IT Resume Makeover: How to Create an Effective Executive Resume

CIO — Rshab Gaur has worked in a leadership role in IT management for more than 20 years for different multinational companies. He has been looking to land a c-level position, but so far he hasn't had much luck.

According to Gaur, he's had limited opportunities and feels as though prospective employers and recruiters couldn't appreciate his potential. "I've used several channels, from jobsites to social networking. I've approached senior business leaders directly and, while I have received responses from hiring managers, a concrete offer is yet to materialize," says Gaur.

Gaur says that while his resume was suitable for a lateral role, the flow of content wasn't doing enough to reflect his accomplishments and achievements. Furthermore, his current role wasn't clearly quantified. Gaur came to the realization that he needed a resume makeover.

CIO — Rshab Gaur has worked in a leadership role in IT management for more than 20 years for different multinational companies. He has been looking to land a c-level position, but so far he hasn't had much luck.

According to Gaur, he's had limited opportunities and feels as though prospective employers and recruiters couldn't appreciate his potential. "I've used several channels, from jobsites to social networking. I've approached senior business leaders directly and, while I have received responses from hiring managers, a concrete offer is yet to materialize," says Gaur.

Gaur says that while his resume was suitable for a lateral role, the flow of content wasn't doing enough to reflect his accomplishments and achievements. Furthermore, his current role wasn't clearly quantified. Gaur came to the realization that he needed a resume makeover.

Link to Rshab Gaur's original resume

IT Resume Strategist to the Rescue

Cheryl Simpson is president of Executive Resume Rescue and has 30 years of experience working as an executive career coach, resume writer and LinkedIn strategist. She also holds numerous certifications in her field.

"At first glance it seemed like a fractured resume," says Simpson. She could see that Gaur had the experience and qualifications to be working at the executive level, but his resume was holding him back so she decided to help.

First step, says Simpson, was to meet with Gaur and get more details. "Initially, I asked some branding questions and challenged Gaur to pinpoint his personal brand and then, clarifying at a deeper level, what he achieved, how he achieved it and what results he was able to get," says Simpson.

Problems with Gaur's Resume

What's the most important part of the resume? According to Simpson, it's the summary piece or top part of the first page that contains the title, tagline, summary and overview. Often there are secondary taglines that infuse other information such as key qualifications, certifications or an impressive MBA into this area. It also includes the keywords section, which is the core competency area.

"This whole branding piece is absolutely critical and is becoming more important every day. This collection within the resume is all about branding and positioning. Without that strong information, the resume will be short on keywords, but more critically it can't communicate to the reader what this person brings to the table and how they are different," says Simpson. So armed with her experience, knowledge and the information from her interview with Gaur, she got down to business.