We know what it takes to get hired in an ever more competitive jobs market
Leadership capabilities are the primary factors hiring managers consider when evaluating prospects. Even if the role you’re applying for isn’t a leadership position, the ability to take charge when needed certainly offers an edge.
There’s hardly any role that doesn’t necessitate leadership competencies. At the very least, you must be able to take responsibility and lead yourself!
But the stakes are higher when you’re a seasoned career professional looking to land your next leadership role as a director, team lead or senior manager. In this case, highlighting leadership skills in your resume is crucial to a successful job hunting experience.
Up to 82% of companies make the wrong decision while hiring top managerial talent. Therefore, the scrutiny of applicants for leadership roles is higher than ever.
Not only will a well-crafted CV maximise your marketability, but it’ll also showcase your skills that fit the job. So you should take the opportunity to display your leadership competencies in your CV or Resume.
But, you need to adequately understand your various leadership skills to highlight them on your CV accurately. Here, we’ll consider all the crucial competencies you should include in your resume and how to showcase them confidently.
Why it’s Important to Highlight Leadership Skills on Your CV
Your CV is your first point of contact with hiring managers. So, it’ll influence your prospecting journey. Sometimes, you may meet the recruiter or employer before submitting your resume. However, employers will always peruse your CV before calling you for an interview.
Yes, soft skills qualify you for the job, but leadership competencies make you stand out from the crowd. Hiring managers will always look out for leadership qualities in prospectives. They believe people with dynamic leadership capabilities tend to stay longer in jobs, display more loyalty, and are often more motivated to get to the next milestone.
Leadership abilities are also a testament to having what it takes to commit to a goal for an extended duration. Leaders can build and function in a team. They also know how to manage people and the resources at their disposal. These competencies also include excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Filling your CV with these skills will improve your chances with the hiring managers. According to the Jobvite 2019 Recruiting Benchmark Report, an average of 29 people apply for the same position. That means the recruiter has to review 28 other CVs apart from yours. So you have to get it right to stand a chance. This is even more important if you’re applying for a leadership position.
How to Highlight Leadership Skills on Your Resume
The following are essential considerations you should put in mind when creating your resume.
Know Your Skills, Areas of Expertise and Shortcomings.
One of the attributes of a competent leader is constant and accurate self-evaluation. Great leaders are often self-conscious, staying well aware of their capabilities and shortcomings.
Once you achieve superior awareness of your capabilities, transfer and reflect that in your CV. In other words, highlight your strong leadership skills and core technical abilities in your CV. Of course, you shouldn’t forget to use confident words to accentuate your strengths.
Accentuate the Core Relevant Skills
It’s good practice never to omit any of your skills in your resume. However, when applying for a leadership position, you want to focus more on the leadership skills relevant to that role.
The average hiring manager takes about 7 seconds to review your CV. With such a small window, you want to avoid making them lose interest by citing irrelevant information in your CV.
It’s better to structure your CV to make your core competencies relevant to the role. Furthermore, make your skills easy to find on the page; don’t make the reviewer check the CV for long before determining what you have to offer.
And finally, use powerful words to accentuate and present your skills confidently.
Your Relevant Experiences Testify To Your Skills
Skills are essential for any job, but experience delivers social proof. Of course, you may obtain relevant leadership skills by attending classes and seminars, but your experiences matter.
Employers prefer when you apply the leadership skills mentioned to appropriate IRL situations. That means you not only have theoretical knowledge but also know how to use it.
Experience proves you have the skills and know how to apply them. The competencies are no longer just in your head; they’re also evident in your results.
When you highlight your leadership skills in your CV, be sure to include the relevant experience along with them.
We understand that not everyone may have had opportunities to build relevant experience. For example, say you’re considering a mid-career switch and haven’t had any extended leadership roles.
In such situations, you want to highlight ways you can demonstrate your potential. Or better still, sign up for activities that let you practice your leadership skills and indicate them in your CV.
You can volunteer for a project, offer to chair a local committee or head a community. These activities will not only give you opportunities to accrue relevant experiences, but you’ll also get to network and meet people. You may also pick up a few new skills along the way.
Other Examples of Sentences and Phrases that Indicate Leadership Skills
It’s easy to find yourself lost for ideas while expressing how you’ve applied your skills in a leadership position. Below are some examples to give you ideas on how to show your leadership skills on your resume without being too clumsy.
- It’s easy to find yourself lost for ideas while expressing how you’ve applied your skills in a leadership position. Below are some examples to give you ideas on how to show your leadership skills on your resume without being too clumsy.
- Spearheaded a fundraiser that helped us garner millions of dollars in seed capital for a project and also supervised the project’s execution.
- Increased operational efficiency by reviewing and revamping workflow processes in the department.
- Managed a team of 2000 plus Gen Zs and brand ambassadors across the various university campuses in the country.
- Developed a team of newbie sales reps into the most successful sales team in the organisation’s history at OPQ. Over 70% of them have also headed their separate groups and replicated our results.
Write that Job-Winning Leadership CV Today
Leadership skills are some of the core competencies hiring managers love to see on CVs. So you should highlight them as clearly as possible in your application.
Above, we’ve done the hard work of compiling a list of important leadership skills to include in your new resume. More importantly, we’ve provided examples of how to illustrate these core leadership competencies in the best light.
Still need help crafting that leadership resume? Our specialist leadership CV writers at The CV Expert have a track record for delivering impressive results.
Book an appointment with us to discuss your experience and target roles. We’ll do the rest!