CEO Resume Example

In the article, you'll find guidance on creating a CEO resume that showcases desirable qualities for senior management and director-level appointments. The article will guide you on how to show your long-term vision and how your leadership has led to success for organizations. You'll also find tips on how to present your resume for the maximum impact with employers and key decision makers. Read on to find insights from Jobseeker's career experts that can help you find success with your CEO applications.

Main sections of a Chief Executive Officer resume

The key sections to include in a CEO resume are similar to those for any role or profession.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Resume Header

Your CEO resume header is the place to add your contact details. Start by adding your full name and underneath, include your email address, phone number and location. Adding your LinkedIn profile, if you have one, can help the employer get a better insight into your skills and industry expertise. You don't need to include any additional personal information or a photo. Create a clear, well-structured header that acts as the headline of your resume. Use color accents and blocks to help this section stand out and catch the eye of the reader.

Opt for a professional-looking email address based on your name. If your email address could be construed as unprofessional or inappropriate because it contains nicknames or unsuitable language, create a new, more professional email address for your job applications. Always check your contact details to make sure they're up-to-date before you send your resume.

Resume Profile

Your resume personal profile is a short, concise paragraph to highlight two or three key skills and achievements in CEO roles. You may also see this section named as 'resume summary' or 'resume objective'. Resume summaries tend to focus on your career experience, while resume objectives cover your ambitions and plans for the future. However, make sure you keep your resume summary short and snappy, and focused on the skills and experience listed in the job description.

Alternatively, use this section to emphasize your career objectives and explain how and why this role is a suitable step for you at this stage of your career.

A good resume summary reflects the job description and highlights some of the key skills required for CEO roles, while leaving the reader with an impression of your unique qualities and strengths. The most effective resume summaries also provide evidence to back up the claims made in them. You can see some positive examples of a resume summary for CEO jobs below.

Alternatively, a poor resume summary would include bland, generic information that does little to prove your suitability for the role, while failing to provide any useful insights on you as a person or as a candidate. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your CEO resume summary.

Work Experience

Under your work experience section, add any jobs you've had in the past that are relevant to the position of a CEO. Mention only the most appropriate and relevant jobs you've had in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent and working backwards. Add your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the role and your dates of employment.

Add some bullet points under each job entry, explaining your achievements in the role, so the reader can see how you contributed towards success for the company. Provide evidence of your impact and make sure each point addresses a requirement listed in the job description.

For senior positions such as CEO, your work experience section may be longer than a standard resume. By the time you're applying for a senior role, you'll have built up plenty of work experience, and you may wish to showcase CEO skills and achievements from various previous roles. While there are no definitive rules on how far back to go with your work experience section, or how many previous roles to include in this section, the general rule of thumb is to go back 10 to 15 years. For a CEO resume you may wish to opt for a work experience section on the longer side of this range.

A successful resume work experience section will always showcase skills and experience relevant to the job description, and how you put each to good use in your previous roles. Offering quantifiable evidence in a Chief Executive Officer resume proves you're a strong candidate for the job, such as client feedback, project outcomes, KPIs or financial results. Take a look at the examples below for some guidance on what works best for your work experience section.

Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. A poor resume work experience section would typically use vague descriptions of activities in previous jobs, while focusing too much on responsibilities rather than achievements. Failing to focus on the skills and experience that match the job description is likely to harm your chances of success.

Education

The education section provides space to list your highest and most recent academic achievements that are relevant to working as a CEO.

A CEO role tends to require candidates to have a university or college degree, so make sure you list yours in your resume. A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree or similar is the most suitable for this job, but you could also include any other relevant qualifications that show your data-driven decision making or M&A negotiation skills.

Enter the name and level of the qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study or graduation. You could also add one or two bullet points to draw attention to your grades if they were particularly good, as well as any specialist subjects you studied. This will help the hiring manager understand your knowledge and special skills better.

If you organized or participated in any clubs or societies while at university, or you took part in any voluntary work, you could also mention these here.

Hard and Soft Skills

Adding a list of your key skills provides a quick reference for the reader of what you can bring to a CEO role. Skills such as financial statement analysis or leadership and vision are particularly useful for CEO jobs. Again, include any skills that match those listed in the job description. Focus particularly on technical skills required for CEO jobs and transferable skills that show your qualities as a CEO.

How to list hard skills on your CEO resume

In your hard skills list, include any specific abilities related to the role you're applying for. These could be technical skills or industry knowledge that showcases your expertise in your chosen profession. Furthermore, an extensive list of hard skills helps to make a compelling case for your CEO job applications, as they show employers your understanding of the CEO role. Aim to include four or five key hard skills. If you have space, explain how and where you've used that skill to create successful outcomes in your career. These skills will demonstrate your credentials and show how you meet the job description.

