply.
Each sector or corporate body has specific skills and roles it wants in job applicants. Be sure to tailor your executive director CV to satisfy those needs.
Highlight Relevant Skills and Experiences
As mentioned earlier, you can disadvantage yourself by recycling your resume for every vacancy. Instead, state those abilities and experiences related to the job you want to win.
Demonstrate Results with Numbers and Metrics.
To convince the potential employer, quantify your achievements by stating KPIs or metrics. Numbers can emphasize your strengths and expertise.
For example, an executive director can say they tripled annual revenue by 15% by developing HR software.
Use Power Words
Use powerful words to stress your successes and make your executive director resume stand out. For example, you can follow this approach below:
Action Verb + Metric or Result + Task or Project
Expanded market share by 8% by opening five branches in Southfield.
⇑ ⇑ ⇑
Action Verb + Metric + Task
Here are more examples to inspire you:
Enhanced labor productivity by 15% by introducing the four-day workweek over six months.
Reduced production costs by 25% by using artificial intelligence to ship products.
Don't Use Jargon
Using plain English makes it easy for the hiring manager to understand your executive director CV. Uncommon, big words can distract your employer’s attention.
It's easy to forget that not all recruiters are experts in all fields. So if you have worked in specialized areas, it's better to use clear and understandable language.
It helps recruiters see what you did at your previous or current company.
Proofread and edit
Before you send your document, take a hard look at it through rigorous proofreading and editing. You can use software tools like Grammarly to check your CV for spelling and grammar.
Also, ask a friend or coworker to evaluate your resume. You’d be surprised at some of the mistakes you can make by yourself, so fresh, unbiased eyes will always help.
Wrapping up
Use these tips to create an irresistible executive director resume. Be sure to use the correct format and include all the essential elements. Also, apply the STAR method when building your CV to catch the recruiter’s eye.
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Work with leading career experts and gain access to personalized guidance to reach your potential. Have ongoing sessions and get expert advice on your terms, all for a flat monthly price.
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