As leading executive recruiters in Sacramento, Pacific ExecSearch knows your resume is your ticket into the job interview process. But writing one is never easy, even for the most experienced professionals. To help ensure you put your best foot forward on paper, here are 6 strategies for crafting a polished resume:

1. Use a summary of qualifications.

Gone are the days of an objective at the top of your resume. Instead, use a summary of qualifications. This enables you to put your top accomplishments and best features front and center on your resume. These should be the key strengths, skills and achievements you want a potential employer to know about you – whether they’re from this year, or a few years ago. Then, under your work history, list out your past positions in a chronological fashion. With this approach, employers don’t have to go digging for details to try and figure out what you’re all about.

2. Take length into account.

Creating a concise resume that still showcases your strengths and abilities can be a balancing act – especially when you have many years of experience. Don’t try to squeeze everything onto one page. Executive resumes can certainly be two pages and even up to three pages long. However, don’t simply fill space with irrelevant details for the sake of beefing up your resume, either.

3. Customize for every position.

You can certainly create one overall resume to use during your job search. However, you’re going to need to customize it each time you apply for a job. That means taking into account specific details of the job description and re-working aspects of your resume to better align with them. You want to ensure your resume best reflects your ability to meet the needs of a specific company. You can’t do that if you send the same one into every employer.

4. Include numbers.

Wherever you can, include numbers and other ways to quantify your achievements. From increased sales numbers to lowered expenses and the size of the teams you’ve managed, these kinds of details will bring your background to life for a potential employer.

5. Use strong, action-oriented language.

Skip the “was responsible for” or “provided a variety of” type language. Instead, use action-oriented verbs like led, spear-headed, and initiated in order to showcase your talents.

6. Format your resume properly.

Don’t mix up fonts as you’re cutting and pasting copy from various documents into your resume. You want to ensure font, spacing and other formatting selections are consistent throughout your resume. It’s a small detail, but one that can make a big impact on the impression your resume leaves behind.

Interested in expert help finding your next leadership position?

Call Pacific ExecSearch. As recognized executive recruiters in Sacramento, the Bay Area and throughout Northern California, our experienced professionals can help you find your next big career move. Contact us today to learn more or get started.