Building a Board Résumé

This tool provides actionable insights for building a résumé that effectively highlights a candidate’s board-readiness and unique experience. The guidance can be tailored for various board opportunities by highlighting specific strengths or industry experiences, depending on the targeted board role. 

Introduction 

Every executive is accustomed to having a résumé as a tool for career advancement, often starting from the executive’s earliest years in the workforce. The résumé for board service necessitates a shift in approach. The document must tell a story beyond career, accomplishments, and employment history. It needs to concisely and precisely outline the individual’s unique combination of skills, experience, and capacity for strategy, oversight, and insight which they will bring to the board, in the quietly competitive world of directorship. The language used, achievements highlighted, and even the format applied must lend itself to ease of reading for the audience, who is often the chair of a nominating and governance committee, general counsel, recruiter (search professional), and/or eventually the entire board.  

Building the Board Résumé 

There isn’t a single, universal approach or format for creating an effective board résumé. Below are foundational strategies to make a résumé impactful and to emphasize relevant experiences for a board role.