Question: I hear what you need to get a senior-level job these days is an “Executive Profile,” not a resume. A friend described the profile as a detailed document describing the information usually contained on a resume and more. Can you elaborate?
Answer: We have been hearing all kinds of innovative hiring news. Some companies are directly hiring off of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Sometimes, neither a formal resume nor an “Executive Profile” comes into play when this happens. LinkedIn relies on brief summaries and can upload a resume. However, many profiles provide an overview without delving into each and every employment opportunity a candidate has taken on over the past 10 or so years.
I hesitate to give a “one-size-fits-all” response because the hiring market is evolving more rapidly than you could even imagine. When it all becomes truly global, who knows what protocols will emerge?
That being said, in terms of documents you can generate, your current possibilities include the resume, biography and/or formal online profile, each as part of the career building strategy. All of these choices depend on the industry you want to explore, your professional background and your preferences.
Whatever format you ultimately adopt, start by drafting a concise, crisp resume. Other formats can be created later from that place. Speaking directly to your question, note that your resume format can include a section that is, in effect, an “Executive Profile.” Here is where you summarize your distinguishing leadership skills including your ability to motivate others, generate and manage resources and promote a mission or vision such that you inspire others to offer their moral and financial support. Don’t forget that for many leadership positions, you need to demonstrate superior decision-making, organizational and outreach skills including public speaking. This is the section in which to do so.
In addition to your resume, you can develop a biography summarizing your career in a compelling way. The biography should contain similar information to a resume but presented in text format. The advantage of a biography is that you can weave together themes not readily apparent on the resume. You can give an overview of how your career evolved rather than focusing on the chronology of your leadership. When drafting LinkedIn profiles, having both is handy because you can draw from them to create your online profile and to segment your specific skills and focus.
These documents lead to a bigger package I would call the “Executive Profile” which is what draws together all of your documents, publications and searchable information including the following:
- Resume
- Biography
- LinkedIn and online profiles or personalities including Blogs and Twitter
- Published articles, books and printed materials
- Information that comes up when your name is searched on Google, Facebook or Lexis-Nexis
With all of the pieces that come together to create such a profile, I advise clients to create a “brand” unifying their printed and online personalities so everything supports their career search activities. In these days of easy web access and interconnectivity, your “Executive Profile” should be a comprehensive picture of the many pieces of information accessible about you.
Contact Karen Alphonse at Karena@execSearches.com or visit ExecSearches.com for more information about our career coaching services.
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