The CV.  One has to have one and it is meant to show your skills and experience.  Having had an executive career for 25 years, it’s pretty hard not to have a CV that reads like an executive CV.  But to present as a credible non-executive director, one has to show how the executive experience translates to being of value in a non-executive way.  In the first twelve months of looking for non-exec roles, I think I revised my CV four or five times (maybe more), following advice to reflect more metrics, bring out my commercial acumen, emphasise skills, limit it to two pages… But it still reads like an executive CV because it reflects an executive career.

Of the five meetings I’ve had this week, one was with a head hunter, who after talking to me said she understood much more about me than my CV represented.  Clearly my CV is not doing its job!  With some of her comments in mind, I am now working on making the CV one page and rather than talking about where I have been, will try to have it reflect what I have done that will have relevance to boards. Seemingly the same thing as I was doing before; but perhaps the titles of the executive roles create a perception that the words that follow don’t necessarily dispel.  Turning my CV on its head is going to be a challenge, perhaps a bit like turning myself inside out. But a different perspective will be a good thing.  After all, that is part of the value of a good NED.

Coffee count: 135