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Chief Operating Officer CV example

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The board need to see evidence of key results and aptitudes on your Chief Operating Officer CV, whilst also getting a sense of your leadership style and experience.

In our guide we share an example COO CV so that you can see what makes a candidate attractive on paper.

We also take you through everything you should include so that you are shortlisted for the role.

 

 

Chief Operating Officer CV example

Chief Operating Officer CV-1

Chief Operating Officer CV-2

 

This a good example of a Chief Operating Officer CV which contains all of the information that an employer would need to know, and presents it in a well- structured, easy-to-read manner.

Take some time to look at this CV and refer to it throughout the writing of your own CV for best results.

 

Chief Operating Officer CV structure and format

The format and structure of your CV is important because it will determine how easy it is for recruiters and employers to read your CV.

If they can find the information they need quickly, they’ll be happy; but if they struggle, your application could be overlooked.

A simple and logical structure will always create a better reading experience than a complex structure, and with a few simple formatting tricks, you’ll be good to go.

 

CV structure

 

Formatting Tips

  • Length: Two sides of A4 makes for the perfect CV length, though one page is okay for less experienced applicants. This forces you to make sure that every single sentence adds value to your CV and ensures you avoid waffle.
  • Readability: Recruiters appreciate CVs that they can quickly scan through without trouble. Ensure yours makes the cut by formatting your headings for attention (bold or coloured fonts should do the trick) and breaking up long paragraphs into smaller chunks or short, snappy bullet points.
  • Design: Your CV needs to look professional, sleek and easy to read. A subtle colour palette, clear font and simple design are generally best for this, as fancy designs are often harder to navigate.
  • Avoid photos: Recruiters can’t factor in appearance, gender or race into the recruitment process, so a profile photo is totally unnecessary. Additionally, company logos or images won’t add any value to your application, so you’re better off saving the space to showcase your experience instead.

 

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Structuring your CV

Divide your CV into the following major sections when writing it:

  • Name and contact details – Head your CV with your name and contact details, to let the reader know who you are and how to contact you.
  • CV profile – A brief paragraph which summarises your skills and experience and highlights why you’re a good match for the role.
  • Core skills list – A snappy, bullet-pointed list of your most relevant skills.
  • Work experience – A structured list of your work experience in reverse chronological order.
  • Education – A summary of any relevant qualifications or professional training you’ve completed.
  • Hobbies and interests – An optional section, which should only be used if your hobbies are relevant to the jobs you’re applying to.

 

Now I’ll guide you through exactly what you should include in each CV section.

 

CV Contact Details

Contact details

 

Make it easy for recruiters to get in touch, by heading your CV with your contact details.

There’s no need for excessive details – just list the basics:

  • Mobile number
  • Email address – Use a professional address with no nicknames.
  • Location – Just write your general location, such as ‘London’ or ‘Cardiff’ – there’s no need to put your full address.
  • LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL

 

Chief Operating Officer CV Profile

Your CV profile is basically a short introductory paragraph, which summarises your key selling points and highlights why you’d make a good hire.

So, write a well-rounded summary of what you do, what your key skills are, and what relevant experience you have.

It needs to be short, snappy and punchy and, ultimately, entice the reader to read the rest of your CV.

 

CV profile

 

Tips for creating an impactful CV profile:

  • Keep it brief: Recruiters are busy, so to ensure your profile is actually read, it’s best to keep it short and snappy. 3-5 punchy lines makes for the perfect profile.
  • Tailor it: The biggest CV mistake? A generic, mass-produced document which is sent out to tens of employers. If you want to land an interview, you need to tailor your CV profile (and your application as a whole) to the specific roles you’re applying for. So, before you start writing, remember to read over those job descriptions and make a list of the skills, knowledge and experience the employers are looking for.
  • Don’t add an objective: Want to talk about your career goals and objectives? While the profile may seem like a good space to do so, they’re actually much better suited to your cover letter.
  • Avoid cliches: Focus on fact, not fluff. Phrases like “Committed and enthusiastic thought-leader” and “Dynamic problem solver” might sound fancy, but they’ll do nothing for your application. Not only do they sound cheesy, but they have no substance – stick to real skills and facts

 

What to include in your Chief Operating Officer CV profile?

