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By Wendy S. Enelow

This article is not about the ABC's of basic resume writing. Rather, it's about creating the "right" perception of who you are to support your current executive job search objectives. If you're an EVP of Sales looking for another sales management position, the resume writing process is reasonably straightforward, with an emphasis on your sales and management achievements.

However, if you're that same EVP of Sales who is now looking to transition into a general management role as COO, CEO, or another senior-level leadership position, your resume will be entirely different. Although you'll continue to highlight your strong revenue performance, you'll want equal emphasis on your management achievements, roles, and responsibilities which can vary dramatically and may include such functions as budgeting, financial management, supply chain management, hiring, training, developing and launching new products and services, establishing international operations, and more. You must create a resume strategy and structure that "paints the picture" as you wish someone to "see" you and understand your value. Your goal is to write and design a resume that communicates that fact that you are a general manager and not just as sales executive.

Following are four common executive resume-writing strategies that might help you overcome specific issues or challenges you may be facing as you transition your career.

CHALLENGE: To position yourself for a career change into the technology industry when your entire experience has been in other industries.

SOLUTION: "Connect" yourself to the technology industry with a format similar to the one below that was written for an executive whose entire career had been in the plastics manufacturing industry. Note the description of his company.

CHALLENGE: To create a resume that you can use for BOTH general management positions as well as "specialized" management positions (e.g., CFO, CIO, Sales Director, VP of Logistics).

SOLUTION: Use the recommended format below. Note that this candidate wants to remain in the Financial Services & Banking industry, but is considering both general management and financial management positions.

CHALLENGE: To create a picture of cohesive employment despite the fact that your company has changed ownership four times in the last 10 years.

SOLUTION: Use the recommended format below. Note that it communicates long-term employee with the same organization and not a job hopper with four employers over the past 10 years.

CHALLENGE: To create the perception that you are a "big" company executive when the reality is that you've worked for small consulting firms throughout your entire career.

SOLUTION: Include a listing of your major corporate clients in the very first section of your resume. This clearly communicates that you've "played with the big boys" and immediately positions you as an "insider."

WARNING: There are no absolutes in resume writing. These recommendations are simply examples of alternative strategies that may or may not be applicable to your executive career track. Use them to help you rethink your resume writing strategy to be sure that you are writing to support your specific search objectives.

Remember, the single most important consideration in executive resume writing is to create an accurate picture of how you want to be perceived now (not in the past). Using your objective as the overall framework for your resume, how can you integrate your experiences to support that objective? You'll find that the answer may not be the traditional chronological resume format, but perhaps a more unique strategy like the examples showcased above.

Wendy S. Enelow, CCM, MRW, JCTC, CPRW, is the author of 18 books on executive job search including top-selling "Best Resumes For $100,000+ Jobs." She can be reached at www.wendyenelow.com.

Succession plans, either formal or informal, are in place at more than half of companies, according to a Society for Human Resource Management study. The succession plans at most companies address career development and succession for individuals at the executive-level, , often looking at the skills that employees would require over the next three years to step into the new role if needed. Formal succession plans are more common at large employers (more than 500 employees), and at publicly owned and privately held for-profit companies.

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