As a high level manager in a company, you’ll understand the arduous and struggle required to climb up the corporate ladder. However, even as you continue to be an essential element in the organizational chart, you must also understand the importance of personal branding and image when it comes to continuing of your journey to grow as a top notch leader.

Naturally, the first thing that’ll help is your resume, especially when seeking out new opportunities. How can you make the most impact?

Traditional Personal Marketing Communications Facing Changes over the Years

Traditional personal marketing implements like resumes and cover letters have shifted their format to short-form brand supporting and value driven writing which helps accommodate the recruiters and HR management better review and source chosen candidates using social media and other materials.

Following are the essentials C-level executives should therefore remember when updating their resume or creating a new one.    

Focus On the Parts That Get Looked At The Most

According to Prince Javar, chief resume strategist and co-founder of PunchyResume, the first thing recruiters look for is an applicant’s most recent experience. They check what industry the applicant works in, how long have they been working there, and whether they have the relevant experience.

Remember this: every HR recruiter has their own unique formula for reading resumes but they are quite adept at singling out potential candidates. In fact, 77% of hiring managers spend less than 5 minutes when reading a resume while 56% only spend 60 seconds to each one. This is why you need to focus on important aspects of your resume that will be inspected first.   

Your Resume Shouldn’t Be More Than Two Page Long

There’re only few circumstances that warrant a resume of more than two pages. Since you’re applying for a senior level position and have years of experience, a resume of two pages makes sense. When in doubt, stick to one!

Delete repeating skills. Take advantage of the space available. Remember: you don’t want to seem like a job-hopper to the recruiters which it will certainly look like with 2 pages worth of held positions in the resume. According to Mike Canedella, a career consultant with over a decade of experience in the field, resumes should be 1-2 pages long in 90% cases.    

Tell Recruiters What They Want To Know

Most people like to add an ‘objectives’ section in their resume. It’s a statement that describes career goals and desires you may have for the future.

Remove this statement altogether. Replace with a powerful summary that clearly show how much value and worth you can add to the potential employers.   

Proper Formatting Matters in a Resume

Hiring executives and recruiters will judge your resume based on its format and design. This is why the document should be easy to read, clear and able to draw attention to important information in the resume. Using bold fonts or colors is a good idea to highlight areas that you want the recruiter to see.

Don’t go all out with your formatting! In the end, the resume that emphasizes and reinforces information, is the best one.

There’re so many ways to write a resume! Choose the layout that’ll work best for you with help from free resume samples by PunchyResume today. If you’re looking for some professional help, allow us to help you out.