  • Summary of experience: To give employers an idea of your capabilities, show them your track record by giving an overview of the types of companies you have worked for in the past and the roles you have carried out for previous employers – but keep it high level and save the details for your experience section.
  • Relevant skills: Employers need to know what skills you can bring to their organisation, and ideally they want to see skills that match their job vacancy. So, research your target roles thoroughly and add the most important Chief Operating Officer skills to your profile.
  • Essential qualifications: If the jobs you are applying to require candidates to have certain qualifications, then you must add them in your profile to ensure they are seen by hiring managers.

Quick tip: If spelling and grammar are not a strong point of yours, Use our quick-and-easy CV Builder to add pre-written content that has been created by recruitment experts, and proofread by our team.

 

Core skills section

Underneath your profile, create a core skills section to make your most relevant skills jump off the page at readers.

It should be made up of 2-3 columns of bullet points of your relevant skills.

Before you do this, look over the job description and make a list of any specific skills, specialisms or knowledge required.

Then, make sure to use your findings in your list. This will paint you as the perfect match for the role.

 

Core skills section CV

 

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Work experience/Career history

By this point, employers will be keen to know more detail about you career history.

Starting with your most recent role and working backwards, create a snappy list of any relevant roles you’ve held.

This could be freelance, voluntary, part-time or temporary jobs too. Anything that’s relevant to your target role is well-worth listing!

Work experience

Structuring your roles

Lengthy, unbroken chunks of text is a recruiters worst nightmare, but your work experience section can easily end up looking like that if you are not careful.

To avoid this, use my tried-and-tested 3-step structure, as illustrated below:

Role descriptions
Outline

Begin with a summary of your role, detailing what the purpose of your job was, who you reported to and what size of team you were part of (or led).

 

Key responsibilities

Next, write up a punchy list of your daily duties and responsibilities, using bullet points.

Wherever you can, point out how you put your hard skills and knowledge to use – especially skills which are applicable to your target role.

 

Key achievements

To finish off each role and prove the impact you made, list 1-3 stand out achievements, results or accomplishments.

This could be anything which had a positive outcome for the company you worked for, or perhaps a client/customer.
Where applicable, quantify your examples with facts and figures.

 

Education

At the bottom of your CV is your full education section. You can list your formal academic qualifications, such as:

  • Degree
  • GCSE’s
  • A levels

As well as any specific Chief Operating Officer qualifications that are essential to the jobs you are applying for.
Note down the name of the qualification, the organisation at which you studied, and the date of completion.

 

Interests and hobbies

The hobbies and interests CV section isn’t mandatory, so don’t worry if you’re out of room by this point.

However, if you have an interesting hobby, or an interest that could make you seem more suitable for the role, then certainly think about adding.

Be careful what you include though… Only consider hobbies that exhibit skills that are required for roles as a Chief Operating Officer, or transferable workplace skills.
There is never any need to tell employers that you like to watch TV and eat out.

 

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Essential skills for your Chief Operating Officer CV

Tailoring your CV to the roles you are applying for is key to success, so make sure to read through the job descriptions and tailor your skills accordingly.

However, commonly desired Chief Operating Officer skills include:

  • Leadership skills – Exceptionally weave evidence of your leadership skills throughout the CV so that the board understands your nature as a leader.
  • Business acumen – Showcase multidisciplinary business acumen, demonstrating your full understanding of the constraints and opportunities of the business.
  • Strategic skills – Convey that strategy is at the core of your working practices and how you apply strategic thinking across a range of demands, especially in regards to finance.
  • Innovative – Demonstrate that you are able to devise new and effective solutions which underpin the business’s success.
  • Management – Explain how you manage in a way that uses organisation, order and collaboration to achieve efficiency and productivity.

 

 

Writing your Chief Operating Officer CV

Creating a strong Chief Operating Officer CV requires a blend of punchy content, considered structure and format, and heavy tailoring.

By creating a punchy profile and core skills list, you’ll be able to hook recruiter’s attention and ensure your CV gets read.

Remember that research and relevance is the key to a good CV, so research your target roles before you start writing and pack your CV with relevant skills.

Best of luck with your next application!