Lead with Relevant Results in Your Executive Resume

Think about the last time a story completely enraptured you. What about the story had you on the edge of your seat, wanting to know more?

I’m willing to bet it’s because the storyteller started off with an impressive statement—a statement that let you know something great had happened, and you wanted to know HOW it happened. The story was both relatable and included relevant results. It hooked you right in.

Your resume should be no different. 

A strong executive resume needs to be more than just tailored content that highlights what you have accomplished in your career. Relevant facts are required to back up your claims of your strengths, abilities, and accomplishments. Your resume needs impressive statements that tell people that something significant happened. It has a hook to reel you in.

We do that by creating statements that lead with results. 

Which of the following statements would get your attention faster? 

Identified and pursued new market niche to address emerging need for increased legislation in care facilities, which secured new contracts.

OR

Increased sales 250% in 13 months by identifying and pursuing new market area designed to serve emerging need for increased legislation in care facilities. 

The two statements above come from the same experience but are each positioned differently. 

When we lead with relevant results, we create a more impactful experience for the reader by creating a strong impression, building excitement, and connecting the dots. Spoonfeed the reader what they want, first. You are answering questions before they ask them and you align proof points with position requirements. 

Results are often measurable details or metrics that address: How many? How much? How often? 

Brainstorm measurements or metrics:

Did you direct teams? List the size of the largest team: Teams of 500. 

Managed budgets? Quantify the largest amount: Budgets of $50M. 

Drove revenue growth? Show the value over time: $45M revenue expansion in 2 years. 

Expanded territory? Quantify details over what time:  Reached 25 new markets in 18 months. 

Saved money? How much over what time: $150K annually.

Improved processes/efficiency/employee or customer satisfaction? Find a way to measure the result; think: %, #, or $

Now, transfer any identified measurements or metrics onto your resume, building in context and actions to show how you made good things happen around these numbers. Share details that matter to the reader by customizing both what you share and how you share it in the file.

How to Lead with Relevant Results in Your Executive Resume

I find many of my clients struggle to lead with results. To help them get there, I lead the conversation through Situation – Action – Result. Once we have hammered out all the facts, I build tailored statements and work to position the result near the front of a statement. 

Situation-Action-Result Brainstorming

Situation: Inventory management system was outdated, often showed errors, stock volume was lagging, and end-users often complained about the current system. 

Action: Conducted RFP for new SaaS inventory management platforms that would run more efficiently and be more cost-effective. Evaluated 6 potential vendors. Presented findings to the board with recommendations.

Result: Negotiated new vendor on a 3-year contract, resulting in an increase of $17M in sales over those first 3 initial years, saving 25% of fee for a multi-year contract and improving product visibility for users.

To work the above details into a suitable front-loaded statement for your resume, first determine what key skill and metric in that scenario would matter most to your target employer, and then start writing with the result, as shown below.

Front-loaded Executive Resume Statements

• Added $17M in sales over 3 years by securing new SaaS inventory management platform that increased product visibility in real-time for end-users. 

The above statement assumes the most impactful point is the increase in sales. However, if the role you are going after requires strong negotiation skills, then perhaps shift the focus of your statement to show the cost savings as a result of your negotiation skills:

• Negotiated 25% cost savings on new multi-year SaaS inventory management platform deal, replacing existing outdated and costly system. 

See the impact? Notice the difference in positioning what is relevant to the reader. 

Leading with relevant results helps you create a powerful story about what you have accomplished in your career. Keeping these details front and center ensures the reader can’t miss them. The only question a reader should have is, “When can I talk to this person?”