Resume essentials for leaders

I review a lot of resumes.

As part of my 1:1 and Group Coaching Programs, I provide a resume audit after my clients have used the best practices shared in my online modules to tweak and optimize the most recent version of their resumes.

Often, I ask clients to show more quantifiable results in their bullets. Growth in the business. Operational cost savings. Engagement with the product. And yes – your awards!

Yet – lately I’ve been noticing that my director and VP level clients are over-indexing on business results content – and they’re missing something critical.

Bullets that demonstrate your leadership expertise.

If you’re targeting roles in which you’ll be leading a team, DO NOT FORGET to talk about your leadership skills and results.

Did you grow a team? If so, by what percentage or to how many employees?
Did you receive excellent results for your leadership in your employee satisfaction survey?
Did you recruit, mentor, develop, redistribute your team so that they improved efficiency and engagement in their work?
Did you inherit a team and transform the culture and effectiveness?
Did you implement training, coaching and a culture of feedback and growth on your team?

All of these results will build a bridge to what is possible for you in your next leadership role.

These are not in any way soft skills. Don’t even get me started on my soft skills soap box. Not a thing, people.

These are relationship building skills.

These are communication skills.

These are leadership skills.

So, make sure they are well-represented and clear. Shine them up and show them off.