What a Great Executive Resume Looks Like

Your resume needs to do one thing: show the hiring leader that you are the solution to their problems.

Of note:

1. You should never start your job search by sending a resume - you can't successfully tailor it to the hiring leader's challenges without first speaking with them and understanding what those challenges are. Your resume is then filling in the blanks and reaffirming you as the solution.
2. The right metrics, with the right context, are what speaks directly to the needs of the hiring leader. Past glories are meaningless if they are irrelevant.
3. You don't need to include responsibilities. They already know what your role entails. Your impact is what's important.

With that in mind, what does a great resume actually look like?

Here's a hypothetical example, tied directly to the challenges and needs of the hiring leader.

Chief Revenue Officer

Scenario

The prospective employer is a mid-stage SaaS company facing declining growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR), customer churn due to low adoption rates and inefficiencies in their go-to-market (GTM) strategy. They're looking for a Chief Revenue Officer to reignite growth, optimize customer success and build a cohesive revenue organization.

The Hiring Leader's Challenges

1. Declining growth in ARR due to lack of clear sales and marketing alignment.
2. High customer churn resulting from poor adoption and weak customer success processes.
3. Inefficient GTM strategy with misaligned pricing, product positioning and lead qualification processes.

The Resume

John Doe
Email: john.doe@email.com | Phone: (555) 555-5555 | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/url

Professional Summary
Strategic SaaS revenue leader with 15+ years of experience growing businesses and solving complex revenue challenges. Expertise in scaling startups to multi-million ARR, optimizing customer success strategies and aligning cross-functional teams for operational efficiency.

Professional Experience

Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
ScaleCloud, Austin, TX | 2018–Present
Recruited to solve stagnant ARR growth, customer churn and inefficiencies in the GTM strategy for a mid-stage SaaS platform.

Key Achievements:

• ARR Growth:
  • Drove 120% ARR growth ($60M to $132M) in three years by implementing a unified GTM strategy that aligned sales, marketing and customer success.
  • Introduced value-based pricing and bundling, increasing average contract value (ACV) by 35%.
• Churn Reduction:
  • Reduced churn from 20% to 12% by overhauling the customer success function, hiring a VP of Customer Success and launching a customer onboarding program that increased adoption by 40%.
  • Implemented quarterly business reviews (QBRs) for strategic accounts, driving a 25% increase in upsell revenue.
• Team Building:
  • Built a high-performing revenue organization by hiring 30+ sales and marketing professionals, including 5 key leadership roles.
  • Introduced a sales enablement program that reduced ramp time for new reps by 50%.

VP, Revenue and Growth
CloudTech, San Francisco, CA | 2014–2018
Tasked with scaling revenue operations and launching a global GTM strategy for an early-stage SaaS platform.

Key Achievements:

• Revenue Scale:
  • Grew ARR from $12M to $50M in four years by establishing a scalable GTM framework, including tiered account segmentation and regional sales strategies.
  • Increased lead-to-win rate by 20% through the implementation of a predictive lead scoring model.
• Expansion Success:
  • Launched international operations, driving $15M in ARR from EMEA and APAC markets within two years by establishing local teams and adapting the product for regional compliance.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  • Created alignment between sales and marketing teams, increasing pipeline conversion rates by 25% through the introduction of joint KPIs and streamlined handoff processes.

Director of Customer Success
DigitalFlow, Seattle, WA | 2010–2014
Recruited to build a customer success function from the ground up for a high-growth SaaS startup.

Key Achievements:

• Customer Retention:
  • Reduced churn from 25% to 15% in two years by implementing proactive engagement strategies, including an automated health scoring system to flag at-risk accounts.
  • Improved net retention rate (NRR) from 85% to 110% by driving expansion revenue through upselling and cross-selling initiatives.
• Adoption Metrics:
  • Increased adoption rates by 50% through the development of tailored training programs and onboarding workflows.
  • Built a customer advocacy program that generated 200+ referrals and drove $5M in additional ARR.

Previous Roles

• Senior Manager, Business Development – InnovateNow, Los Angeles, CA (2008–2010)
• Account Executive – EnterpriseTech, Denver, CO (2005–2008)

Education

MBA, Strategic Management
Stanford Graduate School of Business, Palo Alto, CA

B.S., Computer Science
University of California, Berkeley, CA

Why it Works

1. Directly Relevant Roles and Metrics Highlighted: The primary roles tie explicitly to the employer’s challenges, with clear metrics and context for each accomplishment. There's no fluff.
2. Previous Roles Condensed: Irrelevant positions are listed succinctly to show career progression without detracting from the focus.
3. Comprehensive and Tailored: The resume remains tailored to the SaaS company’s challenges while providing a full picture of career history.

Regardless of your role, the strategy is the same: understand the hiring leader's challenges and goals, then tie in your resume directly to them, leaving out everything else.

The hiring leader needs to be clear, in no uncertain terms, that you are their solution.