How to demonstrate leadership skills on your resume “if you hold that Job Title or NOT” ?

01. Skills to be highlighted for effective leadership

Besides clearly stating your job title, team size, projects led, achievements, practices initiated…., a leader’s profile should incorporate a right mix of soft and hard skills.

Some key skills to focus on your resume:

Stability & Commitment

Even if you weren’t in a leadership role in the past , highlight the “projects you spearheaded from conception to completion”. Steady and long term employment are a testimonial to your reliability as a leader.

Communication & Collaboration

A leader not only has to communicate vision and expectations to the team, but also should be able to “listen and collaborate” with them to meet goals and objectives.

Decisiveness & Conflict resolution

“Unambiguous and timely decisions” in the workplace is the key to effectively executing plans and achieving goals.

Constructive conflict resolution processes not only provide guidance and direction to team, but also help in “accommodating and respecting differences”.

Sustainability

A leader emphasises and prioritises sustainable growth and aligns it with organization’s future growth. In wake of climate change, the leader understands that the only way forward is to balance economic growth with protecting the environment.

Vision & Foresight

 Strategic vision enables a leader to see the long term potential and plan ahead for the future.

Competence & Empowerment

A leader not only has to have in depth understanding of the processes but also should be able to “delegate the task and empower teammates”.

Any social- economic impact engagements or volunteering work can also be used to highlight leadership skills.

02. State measurable metrics

Mention quantifiable achievements on your resume that can be “expressed numerically or as percentage of improvement rather than an unsubstantiated claim”.

Include measurable metrics related to increase in productivity and profitability, leading and creating team goals, enabled promotions and advancement opportunities to team members, solving problems, etc.

Hard facts about the scope of a project is in terms of budget and team size are compelling ways to appraise the hiring manager  about your leadership skills. It helps them see you and enables you position yourself as a leader even before you are interviewed!

03. Easy to read and well-structured resume       

Create a tidy, sequential and well-structured resume that’s easy to read. It not only shows your attention to detail and clarity of thought but also professionalism and organizational skills.