Creating a good directors resume can be tricky. People often do not know what to include or exclude. So, let us show you how you can write an excellent resume for both entry-level and senior director roles.
How to Write an Eye-Catching Directors Resume for a director position
As a director, you need to have clear communication and management skills when applying for a position. Your resume could be seen by multiple levels of people especially if applying for a position that uses nominating and governance committees. Writing a solid resume will get this message across to your recruiter effectively. To gather information about everything you need to include in your resume. You can look up various resume examples and sample director resumes to get your strategic planning skills proven.
Before you begin writing, you need to know the key elements to include for your job position and board seat application, like -
- A professional summary statement
- Open position structure
- Resume header
- Your academic qualifications
- Relevant work experience
- Quantifiable achievements
- Appropriate soft and hard skills
Each section needs the right amount of attention, and we will tell you how to do that.
Choosing the Right Template for Your Director Resume
Writing a resume is not listing down the skills and experiences you have. It needs to catch the hiring manager's attention. The best way to do that is to have a resume template.
A tailor-made template decides the format of your resume. Will it have margins all around or bullet points? The appearance is vital and has to be attractive to hook your recruiter.
A key part of a resume template is formatting.
Formatting helps you list your key skills, education, and other information compactly and appealingly. It also makes your resume more professional. The main types of arrangement that you can use include -
Chronological Formatting of a Directors Resume
This type of formatting is the most popular way of writing any resume. In this format, you jot down all your details in a reverse-chronological manner. So, your most recent information goes on top and the earliest at the bottom. If you are someone with plenty of experience in the directing field, we recommend using this format.
Talk about your bachelor’s degree and your communication skills. Recruiters expect resumes to have an objective statement, and educational experience. If you’ve any extensive experience don’t forget to mention it, especially when you need to demonstrate your director skill set.
Functional Formatting of a Directors Resume
If you are an entry-level director aspirant with enough technical skills but no job experience to validate them, you should use functional formatting - something many resume examples suggest. It will help highlight your practical knowledge. Every directors resume needs to showcase your technical skills as well as your strategic planning abilities.
Combination Formatting of a Directors Resume
This format is a combination of reverse-chronological and functional layouts. It is perfect for someone with practical directorial skills and enough experience to show for the same.
To better understand how formatting works, you can go through some of our director resume templates to get an idea.
Writing the Director Resume Summary
Your resume summary is an introduction to everything else you write. This section will essentially answer why the recruiter should hire you as a director for their company. You write about your internal governance skills and your previous experiences in a short paragraph. You need to remember that an effective summary is brief, precise, and professional.
We will help you with resume examples that will aid in your job search. The director skills section helps the hiring manager know about your board interaction experience, and your visionary leadership.
Directors Positions Resume Summary Examples:
Your professional resume should highlight the talents that align with the management position you are applying for. This is the section where you answer why an employer should hire you. Let us look at an example of a professional summary that will help you write your own.
The Best Technical Skills Section for Director Positions
When writing your professional history section, you need to be clever. You may have worked at many companies before, but you need to carefully pick the ones you can include in your directing resume.
This section of your resume should reflect, in detail, your past work experiences that align with the role you are presently applying for. Whether it is for an executive director or assistant director, your hiring manager should understand that you're to fill vacancies for the job. Read director resume samples that will help you showcase all your abilities such as your internal governance experience.
To write an excellent work experience section, you can use these additional tips in your director resume
- Bullet point each job and explain your roles, keeping in mind the positions and skills that your recruiter is looking for.
- Always include numbers to show your previous performances. Did you help increase profits through your managerial campaigns by a certain percentage? Include that.
- Use action words to emphasize accomplishments. Show off your achievements, but do so subtly.
- If you have part-time jobs and internships that fit the current role you're applying to and are within the last ten years, include them.
Multiple Director Resume Samples - Job Description Examples
Your job description needs to tell hiring managers about your work history, personal data, communication skills and more. When interviewing candidates, hiring managers look for the resume length, the education section, the leadership roles on offer, and the extensive experience of the candidate.
In most director resume samples, you will find work experiences written like the following resume example. In your director resume, try to follow a similar style.
People reviewing your resume samples will want to see that.
Apple, Austin, TX
Senior Director
Communications
July 2016 - Present
- Managed and led campaigns to help improve communications strategy.
- Establish beneficial relationships between global team leaders for the company's research organization.
- Upgraded search strategy by 15% through the implementation of social media, SEO, and SEM.
- Successfully supervised content developing activities and improved results for the same.
Apple, Austin, TX
- Managed team of 10
- Achieved monthly sales goals regularly
Dell, Atlanta, GA
Director of Sales
August 2013 - July 2015
- Led and managed 10+ campaigns to help improve market expansion strategies.
- Conducted a bi-weekly meeting of junior employees to report on sales proceedings.
- Hosted a project management workshop, churning out efficient junior directors.
- Trained a group of high-performing sales associates, leading to a 17% increase in sales.
