A Board resume is an ongoing, dynamic document. When preparing your Board resume you need to keep it current and keep it fresh. To do this, you need to ask for honest and candid feedback from your own personal advisory board.

Next, you need to decide on whether you will prepare your Board resume on your own or if you will engage a firm to help. Having an outsider’s input can help you hone in on your unique value proposition and help develop what skills you want to highlight. Putting together a Board resume is an important step in any Board journey, and that’s why at Women Get On Board we offer Board resume consultations to our members to help them showcase their Board skills and value proposition.

Preparing your Board resume also requires creativity on your part to really think about what makes you unique and how you stand out from others. As I have mentioned in my previous blog Are You Board-ready?, you have to be mindful that it is a very competitive marketplace. There is an over-supply of qualified corporate directors for a limited supply of available corporate board seats. So, you need to engage your creative mind to think on who you are, what you offer and how you’re going to go to market to let others know that you are looking for a board opportunity in a particular industry/sector and how you can add value.

Your Board resume should be no more two pages. It is a summary of your skills to a Board and highlights your

  1. value proposition, i.e. the value add your bring to a Board, your unique offering;
  2. skills and expertise;
  3. industry-specific knowledge;
  4. career accomplishments — highlight your executive and other relevant leadership roles to showcase your understanding of the business, the industry and the broader macro environment to gain the respect and confidence of the current board members;
  5. speaking engagements and awards — list areas that you are sought after as an expert or have thought-leadership in, and any awards that recognize you for your accomplishments;
  6. current and past Board experience — highlight the committees you have served on and the leadership roles that you have taken, e.g. Chair of a Committee or Chair of the Board.

Preparing your Board resume takes time, creativity, feedback and continuous updating. Good luck!

Please save the dates for our 2016 Getting Board-ready workshops: http://womengetonboard.ca/workshops/

The purpose of the Getting Board-ready workshop series is to help women gain insights and learn about the skills they need to prepare for board opportunities. These half-day workshops will be facilitated by Corporate Directors and governance experts who will provide practical experience to empower women with tools to enhance confidence and courage to lead and serve on boards.