Your resume or CV should reflect your key experiences and be adapted to the industry you are working in. Recruiters may only need to spend a few seconds or a few minutes reviewing your document before concluding your alignment to the position at hand- allow your resume or CV to touch on the things they need to see. Use this as a guide, regardless of where you are in your career, to update your formatting and information, ensuring the highest level of professionalism and detail for consideration.
– Early Career –
In the early stages of your career, your resume should reflect your potential, curiosity, and growth mindset—positioning you as someone eager to contribute and learn. Start with a clear header that includes your full name, address, email, and phone number. This sets a professional tone from the top.
Next, place your education section prominently, especially if you have fewer than four years of experience. Include your college’s name, location (if out of country), degree(s), graduation date or years attended, and any relevant academic honors, coursework, or certifications. If you’re part of any professional affiliations tied to your field of study, list them here as well.
Follow with your professional experience. Use 4–6 concise, action-oriented bullet points for each role, beginning with strong verbs and ideally ending with a soft skill or hinting at soft skills needed in the role. Highlight measurable achievements when possible. If you’ve worked with specific software or technical tools, mention them within the context of your job bullets—this shows application, not just familiarity. Then, include a skills and qualifications section. This can cover languages (with proficiency levels), relevant tools or systems, and certifications not already listed above. As you grow in your career—particularly after your second job—make sure your LinkedIn profile mirrors your resume’s structure and provides additional context. It should be in full detail by the time you have 2–3 years of experience.
Keep the entire resume to one page for less than four years of experience, expanding to two pages only once you’ve reached the 4–6 year mark. Any professional affiliations unrelated to your education should be placed in a final section at the bottom of the document. This structure ensures clarity, professionalism, and focus—three things that make an early-career resume stand out.
– Middle Management –
A strong middle management resume should begin with a clear and professional header that includes your full name, full address, phone number, email, and LinkedIn URL. This information should be easy to find at the top of the page to ensure seamless communication and credibility.
Your work experience should be listed in reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent role. For each position, include 5–7 bullet points that are direct and results-driven. Focus on what you did, how you did it, and the measurable outcome. Use specific KPIs and quantify results whenever possible. Include the number of direct and indirect reports to show the scale of your leadership. Avoid long descriptions—let the data speak for itself. Save explanations for the interview.
If you have led or contributed to significant projects that are relevant to the role you’re applying for, include a separate project experience section. In each example, be clear about your role, the scope of the project, and the results you achieved.
Education should be listed after your work experience, toward the bottom. Include start and end years, the name of the school, location, major(s) and minor(s), and name of the degree. If you belong to any professional affiliations related to your studies, list them here. If the affiliations are unrelated to your education, include all professional affiliations at the bottom of your resume in a separate section.
Include software tools and technical systems only where they were actually used—ideally within the bullet points of the roles in which they were applied. This ties tools directly to outcomes, making your experience more credible and actionable.
Your middle-management resume should be two to three pages long, with each section tightly written and structured around impact. Be clear, concise, and data-focused. Don’t describe—tell.
– Executive Level –
For an executive-level CV, start with your full name at the top along with your city, state, and zip code—include your full address only if applying for a local, on-site, or hybrid role. Also include your phone number, email, LinkedIn URL, and citizenship(s) if you are targeting global positions. Directly beneath this, add a concise professional summary with a broad header such as “Executive Marketing Leader” or “Global Sales Executive.” Underneath the summary, list your key skills or areas of expertise to immediately showcase your strengths.
When detailing your work experience, organize it by company as the header, listing your different job titles with start and end dates beneath each. Use 4–9 bullet points per role that focus on specific responsibilities, achievements, and measurable growth. Highlight global exposure and any relevant leadership of P&L, team size, or business model—especially for manufacturing or industrial sectors, where summarizing company facts like headcount, revenue, and headquarters location in italics can add important context. Keep the language results-focused, emphasizing growth, market shifts, and exceeding targets. Avoid periods at the end of bullets to maintain a clean, executive style.
What I often notice is candidates will not include every job experience, but I strongly recommend including every company with tenures. I advise against, however, adding a time frame for education at this level.
Your CV should be tailored to your industry and the role you are pursuing, focusing on your expertise and alignment rather than references or quotes from colleagues. There is no need to mention references—they will be requested if necessary. At the bottom of your CV, list your patents, published books, certifications, and language skills with proficiency levels to round out your qualifications. This document functions as a detailed CV rather than a traditional resume, typically running longer and providing a comprehensive view of your career leadership and impact.
Author: Mia Brandon, Account Manager and Head of Branding and Creative Recruiting, 2025