Managing Director CV, Template & Examples

CV Building Tips for Managing Director Roles

A managing director role is a leadership position; a resume summary should be designed around that fact. Displaying leadership on a piece of paper, however, is more complex. It is more involved than simply stating that you achieved 150% of your targets or executed a project successfully. It has to be a combination of dozens of factors t presented subtly to convince your potential employer of your leadership skills and business acumen.

A managing director’s resume can significantly boost one’s career and open up tremendous opportunities if prepared correctly and accurately.

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Quality Matters, but So Does the Quantity

The most apparent difference between the CV of a managing director (or other senior positions), on the one hand, and mid-level executives, on the other, is the length of the CV. In most cases, keeping the CV restricted to a single page is advisable. However, the CV is usually several pages long for a managing director position where the experience requirement could be anything from 15 to 30 years. And each of those pages must have exact information highlighting all the necessary skills.

Another essential consideration to bear in mind whilst working on your CV is that at this level, there are only usually a few CVs under consideration. Therefore, each CV received for a managing director position should be scrutinised in detail and thoroughly vetted.

Whereas for other roles, an average recruiter spends just seven seconds glancing through a single CV.

In addition to the CV, reference checks are usually made formally or informally via former colleagues, superiors and clients.

Managing Director CV Profile

Your CV profile should have a brief introduction paragraph summarising your most valuable selling point and explaining why you are a successful candidate.

An assertive sentence is critical for a successful managing director, similar to a mission statement in a company. 

An outstanding managing director’s resume must be short and punchy to differentiate you from the other candidates.

There isn’t a general requirement for career objectives, although naturally, these will be discussed during interviews.

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Skills Section

It is advisable to have a critical skills section within a managing director’s CV tailored to the relevant role.

Whether it is business development, strategic planning, project management, stakeholder management, or business acumen (and these are just examples), it is a snapshot of how you can add value to an organisation displayed as bullet points.

Clearly, a managing director would have accumulated a wide range of skills across several industries because of their position. However, it is unnecessary to list them all, as most will be “expected” (such as strong leadership, human resources skills, financial literacy, problem-solving etc.). Still, as stated above, this should be tailored and relevant to the applied role.

The reader needs to feel that you are the right person.

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Career History on a Managing Director’s CV

The previous experience section contains the professional history of a Managing Director.
The roles and the career path should be in reverse chronological order to focus on the current position.

The history should show the job title, general responsibility, possibly the size of the organisation (in terms of revenue), and achievements within the business (which can be anything from improvement in profitability, or turnaround of companies, increased market share).

It’s important to distinguish this section from a job description. Again, because of the breadth of the role and responsibilities, Managing Directors may have many achievements in their career. To differentiate themselves, rather than providing a long list, they should focus on what is relevant and essential for the role they are applying for.

Three or four achievements would be sufficient.

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Achievements for a Managing Director’s CV

Identifying and comparing results in a managing director’s career with productivity and profits is a matter.

Figures must clearly show that growth in profit or product percentages is measurable over time, and the cost is reduced.

You will need a summary that contains impressive information and figures and has particular and emphatic language. This section must hit hard – these are on your Resume (after your Profile) and represent the stage where a recruiter or a recruiting agency could start to make an offer for you.

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How To Feature a Wide Range of Abilities in the Experience Section of Your Resume:

Avoid to-do lists. You have flexibility here. Often, Hiring Managers will call someone for advice before hiring you.
They are interested in figuring out who you are during work and your private life and to see, of course, whether you are suitable for their job, and they can present you to their prospective employer. They should have no cause for concern about missing gaps in your resume or lack of skills.

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Which Hard Skills Will Impress Hiring Managers?

A managing director’s CV is a CV like no other.

Business administration and financial literacy are complex skills generally expected from any managing director.

However, whilst today’s environment has demonstrated that a managing director can have a very different background (engineering, finance, sales, business development), all candidates will be expected to manage stakeholders, have customer intimacy, and have a thorough understanding of a company.

They will complement this with the hard skills gained in their profession (graphic design, project management, civil engineering etc.)

Easy Formatting

Good formatting can make any document look detailed and easily accessible. The CV should be well-formatted to provide the best possible user experience.

Ideally, they must contain at least two or three pages so the user may easily select all the essential information. Good formatting demonstrates a candidate’s ability to show strong attention to detail in addition to a professional approach to writing. In such senior roles, spelling mistakes and grammar would not be tolerated.

The managing director’s CV must “look good to the eye”, which is why formatting is essential, ensuring that the reader is not overwhelmed with unnecessary information.

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Describing Soft Skills on Your Managing Director Resume

Recruiters view adaptability, flexibility, mindfulness and emotional intelligence as top skills, which usually provide tangible results. While most job duties involve developing relationships, your employer wants results too, as skills in isolation do not give the reader a flavour of a Managing Director’s achievements:

Examples could include:

• XYZ organised regular meetings with staff at every department and company level resulting in 79% lower complaints and 163% higher morale.
• XYZ reduced its financial operations by restructuring and re-evaluating existing vendor contracts by 15%.

Is It Important To Have an Education Section on Your Resume?

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Yes, it is. With an MBA, it is easier for a candidate to find a Managing Director role; not impossible, but difficult.

The education section should be brief and focus on the MBA, University Degree, and additional certifications (such as Chartered Accountant).

What Skills Do You Need To Be a Managing Director?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to this. A lot depends on the company or business, the industry in which it operates and the success factors or long-term goals required.

There is an expectation that a Managing Director will be versatile with finance, have strong business acumen and a drive for growth, as well as have a robust human resource component; after all, the Managing Director is the ultimate leader of an organisation and is effectively responsible for personnel at all levels.

However, soft skills and emotional intelligence undoubtedly propel a Managing Director above the rest.

Communication is also crucial. As the “ultimate leader” in charge of driving a company through change, the Managing Director must communicate their message efficiently and effectively at all levels.

Professionally Made CVs for Successful Managing Director

For successful management, you will need both soft and hard skills. The role also requires excellent leadership ability in a highly competitive position. Your ability to make presentations will help you improve your communication quality. Problem-solving and decision-making as a whole are also critical skills.

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For senior-level positions, the CV is more than just a summary of your achievements.

It is like a dossier or a mini-proposal as to why the company should consider you for its topmost position.

The CV should list all your skills, achievements and work experience detail them and provide information as to what skills were used or developed in the execution of those projects or job responsibilities.

Executives should spend dozens of hours building their CVs. By the time someone has enough experience for a managing director’s position. Therefore, the CV should be a finely tuned and professionally made document.

Some executives even employ the services of professional consulting firms specialising in polishing up CVs for top-tier executives.

These tend to be extremely useful for a managing director’s CV as it is normal to be somewhat biased when writing your CV in terms of format or language as, after all, a managing director’s CV is a “selling document”.

A professional consultant can provide a different perspective and has the added knowledge of tried and tested techniques. The cost will typically not be prohibitive; therefore, given the document’s importance, it would be advisable for candidates to consider such a professional CV writer.

Read our example CV below and use the above guidance to improve your managing director CV:

Download your Managing Director CV

Learn More About a Career as a managing director and Other Details by Following the Links Below:

Job Description & Profile, Salary & Pay, Qualifications, Skills & Requirements, How to Become etc.

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