Getting The Job: Demonstrate Leadership Skills On Your CV

Guest Blogger Jocasta Morrison is back with hints on how you can demonstrate leadership on you CV

“The average job posting attracts 100 to 250 applicants and out of this number only an average of 20 % will be interviewed.  How do you make sure that amongst hundreds of applicants, you will be asked to proceed to the interview stage and possible chosen for the job?  Your CV is the first opportunity you have to impress the hiring manager.  At first glance, your CV must show that you possess leadership skills and responsibility.  To do so, you must highlight specific experiences that will demonstrate your leadership capability.

Provide examples to make you stand out

The most important thing you can do is to provide specific examples that demonstrate your leadership skills.  Most applicants commit the common mistake of just declaring that they have leadership skills, but they fail to provide any evidence.  You can mention your accomplishments from your previous work and provide details on what you did and how you did it. For instance, you can mention that you handled a team of new salespeople and that you helped them to overcome challenges they face while at work.  Provide an example of how you committed a mistake and how you were accountable to what you did. While it is a risk to say that have committed a mistake, try to write in a way that will show that you are responsible for your actions and open to improvement.

Quantify your outcomes

Good leaders not only inspire others, they also ensure that performance is up to par and that the team delivers specific and measurable outcomes.  In writing your CV, you should make sure that you quantify your results with hard numbers. As much as possible, do not include vague descriptions of your results.  For instance, you could mentioned that due to your use of healthcare marketing strategies such as using social media, the sales of the company went up by 15 %.  

Align your resume to the job description

Do not use generic resumes for all your job applications.  You have to write a resume based on the job description because you want to show that you are the best candidate for a specific job.  In one job ad for a marketing manager of a company that is a specialist supplier of laboratory products based in Buckinghamshire, the job description states that the applicant will support the business through forward-looking strategy and maintain company brand with brand guidelines. You must show how your experiences fit these specific responsibilities. When you tailor your resume based on the specific needs of the job, the employer and recruiter will perceive that you are efficient. It will also show that you read the entire job posting.

Hiring managers look for individuals with leadership potential. This does not mean that they look for people who excel at being the boss or people who give around orders.  Companies want to hire people that they can trust to be responsible. They want to hire people who might be the future of the company.  Highlighting certain experiences will show that you have leadership skills.”

When applying for a job through us, our consultants will offer you support and guidence with highlighting skills on your CV. To find out more about the opportunities we have available within our Scientific, Engineering, Dental, Medical, Animal Health, Consumer Healthcare, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Communications sectors, you can register your details, send us a message, call us on +44 (0)1494 818 000 or drop is an email.