CEO Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this CEO resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
CEOs are the highest-paid executives in the world, commanding salaries that are often in the millions. And while they’re responsible for overseeing all aspects of their companies—from strategy to operations—they also play a critical role in setting the tone for an entire organization.
If you’re ready to step into the CEO role yourself or just want to work for a company with an amazing head honcho, you’ll need a great resume to help you land the job. Here are some tips for writing a CEO resume that hiring managers will love plus an example for reference.
How to Write a CEO Resume
Here’s how to write a CEO resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
As a hiring manager, one of the most important things you can do when writing your bullet points is to use them to demonstrate your experience and qualifications. So rather than simply stating that you “managed a team of 15 employees,” you could say that you “managed a team of 15 employees to achieve a 15% increase in productivity while reducing turnover by 20% in six months.”
Notice how the second bullet point is more specific and provides more detail about what exactly you did and the results of your work.
Related: What Is a CEO? How to Become One
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a CEO role, your resume goes through an applicant tracking system (ATS). This system looks for certain terms and keywords related to the position in order to determine whether your skills and experience are a match.
The best way to make sure your resume makes it past the ATS is to include relevant keywords throughout all of the sections. You can find these keywords by reading through job postings and taking note of the words or phrases that are used most often.
Here are some of the most commonly used CEO keywords:
- Business Strategy
- Strategy
- Executive Management
- Start-ups
- Business Development
- Entrepreneurship
- Business Planning
- Marketing Strategy
- Management
- Marketing
- Project Management
- Sales
- Strategic Planning
- Digital Marketing
- Social Media
- Product Management
- Product Development
- Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Business Analysis
- Team Leadership
- Finance
- Strategic Partnerships
- International Business
- Change Management
- Digital Strategy
- Competitive Analysis
- Leadership
- Organizational Leadership
- Strategy Consulting
Showcase Your Technical Skills
A CEO is a critical part of any company and, as such, needs to be proficient in a number of technologies. Some of the most important technologies for CEOs are email and communication platforms, such as Skype and Slack, and presentation software, like PowerPoint and Prezi. Additionally, CEOs need to be familiar with financial software, such as Excel and QuickBooks, and social media platforms, like LinkedIn and Twitter. So if you have experience with any of these technologies, be sure to list them on your resume.
Related: How Much Does a CEO Make?
Remember The Basics
As you’re crafting your resume, it’s important to keep a few basic guidelines in mind.
Create Scannable Sections
There are a few things you can do to make your resume more legible and easier to understand. First, use standard fonts throughout and left-align your text. Next, try to keep your bullets to 2 lines or less, and use digits for numbers. Additionally, include some white space on the page to make the document easier to scan. Finally, don’t use too much formatting variation, and avoid centered text.
Be Concise
A resume should typically be one page long when you have less than five to eight years of professional experience. For those with more experience or an extensive academic background, a two-page resume would be ideal. When trimming down a resume, remove irrelevant information, filler words, and unnecessary details.
Check Your Work
Proofreading your resume is an important step in ensuring that it looks its best. There are a few key things to look for: spelling mistakes, punctuation mistakes, and grammatical mistakes. It is also important to be aware of easily confused words. Spell-checking your resume is a good way to catch mistakes, but it is important to have someone else read it over as well.
Consider a Summary
When writing a resume, it’s important to highlight your skills and experience as it relates to the role you are seeking. A resume summary statement can help to do just that by showcasing your qualifications and what you can offer a potential employer. It’s best to keep the summary statement short and to the point, no more than a few sentences. This is your opportunity to explain who you are and what you are looking for. Play up your best skills and experiences, and be sure to mention why you are a good fit for the role.
Related Resume Examples
