CEO CV Examples & Guide for 2025

Navigating the complexities of articulating your diverse leadership experience and vision for multiple industries can be a significant CV challenge for a CEO like yourself. Our bespoke guide provides strategic insights into refining your narrative, ensuring that your unique skill set and accomplishments are succinctly captured and resonate with the high-calibre organisations you aspire to lead.

How complex should the format of your ceo CV be?

Perhaps, you decided to use a fancy font and plenty of colours to ensure your ceo CV stands out amongst the pile of other candidate profiles. Alas - this may confuse recruiters. By keeping your format simple and organising your information coherently, you'll ultimately make a better impression. What matters most is your experience, while your CV format should act as complementary thing by:

• Presenting the information in a reverse chronological order with the most recent of your jobs first. This is done so that your career history stays organised and is aligned to the role;
• Making it easy for recruiters to get in touch with you by including your contact details in the CV header. Regarding the design of your CV header, include plenty of white space and icons to draw attention to your information. If you're applying for roles in the UK, don't include a photo, as this is considered a bad practice;
• Organising your most important CV sections with consistent colours, plenty of white space, and appropriate margins (2.54 cm). Remember that your CV design should always aim at legibility and to spotlight your key information;
• Writing no more than two pages of your relevant experience. For candidates who are just starting out in the field, we recommend to have an one-page CV.

One more thing about your CV format - you may be worried if your double column CV is Applicant Tracker System (ATS) complaint. In our recent study, we discovered that both single and double-column CVs are ATS-friendly . Most ATSes out there can also read all serif and sans serif fonts. We suggest you go with modern, yet simple, fonts (e.g. Rubik, Lato, Raleway) instead of the classic Times New Roman. You'll want your application to stand out, and many candidates still go for the classics. Finally, you'll have to export your CV. If you're wondering if you should select Doc or PDF, we always advise going with PDF. Your CV in PDF will stay intact and opens easily on every OS, including Mac OS.

How to present your contact details and job keywords in your ceo CV header

Located at the top of your ceo CV, the header presents recruiters with your key personal information, headline, and professional photo. When creating your CV header, include your:

• Contact details - avoid listing your work email or telephone number and, also, email addresses that sound unprofessional (e.g. koolKittyCat$3@gmail.com is definitely a big no);
• Headline - it should be relevant, concise, and specific to the role you're applying for, integrating keywords and action verbs;
• Photo - instead of including a photograph from your family reunion, select one that shows you in a more professional light. It's also good to note that in some countries (e.g. the UK and US), it's best to avoid photos on your CV as they may serve as bias.

What do other industry professionals include in their CV header? Make sure to check out the next bit of your guide to see real-life examples:

Catching recruiters' attention with your ceo CV summary or objective

Located closer to the top of your CV, both the summary and objective are no more than five sentences long and serve as an introduction to your experience. What is more, you could use either to entice recruiters to read on. Select the:

• Summary, if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience. Feature your most impressive accomplishments and up to three skills that are relevant to the job you're applying for;
• Objective, if you're just starting your career off. Provide your career goals and answer how you see the role you are applying for will match your professional growth.

Judging which one you need to add to your ceo CV may at times seem difficult. That’s why you need to check out how professionals, with similar to your experience, have written their summary or objective, in the examples below:

The best formula for your ceo CV experience section

The CV experience section is the space where many candidates go wrong by merely listing their work history and duties. Don't do that. Instead, use the job description to better understand what matters most for the role and integrate these keywords across your CV. Thus, you should focus on:

• showcasing your accomplishments to hint that you're results-oriented;
• highlighting your skill set by integrating job keywords, technologies, and transferrable skills in your experience bullets;
• listing your roles in reverse chronological order, starting with the latest and most senior, to hint at how you have grown your career;
• featuring metrics, in the form of percentage, numbers, etc. to make your success more tangible.

When writing each experience bullet, start with a strong, actionable verb, then follow it up with a skill, accomplishment, or metric. Use these professional examples to perfect your CV experience section:

Writing your CV without professional experience for your first job or when switching industries

There comes a day, when applying for a job, you happen to have no relevant experience, whatsoever. Yet, you're keen on putting your name in the hat. What should you do? Candidates who part-time experience , internships, and volunteer work.

The CV skills' divide: between hard and soft skills

Of course, you may have read the job requirements plenty of times now, but it's key to note that there is a difference between technical and personal skills. Both are equally relevant to your job application. When writing about your skill set, ensure you've copy-pasted the precise skill from the job requirement. This would not only help you ensure you have the correct spelling, but also pass any Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessments.

• Hard skills show your technological capabilities. Or whether you'll be a good technical fit to the organisation. Ensure you've spotlighted your hard skills in various sections of your CV (e.g. skills section, projects, experience) by including the technology and what you've attained;
• Soft skills pinpoint your personality and people or communication skills, hinting at if you'll easily accomodate into the team or organisation. Quantify your soft skills in your CV achievements, strengths, summary/objective, and experience sections. Always support your soft skills with how they've helped you grow as a professional.

CV education and certificates: your academic background as proof of your skill set

A common misconception about your ceo CV education is that you only need it, if you have less professional experience. That is completely false. The CV education section serves to back up your technical (and sometimes personal) capabilities, fill in gaps in your work history, and show you have the initial industry background and know-how. When creating your education section:

• List your degrees in the reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent (and relevant) ones first;
• Include your degree and university names, start and graduation dates. It's optional to also denote you received a "First-Class Honours" for diplomas that are more relevant to the role;
• Curate your relevant university coursework, projects, or thesis work if you happen to have less professional expertise and need to integrate more job keywords and skills.

Your professional qualifications don't need to stop at your academic background. It's advisable to also select up to three of your most noteworthy (and relevant) industry certificates and feature them in a dedicated section. Once more, include the certificate name, the institution that issued it out, and the date you obtained it on. You could feature both hard skills and soft skills certificates, as in the examples below:

Key takeaways

Impressing recruiters with your experience, skill set, and values starts with your professional ceo CV. Write concisely and always aim to answer job requirements with what you've achieved; furthermore:

• Select a simple design that complements your experience and ensures your profile is presentable;
• Include an opening statement that either spotlights your key achievements (summary) or showcases your career ambitions (objective);
• Curate your experience bullets, so that each one commences with a strong, action verb and is followed up by your skill and accomplishment;
• List your hard and soft skills all across different sections of your CV to ensure your application meets the requirements;
• Dedicate space to your relevant higher education diplomas and your certificates to show recruiters you have the necessary industry background.