Executive Resume Samples for 2023

As a C-suite executive, you’ll be directly responsible for the future of the business. Whether you’re the CEO, CIO, or CTO, the direction the company takes and whether it succeeds or not will largely depend on your decisions.

As an applicant for an executive-level role, you’ll be up against extremely tough competition. Your competitors will possess deep expertise in their field, and they’ll have had plenty of time to hone their skills throughout their career.

To bring attention to the skills and qualities that make you the best candidate for the job, use our professional executive resume examples and writing tips for inspiration when you create your own resume.

1. Use a resume format that highlights your qualifications

As an applicant with years of relevant experience in your field, you should choose a resume format that shows off your professional qualifications.

A chronological resume is a solid choice because it emphasizes your work experience by listing your job titles from most recent to least recent. However, the best executive resume format that truly makes your resume stand out is the combination resume.

A combination resume places your core competencies front and center, immediately commanding the attention of search committee members. It also includes a large work experience section, giving you plenty of space to expand upon your most impressive accomplishments as an executive.

The education section on a combination resume takes up the least space, which is ideal if you’re applying for C-suite positions because a college degree is likely the least relevant part of your background.

2. Write an eye-catching executive resume profile

A resume profile is a type of resume introduction that’s used to catch the reader’s attention and convince them to read the rest of your resume.

Your executive resume profile should provide a compelling, informative, and concise snapshot of your career, as well as give HR directors, majority shareholders, and the Board of Directors insight into why you’re the best candidate to take on a leadership position within the company.

Here’s a good example of a convincing resume profile for an executive:

This resume profile is effective because it demonstrates the candidate’s ability to build successful companies over a 20-year career while showcasing their expertise in the tech industry and business acumen.

3. Quantify your achievements

All job seekers should quantify their resumes, but it’s especially crucial for executives. There are a few reasons for this:

1. It shows you thrive in high-level positions
2. It demonstrates the impactfulness of your leadership
3. It can differentiate you from candidates with a similar professional background

Prove that you’re capable of delivering tangible results by providing quantified examples of your previous successes in your bullet points. Optionally, highlight your greatest accomplishments in a separate “Key Achievements” section on your resume.

To quantify your resume, follow the simple formula below:

• [action verb] + [area of business]  + [quantifiable metric/result]

Here are two good examples of what quantified resume bullet points on an executive resume should look like:

• Expanded market share for Intraserve, Inc. data access service from 30% to 47% over two years, increasing profit margins by 40%

• Created enterprise software suite to assist business flows, event flows, and GUI frames with over $110 million in revenue

When it comes to resume writing, it’s always better to show than tell. Using numbers and percentages to back up your claims proves that you’re able to drive results, a key quality that the most successful business executives possess.

4. Highlight your core competencies in a separate section

Executive resumes are often longer than regular resumes, making it even more important to ensure the first half is compelling and emphasizes your most relevant information. This way, board members are more likely to read it to the end.

Listing core competencies on your resume is key to making a good first impression and complements your resume profile by emphasizing your most marketable skills. Place your core competencies section at the top of your resume for maximum impact, like this candidate does:

The candidate in the example above also uses strategic resume keywords that spotlight the abilities that’ll help them succeed in a leadership role at their target company.

5. Focus on your most relevant accomplishments

Given the amount of experience required to land an executive role, you’ll probably struggle to fit all your accomplishments on one page. Luckily, this isn’t necessary. Submitting a two-page resume or even three-page resume is considered acceptable for an executive.

However, this doesn’t mean you should include all of your work experience just to try to fill all three pages. Keeping your resume brief will help you cut out redundant information and make it more impactful. So how do you decide what achievements should be included and what you can cut?

The first step is to find out as much as you can about the company and its goals. Speak with any connections you have, study the company’s mission and vision, and make sure you’re up-to-date on relevant industry news. This information will help you craft a resume that demonstrates why your background makes you the ideal person to lead the company going forward.

Now that you understand the goals of your target company and the current challenges that are preventing it from reaching them, add bullet points to your resume that show how you’ve helped businesses overcome similar issues in the past.

6. Include additional sections to prove you're qualified

Beyond the sections you normally see on a resume (introduction, professional experience, skills, education), there are other sections you should consider adding when applying for an executive role. These include:

• Memberships – Are you a board member or belong to a professional association? List these memberships on your executive resume.
• Speaking engagements – If you’ve been invited to speak at conferences or hold seminars in the past, you should definitely include it on your resume. This conveys that you’re an influential expert in your field.
• Awards – While you can mention awards in your resume’s bullet points, giving them their own section will make them stand out to the search committee.
• Publications – Have you written books or articles on industry-related topics? Add these to lend further credibility to your resume.

Including additional sections is a great way to make particularly impressive achievements stand out and to highlight relevant information that might not fit in elsewhere on your resume.

7. Demonstrate essential skills for an executive

Skills like communication and teamwork are important in most jobs, including for executives. However, these are likely not the skills that will set you apart from other candidates. Instead, highlight the following skills when writing your executive resume to show you’re prepared to tackle the unique challenges of a high-level position:

Additional executive skills

• Financial management
• Project management
• Emotional intelligence
• Innovation
• Problem solving
• Networking
• Delegation
• Risk management
• Technical proficiency
• Negotiation
• Industry knowledge