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What To Highlight in a CEO Resume

As you start writing your chief executive resume, you will realize the structure isn't all that different from resume writing you have done in the past. As you know, the responsibilities and experiences you need to highlight to land an executive position hold great importance on your resume, because a CEO has ultimate responsibility for the company. Therefore you need to feature the correct experiences to make the cut.

CEO resume example

Things you should highlight to stand out to a board of directors are:

CEO resume example
  • Experience related to leadership skills and project management
  • CEO skills such as teamwork, communication and approachability
  • Relevant education and certifications
  • Core competencies that make you suitable to be in charge of the company

CEO Resume Example

CEO Resume Example
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Structure of a CEO Resume

For a CEO resume, you will need to highlight your relevant professional experiences alongside an education section in addition to the right hard and soft skills that make you fit for an executive position. Choosing a resume structure that reflects all of these attributes while also looking slick and professional may seem challenging, but it’s possible once you find an appropriate format. You can choose from the following:

  • A chronological format is highly recommended to create a CEO resume, as it highlights all of your professional experience in a more extensive section than your skill set.
  • A combination format is used when you are moving over from a different career field but can display an ample amount of transferable skills and experience.

Remember, for each format, you will still need to include the following information and sections in your resume:

  • Header with your contact information
  • Personal statement/resume summary
  • Work experience
  • Skills
  • Education

Header

To create the best professional resume, you should include a header at the top of the page. This will feature  all the contact information that the hiring manager will look for in order  to contact you, so make sure it is accurate and includes the following:

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Contact phone number
  • Location (not address)
  • Links to job networking profiles like LinkedIn

Summary

Your resume summary is crucial to a CEO's resume, as you should have a lot of experience and achievements to convey. A resume summary will highlight your best accomplishments while visually looking as professional as possible. Your summary should only be a few sentences and briefly outline your achievements and experience. Here is an example:

"Pioneering and determined Chief Executive with ten years of experience in managing teams and creating the best business strategies to take startup businesses off the ground."

Skills

Although focusing on your accomplishments and experience is important, all the best resumes also contain a robust skills section driven by bullet points. Skills are particularly important for applicant tracking systems (ATS), which employers use to scan resumes for skills that match up with similar keywords used in the job description. Here are some examples of skills you will need to include in your resume:

  • Soft skills such as communication, leadership, empathy and attention to detail
  • Market and customer insights
  • Management
  • Sales development
  • Client outreach
  • Risk management
  • Public relations
  • Human resources
  • Interpersonal skills such as awareness and collaboration
  • Technical skills such as market research and efficiency with Microsoft

Work experience

Your experience section will likely be lengthy for a CEO resume and take up the most significant portion of your page. Make sure you go in reverse chronological order, talking about your most recent and relevant position first.

Education

You don't need to go into too much detail with your education section, but you still need to include it within your resume. This should consist of your places of study, their location and your credential (e.g., bachelor's degree). You don't need to have any specific information on classes, modules, etc. unless they're particularly relevant to the position you want.

For example, if you're applying for a CEO position at a public relations firm, mentioning that you specialized in public relations when studying business administration course would be valuable. Remember, you can also use your cover letter to detail your studies further.

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Do's and Don'ts

  • Review the job posting before you write your resume, picking out the most important skills and job requirements that match your own, and including them in your resume.
  • Include your professional portfolio links within your header section -- any professional profile that shows off relevant executive experience is something that a hiring manager or recruiter should see.
  • Use our resume templates to guarantee you have a professional, polished layout for your resume.
  • Go into detail on irrelevant experiences in your earlier career jobs or during high school. Stick to major experiences and achievements from the past 10 years.
  • Write lengthy paragraphs that are hard to follow. It's always better to use punchy, concise phrases and bullet points.
  • Use "I" or "my" or other first-person possessives and pronouns. Short phrasing will do the trick just fine (e.g., "Managed company of 300 employees" is better than "I managed a company of 300 employees."

FAQ: CEO Resumes

You should always include a cover letter for a CEO application. This will help you go into detail about your years of experience while providing evidence that you have the skills mentioned in your resume. You can use Resume Nerd's cover letter template to help you with this.

As you will have many years of experience, your resume likely won't all fit on one page. For an executive resume, this is okay. However, your resume shouldn't be any longer than three pages, as many hiring managers will receive many resumes and won't have time to read that much content.

You should read each job description thoroughly and edit your resume accordingly. This means none of your resumes should be completely the same but instead showcase your relevant skills to match each position you apply for. You can also use a resume builder to help you accomplish this.

Build a professional resume and land the job you want with ResumeNerd.

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