The Art of Executive Job Seeking – take a leaf out of Aesop’s book​

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I’m a big fan of analogies and framing a message by using stories and anecdotes.

 

This probably stems from a tendency to become rather bored with my own musings and constitutes an attempt to keep myself interested as much as anyone else, but I also believe that it keeps my message from slipping into the dry and rather boring space.

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This general strategy can and should also be adopted by Executives who are selling their skills and experience to potential employers. Let’s face it, CVs and the like can be rather dry and boring, so anything that makes them less so is a good thing. Of course, we don’t want to move too far away from acceptable conventions, so using tried and tested methodologies from the world of marketing isn’t a bad place to start.

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My favourite marketing technique that can be used in an Executive CVs is a case study. Any Marketeer will tell you that they are incredibly powerful tools for walking a potential client through a piece of work to convince them of their company’s abilities and track record. We see them on websites, in brochures and on LinkedIn - written in the right way, they have huge impact. They work because the message can be framed with more context.

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I would recommend using the STAR framework for writing your case studies (Situation, Task, Actions, Result). Keep them to no more than six lines and have three of them on page one of your CV. I would also suggest having a wide portfolio of them and each time you apply for a role, copy and paste the best and most relevant three onto page one.

 

Whatever your professional background and key achievements, this methodology can be applied to frame and showcase impressive and relevant pieces of work that you have delivered. By doing so, you are providing real-life evidence of your talents and abilities that transform your CV from a list of task-based bullet points into an evidence-based business case.

 

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