How to Write a Strategy Resume in 7 Steps (With Sample)

Updated 30 September 2022

To become a strategy specialist, it's important to craft an effective resume to showcase your skills and experience. Learning how to write a resume includes knowing what details to include and how to elaborate on your work experience, academic qualifications and skills. A quality resume can enhance your appeal to hiring managers and increase your chances of securing an interview. In this article, we discuss what a strategy resume is, explain how to write one in seven steps and provide a sample to help you write your own.

What is a strategy resume?

A strategy resume is a professional document that business strategy specialists use to demonstrate their relevant skills and experiences to hiring managers. Strategy specialists typically have extensive industry experience and academic qualifications. It's important for candidates to detail their qualifications and elaborate on their expertise in their resumes. An effective resume can successfully persuade hiring managers to offer a candidate an interview. It can also showcase how a candidate's career objectives align with the company's objectives, demonstrating that the candidate is a suitable fit and has the drive to pursue similar goals.

This type of resume typically includes similar sections to other resumes. Keep your resume to one page, and include your contact details, professional summary or objective statement, work experience, education history and relevant skills. It's important to read through the job description and highlight the main responsibilities and skills. This ensures that you incorporate them into your resume to show that you're a suitable candidate. Following the job description language and style also demonstrates that you created a job-specific resume.

How to write a strategy resume

Before you start writing your resume, it can be helpful to understand the steps to take. This gives you a clearer idea of the necessary information to include and how you can appeal to hiring managers. Consider following these seven steps to write your resume:

1. Understand your audience

The first step is to identify and understand your audience. Research the organisation you're applying to by browsing their website and social media pages. This can give you an insight into the company's culture, goals and vision. Based on that information and details from the job posting, you can align your qualifications with their requirements.

Documenting important information about the company and incorporating it into your resume shows that you're detail-oriented and sincere about applying for the position. This also enables you to know what credentials the company values and what information can make your resume more effective.

2. Format your contact details

Resumes typically begin with a header section that includes your first and last name and contact details. Ensure that you include your phone number and a professional email address. Current contact details give hiring managers various ways to reach you. You can also include direct links to an online portfolio, webpage or professional social media profiles. Links to your portfolio can be helpful to enhance your application and showcase your expertise.

3. Write a professional summary

A professional summary is a paragraph of two to four sentences that summarises your key attributes, skills and experiences. You can also use the professional summary to talk about your strongest assets and career goals, especially if they align with the organisation's goals. This demonstrates that you're a suitable fit and can contribute to meeting their objectives.

4. Elaborate on your work experience

In reverse chronological order, list your work history, starting with your present or most recent job position. For each position, include your job title, the name of the company, the duration of employment and four to six bulleted points detailing your duties and achievements. Keep each point clear and concise to give hiring managers a brief idea of your capabilities. It can be helpful to include quantitative data to detail your accomplishments and showcase your professional strengths.

5. Include your academic qualifications

If you're a recent graduate with minimal work experience, consider placing this section before your work experience section. This section highlights your academic qualifications, such as your degree and certifications. For each qualification, include details such as the name of the academic institution, major, year of graduation and any relevant coursework and projects.

You can also note your grade point average and any awards, scholarships or recognitions to enhance your resume. This demonstrates to hiring managers that you developed the necessary skills for the role during your studies. Only include your secondary or post-secondary academic qualifications if you took a diploma in a related field. Improve your application by detailing any extracurricular activities you participated in to develop your professional skills.

6. List your skills

Lastly, create a list of your hard and soft skills. This list makes it easier for hiring managers to review your qualifications and determine if you're a suitable fit. For strategy managers, skills you can consider including are data analysis, management consulting, financial modelling, strategic planning and business development. Strategy managers also require soft skills such as leadership, negotiation, communication and organisation. Listing a mix of hard and soft skills can reflect positively on your application since strategy managers often manage situations that require both business knowledge and strategic skills.

7. Review your resume

The final step is to proofread and review your resume. This step is important because you want to correct any spelling and grammar errors before submitting your resume. Consider getting a family member, friend or mentor to read through your resume. They can offer advice on how to enhance the resume or spot mistakes that you may have missed.

You can also use an online spellchecker or writing tool to help you check your work. Ensure that you leave sufficient space for margins and between sections for clarity and readability. After you've finished checking, save your resume as a PDF to prevent any unintentional edits when you submit your application.

Sample strategy resume

To guide you in writing your own resume, refer to sample resumes. They can give you insight into how to elaborate on the individual sections and what details to include. Here is a sample resume to help you craft your own:

Jenna Lee
+65 9999 9999 | jenna.l@email.com

Professional Summary
Passionate and efficient business development manager with more than seven years of professional experience. Excellent customer service and negotiation skills to enhance business operations and streamline processes. Results-oriented and increased sales by 30% within six months. Seeks to collaborate with team members to manage the feedback system to enhance the customer service experience.

Work Experience
Business Development Manager | April 2017–Current
Opal Pte. Ltd.

review and implement system changes to enhance the efficiency and response rates of feedback systems
collaborated with sales and marketing teams to increase monthly sales revenue by 40% in eight months
maintain relationships with clients through excellent communication skills
cultivate a productive workplace by working closely with the IT teams to implement SOPs for system malfunction issues

Senior Retail Director | July 2014–March 2017
Poppy Fashion

created employee training programmes to increase client retention rate by 30% in four months
revised and set new customer service standards and procedures to increase sales revenue by 40% in six months
collaborated and communicated effectively with team members to meet objectives and promote professional development

Education
Master of Business Administration, Klaus University
Bachelor of Communication Studies, Jamson University

Hobbies

skateboarding
cooking
fashion design
swimming