CV Strategy

Your pitch. A strong executive resume or CV is well structured, concise, and easy to navigate. It presents your education, experience, and achievements as a clear, credible case for appointment, not a career history lesson.

Relevance matters. Every executive application must be purpose built for the role being targeted. If the content does not speak directly to the employer’s priorities and selection criteria, it is unlikely to pass ATS screening or reach decision makers.

It must stand apart. Senior roles attract strong competition. An effective executive resume highlights outcomes, leadership judgement, cultural fit, and influence, supported by evidence of delivery, commercial awareness, and depth of management experience. It should clearly signal why you are a stronger proposition than other well qualified candidates.

Evidence of adding value. A strong executive CV must demonstrate outcomes. Leading with accomplishments shows how you have added value, not just what you were responsible for. Many senior applications still over emphasise duties at the expense of impact.

Demonstrating results. An accomplishment led resume presents you as results driven. This is critical at senior level, where boards and hiring committees expect evidence of delivery, leadership judgement, and commercial impact, not broad assertions.

Positioning your achievements. We align your resume or CV to the employer’s selection criteria and priorities. Clear examples show how you think and operate, such as where you generated revenue, reduced cost, mitigated risk, or improved productivity. Quantified Problem, Action, Result examples strengthen credibility and make your impact easy to assess. See the accomplishment checklist.

Understanding the ATS. Most recruiters use Applicant Tracking Systems as the first screening stage. These systems operate much like a search algorithm, filtering applications that do not align closely enough with the role requirements before a human ever reviews them.

Formatting and alignment. We work together to ensure your resume or CV is structured in a way that ATS software can read accurately. Content is aligned to the role and selection criteria, so relevance is clear to both automated screening and human reviewers.

Using the right language. Keywords and phrases drawn directly from the job description play a critical role. Used properly, they signal alignment with the role, strengthen credibility, and improve the likelihood that your application is identified as a strong match.

Understanding selection criteria. Selection criteria set out the qualifications, experience, and personal attributes an employer uses to assess suitability for interview. For executives, they are particularly important because they reflect not just technical capability but alignment with strategy, leadership style, and organisational culture.

These criteria usually combine essential and desirable elements, such as:

• Proven leadership capability and experience managing teams or complex stakeholder environments.
• Relevant qualifications and depth of professional experience.
• Strategic judgement and sector-specific expertise.
• International or cross-cultural experience where relevant.
• Demonstrable achievements that have delivered measurable impact.

Job descriptions are often maintained by HR or remuneration teams and may lag behind the realities of the role. The gap between what is written and what decision-makers actually value can be significant. Minimum criteria are usually the most reliable baseline, but insight from recruiters or trusted networks often reveals what truly matters.

Selection Criteria Statements

• Government positions – Administrative, policy, programme, and project roles across all levels of government.
• Public service roles – Health, education, social services, and regulatory bodies.
• Education sector – Universities, TAFEs, and other institutions, particularly for academic, leadership, and senior professional roles.
• Healthcare sector – Public hospitals and community health services.
• Non-profit and community organisations – Especially those funded through government programmes.

Addressing selection criteria requires specific, relevant examples that demonstrate how you meet each requirement. Done well, these statements provide clear evidence of capability, judgement, and fit, rather than broad claims or career summaries.

My work with board-level and C-suite candidates is grounded in a clear understanding of how boards assess risk, capability, and fit. I have advised executives operating across regulated, commercial, and mission-driven environments, where governance, stakeholder scrutiny, and strategic clarity matter as much as operational performance.

I regularly support senior leaders and board aspirants across sectors including resources, infrastructure, health, education, technology, professional services, and not-for-profit. This includes roles spanning listed and private companies, government entities, statutory authorities, and charities, each with distinct governance expectations and decision-making dynamics.

Board and executive perspective. At board and executive level, appointments are rarely about career chronology. They are about judgement, credibility, alignment with organisational purpose, and the ability to contribute at the right altitude. My role is to help you articulate that value clearly and credibly, in language that resonates with chairs, directors, search firms, and nomination committees.

Governance-aware positioning. I understand how selection decisions are shaped by governance frameworks, risk profiles, funding models, and public accountability. This informs how your experience is framed, what is emphasised, and what is deliberately de-emphasised, particularly for board, committee, and senior statutory appointments.

Board-level applications demand clarity, restraint, and relevance. The aim is not to tell your whole story, but to present the right evidence of judgement, influence, and strategic contribution.

My CV development process

• Selection Criteria Audit

  We begin by analysing what the employer is genuinely seeking, both stated and implied. This forms the foundation for a focused, role-specific application.
• Insight into Your Future Employer

  We examine the organisation’s context, leadership, and operating environment, ensuring your application reflects commercial reality rather than generic assumptions.
• Skills and Fit Analysis

  Your experience, judgement, and leadership style are assessed against the employer’s priorities, guiding how strengths are emphasised and risks managed.
• Resume or CV Drafting

  Your career history is distilled into a focused executive CV or resume, written for senior decision-makers rather than as a chronological record.
• Resume Polishing

  The document is refined with close attention to clarity, emphasis, and credibility, ensuring alignment with expectations at board and executive level.
• Complementary Materials and Online Persona

  Supporting documents and online profiles are aligned to reinforce a consistent, authoritative professional narrative.
• The Application Process

  You submit a considered, compliant application designed to withstand both automated screening and senior-level scrutiny.

The more generic, the less effective Each client’s circumstances differ. This outline illustrates core principles only. Where no specific role is targeted, sector-level criteria may be used as a proxy, although this approach is inherently less effective for senior appointments.

About Elle Bradshaw

I bring hands on experience from senior roles in marketing, HR, and recruitment, including work with major mining, HR, and resources organisations in Australia. Over time, I have helped applicants pursue roles across Australia, the UK, and the United States. With a degree in Information Science, I also understand how digital recruitment systems assess and filter applications. I hold dual UK and Australian citizenship and work across both markets.

Sectors and organisations

My consulting work and previous employment spans a broad mix of public and private organisations, including power utilities, universities, police services, zoos, major mining and resources companies, state government bodies, information services providers, and biotech and pharmaceutical firms. I regularly work across sectors such as:

• Mining and resources CVs or resumes, including oil and gas
• Pharmaceutical, health, and nursing CVs or resumes
• Primary, secondary, and tertiary education CVs or resumes, including leadership roles
• Corporate management and C suite CVs or resumes, including international roles
• Political, chief of staff, and party pre selection CVs or resumes
• Government CVs or resumes at local, state, and federal level
• Franchisee and commercial operator CVs and applications
• Capability statement CVs for professionals and contractors
• Marketing and sales leadership CVs or resumes
• IT, AI, and digital leadership CVs or resumes
• ADF and former ADF CVs or resumes

My clients include regular folk as well as FTSE100 and ASX directors, distinguished individuals with KBE, OBE, AO, and MBE honours, politicians, and high-profile business professionals.

Certification and Memberships

I am a founder member of the UK based CVRA, an organisation dedicated to the professional certification and ongoing education of CV and resume writers worldwide.

• Video
• Website

Corporate engagements

I have delivered resume writing seminars and outplacement workshops for employees of Australian state and local governments, as well as universities.

Click on the phone, anytime night and day, to book a complimentary 15 minute call at a time that suits you.

To improve your chances of being shortlisted, focus on a resume that is clear, relevant to the role, and structured to work with ATS screening, not against it.

Ignoring the ATS

The obviously AI application

The generic resume trap

Missing the job requirements

Over designed resumes