What does a CAR have to do with your executive resume?

If you’re in the midst of a job hunt, you’ve likely added information to your resume that shows your job responsibilities and the scope of your authority throughout your career. But does your resume actually tell a story—or ALL of your success stories? You may have already realized that, in order to give a focused picture of your skills, you’ll need to add metrics to your resume. However, the most powerful and meaningful resumes tell several entire stories that add up to a picture of effectiveness over the length of your career—no matter what your situation. To create a resume that truly represents the full spectrum of what you offer, consider taking a look at the results of your work using the C-A-R (Challenge-Action-Result) strategy. The C-A-R method consists of these steps: first, describe the situation you faced at work (Challenge), then what you did when faced with it (Action). Last but not least, the outcome (Result) that you achieved is the critical part. The C-A-R formula is a popular solution to BOTH resume writing and interview situations, and for good reason. When you describe your reaction to business problems, and the way in which you solve them, you give employers a clear picture of how you'll handle similar issues in your next job. As you might expect, true proof of your capabilities shouldn’t merely be saved for the interview! Weaving examples of your achievements and bottom-line contributions in context throughout your resume will allow your leadership brand to take center stage as a theme. Here are some tips for developing success stories with the C-A-R method that will bring your executive resume to life—and make your accomplishments jump off the page: 1 – Look at your Challenges in context. All too often, executives will say that they’ve continually needed to make improvements in the core infrastructure of the businesses they’re charged with leading. In these cases, the Challenge is clear. For other professionals, Challenges can come in the form of transitioning an organization to a new level of competence, or having the charter to improve team performance. Look carefully at the problems you’ve been asked to solve, and also at the problems you’ve NEEDED to solve, in order to lay the foundation for your success stories. 2 – Describe the Actions you took to resolve the issues. These Actions can be in the form of new programs instituted, design of business processes, or training to assist other professionals in meeting their responsibilities. In some cases, leadership professionals can be called upon to address issues outside of their typical span of control, such as handling a merger when the company is suddenly acquired. Whatever the scenario, it’s best to describe Actions in very concise fashion, since you’ll want to save room to show the impact of the situation (the Results) as the most important part of the story. 3 – Quantify your Results. Metrics play a crucial role in a compelling and powerful executive resume. In fact, there’s no better way to underscore your capabilities for a leadership role than to show a profitable and favorable outcome to your actions. Where possible, add dollar figures, percentages, year-over-year growth metrics, and other quantifiable information to the story. You’ll find that employers will key more into the Results on your resume than any other information you can present. In order to round out the C-A-R strategy, it’s best to reformat your story so that the Results appear FIRST, followed by the Action or Challenge. These examples demonstrate the use of the C-A-R strategy: Original Sentence: Grew revenue 21% in 3 different markets. C-A-R Strategy: Grew revenue 21%, adding $1.7 million in 3 markets by training new sales representatives in benefit selling techniques. Original Sentence: Improved operations efficiency for production plant. C-A-R Strategy: Added 20% more operational output, despite use of outdated equipment, by developing training manual to increase employee efficiency. As you can see, using this method allows you to reframe your achievements by adding the context in which they occurred—which is a key part of these leadership success stories. Since employers value (and NEED) top performance more than ever in today’s economy, resumes that show this information are more well-received, and capture MORE interviews for the candidates they represent. So, remember that adding achievements to your executive resume is only part of the story you can tell! Incorporating the C-A-R strategy will more vividly describe your professional and leadership style, competencies, and the positive effects of your work. Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CIC Executive Director; Triple-Certified, Published Global Expert & Job Search Coach Six-Time Global Award Honoree for Excellence in Resume Writing Master Resume Writer Candidate | Author, How to Get Hired Faster