Unleashing Your Inner Leader: Ultimate Guide to Highlighting Your Leadership Skills on Your Resume

Are you an early or mid-career professional eager to climb the ladder and make your mark on the world?

Do you feel like you have untapped leadership potential waiting to be discovered? Look no further! This action-packed blog will teach you how to highlight your leadership skills on your resume, even if you're not currently in a leadership position.

Are you ready to take your career to the next level and leave your competition in the dust? Are you staring at your resume and wondering how you can add leadership skills to it?

Buckle up, because this engaging article will reveal secret, actionable hacks that no one tells professionals. It's time to supercharge your resume and unlock the doors to success!

Tip 1: Identify Your Leadership Skills

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs

The first step in showcasing your leadership abilities is identifying them. Leadership is not just about being a CEO or a manager; it's about your ability to inspire and influence others to achieve common goals. Early and mid-career professionals can exhibit leadership skills in various ways, including communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and team-building.

Reflect on your experiences and identify instances where you demonstrated these skills. Consider moments when you took charge of a group project, resolved conflicts, or initiated new ideas. Remember that leadership is not just about titles or positions, it is also about the impact you make on others.

Tip 2: Quantify Your Achievements

"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." - Jane Goodall

In a world driven by data, quantifying your achievements can make your resume stand out. Employers love to see numbers and statistics that showcase your accomplishments. When describing your leadership skills, provide concrete examples of how you made a difference.

For instance, if you led a team to increase sales or improve efficiency, include specific percentages or figures to highlight your success. Emphasize the outcomes of your actions and the positive impact on the organization. By doing so, you paint a vivid picture of your leadership abilities and their real-world applications.

Tip 3: Use Strong Action Verbs

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

The words you choose to describe your experiences can have a significant impact on the reader. Using strong action verbs can help demonstrate your leadership skills and make your resume more compelling.

Instead of using passive phrases like "was responsible for" or "assisted with," opt for powerful action verbs such as "spearheaded," "orchestrated," or "championed." These terms showcase your proactive approach and your ability to take charge, even if you're not in an official leadership position.

NOW for the HACKs, this is how you put the above into action.

Hack 1: Use the STAR Technique

Unlock the power of storytelling on your resume with the STAR technique. By structuring your accomplishments around the following: Use Situation, Task, Action, and Result and you'll create compelling stories that showcase your problem-solving abilities and make your resume unforgettable.

Hack 2: Personalize Your Resume for Each Job Application

Tailor your resume to match the specific requirements of each job you apply for. By aligning your skills and experiences with the employer's needs, you'll demonstrate your value and make your resume irresistible.

• CAUTION. If you find yourself making major changes to each application, I would encourage you to review your career target.

Hack 3: Set Monthly Reminders to Update Your Resume

Keep your resume fresh and up-to-date by setting monthly reminders to review and revise your accomplishments. This simple hack will ensure you're always ready to seize new opportunities with a razor-sharp resume.

• Use the "STAR" technique above to capture what you accomplished in a single month. If you start to think about every accomplishment like this, it's easier to highlight yourself later, whether that's for a performance review or interview.

Now that you have all of that, let's go to your resume, with your newly discovered skills. Now the process of hiring is quite selfish, on both ends, an employer wants an employee "like yesterday, already ready to provide value," AND you want a job with an employer who will provide growth for your future.

So let's start highlighting your leadership value or the value you can or will provide on the job.

Here are 5 areas you need to show up and show out in, EVEN if you don't have a lot of skills yet or have too many skills to count.

Let's rev up your resume and accelerate your career! The below work NO MATTER the industry

• Category 1: Making Money: Simply having a polished resume and an impressive list of credentials won't cut it anymore. In today's competitive job market, employers want to know how you can make their money. And why wouldn't they? After all, revenue is what keeps businesses afloat. So, in order to stand out from the crowd and show your value, it's essential to highlight your achievements in sales growth, market share gains, or new business development.

Resume Example: Won business away from competitors, including several large adoptions valued at $50,000+.

• Category 2: Saving Money: First of all who???? doesn't ????want to ????save money? One surefire way is to showcase your ability to streamline processes, optimize workflows, or boost productivity. This skill not only benefits the company, but it also demonstrates your value as a valuable asset to any team. So, how do you prove this ability?
• By providing examples of how you've improved efficiency for your past employers. Whether it's developing a new system, implementing technology, or refining a process, highlighting your contributions can set you apart from other candidates.

Resume Example: Saved a total of $10M in 2 years through the combined impact resulting from the negotiation of more favorable vendor terms, discounts, and cost avoidance.

• Category 3: Making Critical Business Decisions/Problem-Solving: It's time to exemplify your problem-solving abilities and prove that you're a valuable asset to any team. Think back on situations where you've tackled difficult problems, turned around underperforming projects, or resolved complex issues for previous employers. By sharing these stories with potential employers, you'll demonstrate your ability to think critically, act decisively, and come up with innovative solutions. Remember, your problem-solving abilities are what set you apart from the competition, so don't be afraid to showcase them proudly.

Resume Example: Reversed falling retail sales by transforming operational processes and developing top-performing sales teams to boost top and bottom-line growth, raising sales by 200% within 18 months, and 300%+ after that.

• Category 4: Increasing Efficiency and Productivity: One surefire way is to showcase your ability to streamline processes, optimize workflows, or boost productivity. This skill not only benefits the company, but also demonstrates your value as a valuable asset to any team. So, how do you prove this ability? By providing examples of how you've improved efficiency for your past employers. Whether it's developing a new system, implementing technology, or refining a process, highlighting your contributions can set you apart from other candidates.

Resume Example: Reversed 5 years of declines and revived growth in a market that continues to shrink up to 10% annually.

• Category 5: Improving Customer and/or Employee Relationships: Whether you've enhanced client relationships, boosted customer satisfaction, or increased customer retention, highlighting these achievements demonstrates that you prioritize the needs and desires of your customers. Employers want to see that you are focused on delivering exceptional service and creating positive experiences for their clients. So, don't be afraid to share your success stories and prove that you have what it takes to go above and beyond for your customers. Trust me, it's the key to unlocking your potential in the eyes of employers.

Resume Example: Maintained 99.9% client retention, serving as an ambassador and face of the company.

Conclusion

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Peter Drucker

Unleashing your leadership potential is an essential step in achieving your dreams and maximizing your career opportunities. By identifying your leadership skills, quantifying your achievements, and using strong action verbs, you can create a resume that showcases your abilities and sets you apart from the competition.

Remember, every great leader started somewhere, and even if you're not currently in a leadership role, your potential is waiting to be discovered. As Oprah Winfrey once said, "You become what you believe." So believe in yourself, take charge of your future, and embrace the leader within you.

Let me know if any of the above helps you!