How to Write a Senior-Level Resume Value Proposition

If you're aiming for the C-suite, clarity around your value is non-negotiable. Too often, I see smart, capable leaders stumble in interviews or on paper—not because they lack experience, but because they haven’t taken the time to reflect. Before you make your next move, spend real time thinking through: What business challenge were you hired to solve? How did that challenge evolve over time? What metrics were you accountable for? How did you deliver against those KPIs? What is your target role or company truly looking for? In what ways have you already demonstrated that you're the right person to meet those needs? What have you consistently achieved across your career? What are you known for? What differentiates you from other high performers? What’s the most innovative initiative you've led in the talent space? How large were the teams you led—and how did you retain and grow them? What were your employee engagement scores? Are you proud of those results? What did you learn from them? This exercise isn’t quick. It may take several focused hours. But this kind of reflection is what sharpens your narrative and elevates your positioning. Self-awareness is a competitive advantage. The "easy way" isn’t the fast way—it’s the intentional way. Put in the strategic work before you hit "apply" and you'll move faster, attract better-fit opportunities, and present yourself with the clarity and confidence of a true executive. #executivepresence #careerstrategy #resume #leadership #valueproposition

Recently, I reviewed a senior executive's resume and was shocked by several critical issues. It became clear that the resume was generated by a resume builder, which unfortunately led to significant shortcomings. Having worked with Senior Executives and helped them secure highly coveted leadership roles, I can confidently say that his resume had several critical flaws. This resume is unlikely to lead to interviews, networking calls, or any further opportunities. ➡ Critical Flaws in the Resume: - Lack of Context in the Summary: The summary was generic and failed to capture the executive’s unique career trajectory and expertise. - No Quantifiable Achievements: The resume lacked metrics to showcase the executive’s impact, making it hard to assess their contributions. - Lacked Value Proposition: There was no clear value proposition, missing an articulation of the executive's unique strengths and how they could benefit potential employers. - Not Aligned to the Target Job: The resume was not tailored to the executive’s target role, failing to highlight relevant skills and experiences. -One-Page Limitation: Constrained to a single page, the resume did not provide enough space to detail key achievements and qualifications, which is crucial for senior-level candidates. ✨ My recommendations for a Compelling Executive Resume: - Highlight the executive's unique career trajectory and expertise. - Use metrics to demonstrate impact. - Articulate unique strengths and problem-solving abilities. - Tailor the content to align with the target job. - Use a two-page format to detail key achievements and qualifications comprehensively. #executiveresume #jobsearch #executive

Good morning job seekers! For many job seekers who are feeling stuck, I find that helping them to change the story, or more specifically, change how they TELL the story is a good way to get out of a rut. Before I was a job seeking expert, I spent the majority of my career in senior roles in marketing and communications. So much of marketing and branding is about clear messaging and communications. This is especially true for job seekers. As a job seeker, you are a product in the marketplace of job seekers. Here's where job seekers hold power: Companies spend millions of dollars trying to convince consumers of their differentiators and how their product will solve problems and improve lives. In much the same way, job seekers who authentically communicate their differentiators, their ability to solve problems, their proven skills and expertise and the overall value they bring to a company will be the job seeker who gets a job offer. Try this: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 Most candidates talk about: - Their experience - Their tasks - Their job titles But hiring managers care about one thing: “𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚?” Shift the conversation to: ➡️ The business challenge you understand ➡️ The outcome you can deliver ➡️ How your past accomplishments are predictors of future success ➡️ The value you create (See below on Impact!) Example shift: ❌“I have 15 years of marketing experience.” ➡️ “I have a proven track record of leading and motivating teams and elevating brand visibility across digital, print, web, and internal communication channels." Follow it up with specific stories and examples of success that are tied to the job you are applying and the challenges they face. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 By the time someone interviews you, they skimmed your resume. They know your work chronology. Now they want to hear, from your mouth, your stories that show proof of accomplishment and stories of how you operate to achieve results. Change the conversation to: ➡️Revenue you helped grow ➡️Processes you improved ➡️Money/time you saved ➡️Teams you led ➡️Problems you solved 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲 Instead of waiting to be evaluated, the best candidates evaluate the role and diagnose the needs by having authentic questions of their future employer. Try these: ➡️“What’s the biggest problem you’re hoping this hire will solve in the first 90 days?” ➡️“What would a win look like for this position six months from now?” ➡️“Where is the team struggling right now?” ➡️“What capabilities are missing that you desperately need?” This immediately reframes you as: ✔ a strategist ✔ a peer ✔ a solution, not a supplicant

When the CEO asked me, '𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤?'  I was ready with a response that left an impression. I didn’t say how many years I had been with the company. 🙄 Or recite my role description. I communicated my VALUE. This sparked an engaging conversation, that allowed him and other leaders to learn more about me, creating a memorable interaction that helped me stand out.  Here’s the framework I used to confidently articulate my value: 1️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿. Titles can be misleading. Think about your biggest strength and the impact of your work day-to-day. Including metrics or measurable results when talking about what you’re known for shows how you are delivering to company goals. 2️⃣ 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂.   What makes you great to work with? This is an easy way to highlight your skills and why people trust and value your input.  3️⃣ 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂.  Tie it to your passion or what drives you professionally and/or personally.  Here is an example of what I would say today: 𝘏𝘪, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘈𝘛𝘈𝘔. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘐𝘛 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘺 1, 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 84.1% 𝘵𝘰 88.5% 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦—𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘥𝘰.  𝘐’𝘮 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦. ✨ 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗽: Tailor your pitch to the audience, too. For senior leaders, focus on outcomes. For networking, emphasize unique skills or passions.  Let’s practice, drop your introduction using this framework in the chat. ✍

When I write an executive resume, I aim to accomplish 2 goals: #1 Give the reader the sense the candidate appears well-suited for a role. #2 Intrigue them to want to read more when they have more time. There are 2 primary scenarios where the power of details can make all the difference in spelling out value and achieving these goals. #1 Details that Show Accomplishments, Not Responsibilities. Every job has a basic set of responsibilities. A quick Google search can tell you what they are and most job postings do a decent job of outlining them. A resume that focuses on outlining these responsibilities tells the reader you can perform these tasks – but offers no sense of how well you can do the job. This is where details that showcase accomplishments can save the day. Here’s an example that showcases how added details to an executive resume can help paint a fuller picture: BEFORE Managed all the aspects of product development, projects and program management, and quality management. Set up an offshore development team and recruited engineers, developed training plans and established a successful delivery model. AFTER * Revitalized 150-member offshore organization struggling with reputation for underperformance. * Revamped team that emerged with reputation for quality and productivity through structure and coaching and by establishing KPIs to ensure accountability. * Returned bloated and delayed product project back on track for key account – a Pharma 50 organization – by repairing stakeholder relationships and leading a delivery roadmap resulting in a timely and on-budget pilot go-live. #2 Details Couched with Context that Weave in Metrics The phrase “numbers speak louder than words” often rings true when it comes to resume reading. It is especially true when these numbers also include some context. Here’s what I mean: BEFORE * Responsible for an annual sales quota. * Grew revenues 20%. AFTER * Reversed 2 years of sales decline to grow revenues 20% in 12 months by analyzing CRM data that uncovered untapped market niche. When a bullet provides just enough detail to show AND tell how you put your skills to good use – it is much more likely to resonate. #resumewriting