{"id":19035,"date":"2015-11-10T14:00:16","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T19:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/?p=19035"},"modified":"2022-01-27T09:19:16","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T14:19:16","slug":"mba-career-advice-three-tests-for-your-resume-the-ceo-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/mba-career-advice-three-tests-for-your-resume-the-ceo-test\/","title":{"rendered":"MBA Career Advice: Three Tests for Your Resume: The CEO Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this weekly series, our friends at MBA Career Coaches will be dispensing invaluable advice to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews.
\n\"MBA<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Once your bullets make sense to a lay person, what you have accomplished can truly shine. Or, if your resume is like most people\u2019s your complete lack of accomplishment will stick out like a sore thumb. That\u2019s not because you haven\u2019t accomplished meaningful things in your career, it\u2019s because you haven\u2019t structured your bullets to emphasize results.<\/p>\n

Why does this matter? Again, remember, you are seeking more responsibility; you want to manage and lead; you want to have a bigger impact. Your ability to do each of those things rests on your ability to understand the impact you have already had and how the work you have done has influenced real business outcomes, even if you were the junior-most member of the team (take note consultants, accountants, and bankers!!) Even in a team environment, you need to uncover your meaningful individual contributions to the shared outcome.<\/span><\/p>\n

So that means that each bullet on your resume needs to contain a result. The outcome and impact needs to be visible and, where possible, measured. Did your work lead to estimated time or money saved? Did the relationship you built result in a quantifiable sale? Did your analysis drive a key recommendation that changed the final result of the project in measurable ways? Your bullets need to highlight your accomplishments.<\/p>\n

Think about this as the CEO Test. If the CEO of your company were to read that bullet, would she shake your hand? Would he care<\/em> that you did that? Or would she stare blankly with indifference? The CEO is responsible for the workings of the entire company, and so he or she will likely be unconcerned with the job responsibilities of any one member of the team. Results, on the other hand, especially those that translate to the bottom line, no matter how small, are a matter of CEO concern.<\/p>\n

You want each of your bullets to showcase a result that you produced and where you excelled vis-a-vis expectations, targets, or peers. Do your best to measure your results in real terms \u2013 dollars or time, for example \u2013 in a way that translates directly to the bottom line wherever possible.<\/p>\n

Consider these examples:<\/p>\n

CEO Test Fail:<\/h3>\n