If you want to make a strong impression with your hard skills list, focus on hard skills that align with your specific industry expertise, and that reflect the job description. For inspiration on the right type of hard skills for a Chief Executive Officer resume, see below.

How to list soft skills on your CEO resume

In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a CEO job. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. Indeed, transferable skills are growing in importance in the modern world of work, so make sure you include several of these in your resume.

In this section, add four of five transferable skills that match the job description. When applying for senior positions, such as CEO roles, your soft skills section should emphasize your leadership skills.

An effective CEO resume soft skills section should be targeted to include skills that reflect your personality and unique characteristics, while also matching the job description. The graphic below includes some examples of good resume soft skills.

Certifications and Training

Under certifications and licenses, add any further qualifications that show you're a good fit for the job. These could be professional accreditations and licenses, or certifications that improve your level of suitability for the position. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and professional certifications required for CEO roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.

Read on to see some relevant example certifications for a Chief Executive Officer resume:

Optional Resume Sections

In addition to the core sections of a Chief Executive Officer resume, there are several optional sections you could include to enhance your chances. Take a look at the sections below and add any that help you show how and why you're right for the job.

Hobbies and Interests

Listing your hobbies and interests can reveal key qualities that some employers may value. Your hobbies and interests are useful for a Chief Executive Officer resume if you want to show a different side to your personality, or to stand out among other candidates. They can also be valuable if you're a junior candidate without much relevant work experience. Just make sure any hobbies and interests you include in your resume add genuine insight into your personality, in ways other sections of the resume can't.

Voluntary Work

Voluntary work can help you develop useful skills, so it's a valuable addition to your CEO resume. List your volunteer job title, the organization you volunteered for, its location and the dates of your involvement, alongside a brief explanation of your responsibilities in the role.

References

It's relatively unusual to include references in a standard CEO resume, but they are required occasionally. Check the job advert to see if you'll need to add references to your resume. Before adding any referees to your resume, ask them for their assistance and prepare them for contact by the employer.

Best words to use in a Chief Executive Officer resume

Action words can help illustrate to the hiring manager the difference you made in each of your previous jobs. Choose from the list of words below to make the best possible impression.

As a senior, experienced CEO, your resume length might be longer than those applying for more junior roles. As such, a resume length of two pages or even longer can be appropriate, depending on the role and the industry sector. Jobseeker's clean, attractive resume formats can help your applications make a strong impression on employers. Check them out for help designing a winning resume, and see our cover letter templates to help win over recruiters and hiring managers.

Sample CEO resume

The CEO resume example below incorporates all the information from above into a full-designed resume template, so you can see how a final resume will look:

Tips on creating an ATS-optimized resume

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are one of the key ways recruiters and employers manage the hiring process. The systems can screen candidates by scanning and ranking resumes based on each candidate's likely suitability for the vacancy. When writing your CEO resume, a few simple tips can help you pass the ATS stage with a higher-ranking resume, giving you a better chance of success with your applications.

Here a some simple tips to follow for an ATS-friendly resume:

• Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
• Use keywords throughout your resume that reflect the job description, so ATS resume scanners can recognize a strong connection between your skills, and those in the job description.
• Use clear headings that break your resume up into readable, scannable sections that match the standard content employers expect from a resume.
• Use a resume design that includes clean, professional design elements to give your content space to breathe. This might include clear, readable fonts, subtle color accents and simple design elements.
• Adopt simple, professional language to keep your resume as concise as possible. This tends to make your document more readable, and easier for ATS software to scan.

Takeaways for a winning CEO resume

Writing a strong, impactful resume is about using your experience to demonstrate your relevant skills and achievements. You can do this through your work history or other resume sections. Use a suitable resume format and tailor your resume for every application you submit.

Remember, Jobseeker resume templates and other tools make it easy to create a resume and cover letter that leaves a positive impression on hiring managers. Sign up now to start building your perfect resume. To make the best possible impression with your applications, write a cover letter with the help of Jobseeker. You can also find plenty of expert-designed cover letter examples for inspiration.

Sources:

(1) Overcoming the Most Common Challenges in the Executive Job Search, MIT Career Development Office: https://cdo.mit.edu/blog/2024/10/15/overcoming-the-most-common-challenges-in-the-executive-job-search/

(2) How to Impress an Executive Recruiter and Break Into the C-Suite, Harvard Division of Continuing Education: https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-impress-an-executive-recruiter-and-break-into-the-c-suite/