Education Section of the Director's Resume
It’s crucial in every application, especially when it comes to career marketing. Director resume samples are no different. By writing a well-formatted education section, you will be letting your employer know that you have the proper training to handle the job roles.
Here's what you must include:
- The names of every academic institution you attended with their complete details - the degrees you received, the courses you took and the dates of beginning and finishing your studies.
- Don't forget your GPA, as it is the best way for your employer to judge your educational qualifications.
- Do you have any vocational or professional training that makes you invaluable to the job in question? Maybe any committee work experience? Include that in your director resume.
Honors, Awards, and Accomplishments
Your awards are an excellent way to flaunt your technical and professional skills. For your resume, remember to include relevant honors and achievements you received throughout your work life. Did you win Employee of the Month three consecutive times at your last job? Write it in your resume for a director's role. A director will head a team of junior employees. By putting in your trophies, you will give the hiring manager more incentive to recruit you.
Let us tell you some extra tips to frame the awards section for a perfect resume:
- Don't just mention the titles of the awards. Include the levels, if any, and a short description of the reason behind them to emphasize achievements.
- Did you win an award two times in a row? How many people did you overtake in the race? Was there a scholarship you won? Answer these questions where possible and quantify the awards.
- Include only academic and professional honors in this section. Ensure that they are relevant to the industry experience that the job in question calls for.
- You are writing a director's resume. So, highlight any trophy that showcases your leadership qualities, even if it is a high school honor.
Examples of Awards and Achievements
Some ways to include your achievements in this section are:
Best Performer Award
Awarded for excellent improvement in sales team performance at Dell
June 2016
Person of the Year
Awarded for outstanding achievements as the Director of Marketing at HP
September 2018
Skills
For an effective resume, you need to add your skills section correctly. In this section, you will broadcast your technical prowess and some soft skills to help your recruiter know you better in terms of your skillset.
Hard Skills in your Executive Resume
Your hard skills are the skills that make you valuable to the new job at hand. Under this subsection, include your technical knowledge. This can range from various software-related talents you have to different directing techniques that you are familiar with. Remember that your employer can put your hard skills to the test.
Soft Skills for your Director Resume
These are related to your performance in the industry. These are the personal qualities and strengths that enhance your contribution and make you an indispensable member of a team. These will help you in your job hunt may include:
- Excellent time management.
- Fluency in conversation and explanatory techniques.
- Maintaining workplace ethics and adaptability.
Director Resume Expert Tips :
People often exaggerate their skills as they cannot be put to the test unless hired. Don't do that. Recruiters are good enough to catch an overstatement .
Focus on and sell your hard skills mainly because these are what employers are looking for. Soft skills are an extra addition and do not carry much weight. Before beginning to write, list all your technical talents. But in the resume, mention only those that align with the new job.
Extra Tips for Creating the Best Director's Resume
If you follow our recommendations above, you are on your way to creating the perfect resume for your dream job. But there are some extra tips that you should keep in mind while writing. You can also take a look at writing in the reverse chronological order, or including a summary statement and your past experience. Many resume samples can help you know how to do that.
Add a Title
In most director resume samples, you will see an eye-catching title. An attractive resume title is vital to landing a job because it immediately conveys your professional designation to the recruiter. It also establishes professional worth.
Here is how you can write an excellent title for your resume:
Always use crisp and formal language in your title to make it short but effective. Avoid using irregular capitalization and informal tone like the following -
Amazing Sales Director with a lot of Awards in his pockets
Art Director who can bring you More Customers through better Art Designing
Remember Your Contact Information
Your personal details are as important as any other details in your resume because this is how your recruiter will be able to connect to you when needed. Always begin your resume by placing your contact information at the beginning where it is visible. The things you need to put in this section are -
- Home address or an approximate location
- Your current phone number
- The email address to reach you
- Any portfolio or website link where the employer can check your previous work
When entering your email ID, we recommend using a professional email address like the below just make sure it looks professional and nothing that could be interpreted as childish, unprofessional or improper .
jennifer03@gmail.com
jenniferraynor@gmail.com
jennyforever@gmail.com .
Jennylovesdrink@gmail.com
Key Takeaways
After this detailed description of how your director's resume should look, let's take a quick overview of everything.
- Always use formal language and make your resume look brilliant and crisp.
- Use bullet points to illustrate your experiences and achievements.
- Only include information that is relevant to your new job.
- A concise title and an executive summary can hook your recruiter.
- Make use of attractive sub-headings to catch your employer's eye.
- Emphasize your hard skills more than your soft skills.
Frequently Asked Questions for the Director's Resume
Let's answer some of the frequently asked questions related to writing and help you get a good idea of a resume example.
The first tip to do this is to choose the correct format. Then, you need to include all the necessary information that aligns with the job role you are applying for. This article should help you write an excellent resume for director positions.
The correct format to include your master's degree is :
- Stanford University
- Masters in Business Administration (MBA)
- 2011-2013
- GPA: 3.8/4
It's best to keep your director's resume short and effective. You can even write it on one page if you use the correct formatting and our recommendations to keep it concise.
Employers spend less than 10 seconds per application.