Resume guide · Job Zone 5

Chief Executivesresume guide.

Determine and formulate policies and provide overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations within guidelines set up by a board A strong Chief Executives resume shows judgment and decision making, complex problem solving and critical thinking, and names the tools you have worked with, such as SAP software, Intuit QuickBooks and Microsoft Access.

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01Also called

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CEO (Chief Executive Officer)Chief Diversity Officer (CDO)Chief Financial Officer (CFO)Chief Information Officer (CIO)Chief Operating Officer (COO)Chief Technical Officer (CTO)Executive DirectorExecutive Vice President (EVP)Operations Vice President (Operations VP)President

02Skills employers expect

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Importance is how much the skill matters to the job; level is how much of it the job demands. Both are worth naming on the resume, in this order.

SkillImportanceLevel
Judgment and Decision MakingVery highAdvanced
Complex Problem SolvingVery highAdvanced
Critical ThinkingVery highAdvanced
CoordinationVery highAdvanced
Management of Financial ResourcesVery highAdvanced
Management of Personnel ResourcesVery highAdvanced
SpeakingVery highAdvanced
Systems EvaluationVery highAdvanced
NegotiationVery highAdvanced
Reading ComprehensionVery highAdvanced

03Knowledge areas

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  • Administration and Management
  • Personnel and Human Resources
  • English Language
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Economics and Accounting
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Education and Training

04Common responsibilities

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Ordered by importance. Each one is a bullet waiting for a result and a number.

  1. Direct or coordinate an organization's financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.
  2. Confer with board members, organization officials, or staff members to discuss issues, coordinate activities, or resolve problems.
  3. Prepare budgets for approval, including those for funding or implementation of programs.
  4. Direct, plan, or implement policies, objectives, or activities of organizations or businesses to ensure continuing operations, to maximize returns on investments, or to increase productivity.
  5. Prepare or present reports concerning activities, expenses, budgets, government statutes or rulings, or other items affecting businesses or program services.
  6. Implement corrective action plans to solve organizational or departmental problems.
  7. Analyze operations to evaluate performance of a company or its staff in meeting objectives or to determine areas of potential cost reduction, program improvement, or policy change.
  8. Direct or coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.
  9. Direct human resources activities, including the approval of human resource plans or activities, the selection of directors or other high-level staff, or establishment or organization of major departments.
  10. Appoint department heads or managers and assign or delegate responsibilities to them.

05Software and tools

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48 tools across 23 categories. The six largest categories are below; Hot marks a hot technology, In demand a tool employers ask for most often.

Enterprise resource planning ERP software6
+ 1 more
Accounting software4
  • Intuit QuickBooksHotIn demand
  • Sage 50 Accounting
  • Fund accounting software
  • ComputerEase construction accounting software
Data base user interface and query software4
Human resources software4
  • Human resource information system (HRIS)
  • Halogen e360
  • Halogen ePraisal
  • Infor SSA Human Capital Management
Analytical or scientific software3
  • Lyris HQ Web-Analytics Solution
  • Nedstat Sitestat
  • Online advertising reporting software
Electronic mail software3
Project management software3
Customer relationship management CRM software2
  • Blackbaud The Raiser's EdgeIn demand
  • Oracle Siebel Server Sync
Document management software2
Graphics or photo imaging software2
  • SmugMug Flickr
  • Graphic presentation software
Presentation software2
Time accounting software2
  • Exact Software Macola ES Labor Performance
  • Norchard Solutions Succession Wizard
Content workflow software1
  • Atlassian JIRAHotIn demand
Data base management system software1
  • Relational database management software
Data base reporting software1
  • Database reporting software
Desktop publishing software1
Enterprise application integration software1
Financial analysis software1
  • Microsoft FRx
Internet browser software1
Office suite software1
Spreadsheet software1
Web platform development software1
  • PHPHotIn demand
Word processing software1

06Education and preparation

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Typical education
Master's Degree
46% of surveyed workers. Others report Bachelor's Degree (32%) and Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (5%).
Preparation level
Job Zone 5 · Extensive preparation
Usually a graduate degree and extensive related experience.

07Putting it on your resume

ResumeXRays guidance
BEE · How to show it

Lead with what you built. For a Job Zone 5 role, hiring managers and parsers both look for outcomes before credentials. Put two or three results at the top of each job entry, with the scale or effect stated plainly.

Name the tools exactly. This occupation is heavy on named software. A skills section that says "SAP software, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Access, Structured query language SQL" matches more job descriptions than a general phrase. Use the spelling employers use.

Show complex problem solving and critical thinking, not just judgment and decision making. Complex problem solving and critical thinking rank close to judgment and decision making for this occupation. One bullet per role that shows a decision, a tradeoff or a result covers them.

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