C-level executives may have the paychecks, perks, and freedoms to set them apart from the herd, but today’s competitive and harsh economic climate may mean that it is time to craft new resumes. Top-tier CEOs, chairmen and women, and leadership, according to an article on the Washington Post, are being reclassified by corporate America and a study published by the Harvard Business Review.
Historically, senior executives could be illustrated in a few words: White male, 50s, MBA, an upward position change every four years. This all-too-familiar C-suite portrait is beginning to evolve as Ivy League diplomas, gender, and competencies become less important for corporate leaders.
One of the most startling figures reported in the research is the fact that top execs are less likely to stay with a single company for their entire careers. The life-long employment number was 50 percent in 1980 and is less than 33 percent today, meaning more Fortune 100 companies are hiring outside executives.
Other than the outside hiring, the research showed that the number of women, leaders with public or foreign education, and the time it takes to get to the top of the corporate ladder is decreasing. Put into perspective, this leaves a lot of opportunity for proactive executives wanting to procure a top-tier job regardless of their backgrounds.
“I run into a lot of senior-level executives who haven’t had a resume written in 10-15 years because of internal promotions,” Amanda E. Clark, president and editor-in-chief of Grammar Chic, Inc., says.
This “shortfall,” according to Clark, is one reason execs are overlooked for promotions, especially when more big businesses than ever are recruiting outside talent. An outside hire is more likely to have an updated resume, while an internal candidate’s merit is already carved into an employer’s head. For these candidates, having only an internal reputation may lead to a delayed promotion.
These trends, according to the article, open up opportunities for a new wave of top-level execs and CEOs. Women, for instance, are reaching middle-tier positions in 23 years, while it takes male counterparts three more years for those promotions. The same goes for top-tier CEO and president offices. One reason this may be the case is because women are more “self-selective” when looking for promotions. Instead of sticking with a single company for 30 years, the article says women are more likely to drop out of a company and apply for upward positions in different corporations. Because of this, there is much more competition for internal promotions and external hires.
“It’s a much more competitive world in corporate America,” Clark says. “And while you may feel that your experience speaks for itself, it’s crucial for C-suite promotion-seekers to prepare themselves for increased competition. One way to do this is to revisit your resume, which, most likely, has been untouched since you were hired.”
C-suite resumes, according to Clark, allow executives to pursue outside promotions. More importantly, Clark says that a resume can allow promotion-focused execs to assess their skill sets, understand the meaning of past accomplishments, and investigate any competency gaps in their professional history.
An article on BlueSteps explains how corporate-level resumes need to pass the 10-second glance test. This is when a recruiter (i.e., top-level CEO or HR departments) needs to be able to assess a resume’s potential without reading the fine print. Compressing 20 years of executive accomplishments is a challenge, though recruiters are often looking to find reasons why a professional climbed the ladder and the skills that helped.
“An executive resume does more than help outside hires find promotions,” Clark says. “It allows them to reassess their careers to see what they can be doing to improve their hire-ability and professional trajectory. Recruiters see accomplishments and skill sets on paper first, and it’s a challenge to make them understood and pop off the page.”
ABOUT:
Grammar Chic, Inc. is a full-service professional writing company that provides writing and editing talent to a diverse clientele. Led by President and Editor-In-Chief Amanda E. Clark, Grammar Chic's team offers its expertise to clients in the creative, business, and academic fields. The company accepts a wide range of projects and often drafts resumes, press releases, Web content, marketing materials, and ghostwritten creative pieces. To learn more about Grammar Chic, Inc. and the services that its team offers, visit www.grammarchic.net or www.chicresumes.com. Interested individuals are invited to "like" the company's Facebook page and follow @GrammarChicInc on Twitter.
Company Name: Chic Resumes
Contact Person: Amanda Clark
Email:Send Email
Phone: 803-831-7444
Country: United States
Website: http://www.professionalresumewriters.net/
Source: www.abnewswire.com
