If you are an IT executive targeting the C-suite, your resume needs to reflect leadership accomplishments that drove the business value and delivered an attractive ROI. Whether you are a CIO envisioning corporate strategies, or a CTO steering operational excellence and tactical initiatives, your resume must promote your brand as a technology leader that partners with the corporate team in moving the organization forward in a competitive global marketplace.
Most CIO / CTO resumes are densely packed with technical jargon, skills, and tools that go back to their first job out of college. By the time you head for the corporate office, technology skills are your value-add, not your unique selling proposition (USP). In addition to making your resume too long, (two to three pages should suffice), it can serve to date you when it is preferable to appear modern, pioneering, and relevant.
Follow these guidelines to produce compelling CIO / CTO resumes:
- Promote achievements, not skills. Make sure you understand how to quantify your value through measurable results. Dollars saved, efficiencies improved, profits gained, EBITDA, and ROI should be established.
- Exhibit stakeholder collaboration. Technology executives at the leadership level need to understand and communicate with diverse departments heads, and document how their technological initiatives generated value across business segments.
- Provide examples of talent development. Your resource management applies to technology and human assets. Describe how you have recruited, mentored, and promoted future company leaders.
- Demonstrate innovation. How has your technological vision usurped the competition, revolutionized the business model, piloted Centers of Excellence, and instituted best practices that boosted profits for your company?
- Illustrate professional engagement. While listing every technical skill isn't desirable, acquiring respected certifications and embracing cutting-edge tools is a benefit. Display how you executed thought leadership through industry organizations, board memberships, or media channels.
Employ the above strategies to prove to a prospective employer how your technology leadership will be integral to their viability, profitability, and security with an achievement rich resume that distinguishes you from the competition.
August Cohen is an award-winning, triple certified executive resume writer and career coach guiding determined leaders (and emerging leaders) to their next-level career goals. Supporting professionals in all aspects of modern career management, her services encompass powerful branded resumes, focused interview practice sessions, and LinkedIn profile strategies. She can be reached at 919-816-7878.
02 March 2011
August Cohen
August Cohen
