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CHAPTER 5

RESUME AND COVER LETTER TIPS

Your cover letter to a PEG firm Partner should state that you are highly qualified for and interested in a skin in the game position with an appropriate portfolio company owned by this PEG. Based on your research, you note that this PEG owns a number of portfolio companies in industries and markets where you have proven expertise in growing certain competitor companies to achieve profitable sales, EBITDA, acquisition integrations, and successful liquidity events.

This cover letter presumes you have researched your PEG targets, including their portfolio companies. You should inform your targeted PEG audience if you have proven experience in growing a company or companies that compete with one or more of the PEG’s portfolio companies.

Targeted PEGs you are pursuing for skin in the game senior jobs will typically be interested in proven senior executives from related or competitor middle market portfolio companies, especially those seeking to invest some of their own money in a business whose equity they can own, then they can help it grow profitably towards a typical successful exit in five years or less. PEG target firms also react well to you mentioning upfront that you have worked successfully for XYZ PEG firm in one of their prosperous LBO deals, putting your own skin in the game.

Your cover letters to targeted PEG firms must communicate any of your past company achievements depending on your line management function.

Show if you have:

 Helped add value

 Increased cash flow or improved sales

 Introduced new products

 Opened new markets

 Profitably outsourced production

 Reduced debt

 Kept Capex manageable

 Met all covenants

 Improved EBITDA

Other typical PEG interests include integrating acquisitions, reducing inventory, eliminating duplicate facilities and unprofitable products, and measuring key performance indicators weekly. Be sure to mention any past successful portfolio company employment under a PEG. Your experience will get the quick attention of your targeted PEG.

Your cover letter should state your functional expertise when you are seeking to partner with a like-minded PEG. If you know other like-minded functions in which you are also qualified and in which you are interested, state that as well. Indicate metrics, product line profitability dollars saved, percentages of EBITDA increased where applicable to zero in on your level of profit improvement, cost reduction or sales increase, and function as leader or team member.

If you say you have P&L experience, make sure it’s full P&L line management experience as a CEO/President/GM over Sales, Marketing, Operations, and CFO. Do your homework before you write your cover letter. Know your PEG audience, portfolio companies, their business model, and backgrounds of Partners you are emailing. In chapter 6 I cover how to approach PEG targets.

If you have a profile on LinkedIn, you might include the link as you are ending your cover letter. Personally, I prefer quality ivory bond paper snail mail to emails. The end result is a greater likelihood of your cover letter and resume being read by your target PEG audience. The better the fit between your background and experience to the targeted PEG, the more you should use the US Postal service and an ivory bond paper letter and envelope for your message and resume. It’s also critically important to have an accurate targeted recipients list. Such a list should have correct titles, spelling of names, and accurate addresses. Just because your peers predominantly use emails in their job approaches doesn’t mean you should as well. Check out chapter 9 and Bob Bronstein, “blast mailer” friend of mine.

SKIN IN THE GAME JOB SEARCH RESUMES

Finding a good senior executive job is more difficult than it used to be in the current economy. Furthermore, it is important that you are comfortable with current communication technology, including social media. Most PEG hiring authorities will ask you to email your resume before they will talk with you, much less interview you.

You need to have a very impactful resume considering the potential value of a SITG executive position that will be charged with growing a PEG’s portfolio company. Hopefully your resume will cause targeted PEG Partners to contact you, or meet you about a confidential portfolio company need (hidden job market). Some PEGs are seeking to partner with skin in the game CEOs to acquire a company in select industries and niche markets (more about this subject in chapter 6).

You can always update your old resume, or buy a book on writing an executive resume for senior SITG executives. However, later in this chapter we have examples of resumes for this purpose, and recommendations to three top proven resume writing professionals.

If you are a “branded” SITG C-Level job seeker, graduated from a big name school (ideally with an MBA), and have worked for top branded companies, count your blessings. If your disposition is pleasant and you are not arrogant, you have quite a combination of positives going for you in seeking an SITG job with a middle market PEG. Additionally, if you have represented branded products, not job hopped or made a questionable job change or two, your resume will automatically attract the attention and interest of a certain number of PEG hiring authorities.

However, especially in a tight job market, a less stellar resume is typically viewed differently if your degree is from a “minor” branded school. If your functional employment history has been with non-branded companies or those ranked below the leaders in their respective industries, your resume must focus on your roles in goals achieved, metrics results, and contributions to employer growth. PEGs will notice your resume numbers rather than adjectives. Focus on numbers such as: KPIs, cutting dollars wasted, improvement metrics, percentage sales increase, and profitability. Lean, no-nonsense, action-oriented resumes.

You can’t expect your resume alone to get you hired for a skin in the game job opportunity, but done well, it’s a critical first step. Your goal is to get a face-to-face interview with a middle market PEG hiring authority whose company is a match with your skills, experience, and interests. If you managed a brassiere manufacturing company, you will probably not be a fit with a missile systems designer and manufacturer. When I was a Vice President with Weidemann Consultants in New York City years ago, there was a saying, “Macy’s wants Gimbels.” Like attracts like. Remember, key references from your most recent employment periods will be asked to verify your resume claims.

Produce a resume stating facts and details of your results that you are prepared to back up in an interview with knowledgeable references and related documentation such as a self-rating quiz. Provide metrics, percentages, monetary values, and numbers related to your stated results.

Be sure to sufficiently identify each of your past employers in the line following the company’s name. List sales volume, manufactured or distributed products, or types of services, markets, various locations, and parent company’s name. A pet peeve of mine is that numerous resumes I receive do not explain what the applicant’s company does.

Avoid using jargon. Use language understandable by most business people. Be concise, curb using too many adjectives. Instead use data, numbers, and metrics. “Cut to the chase”. I wouldn’t worry about length since your PEG target employer is in the due diligence business. Their approach is typically the more info they have, the better hiring decision they will make. Aim for brevity, facts, data, numbers, results, and sufficient detail.

Based on your past affiliations, the more branded names in your resume of products, employers, vendors and markets, the more interest to the reader. Brand names typically connected with any of the PEG’s current portfolio companies or targeted acquisition prospects are preferred.

Be careful of putting specific sensitive or confidential financial information in your resume about your current or most recent employer if you are under a confidentiality agreement.

I like to see “reason for leaving” after each employer change and state the employment period. Many promising SITG senior executive job offers are lost if this information is misinterpreted. Your job change explanations (covering the last twenty years or so) should be credible and optimally verifiable.

Regardless of your motive, never omit former jobs from your employment history. You have to behave as if fifteen of your former employer references will be checked by the PE firm before they make you an offer. Social media sites like LinkedIn will probably contain most or all of your former bosses’ bios free for the PEG’s perusing. So again, be prepared for PEG cold reference calls about you.

Does your current resume and cover letter adequately show your real overall financial values, results, and potential contributions in metrics? Depending on your C-Level function, you should touch on productivity measurement versus industry norms in Sales, Operations, Marketing and Support productivity. Also indicate when you have been employed in any PEG owned portfolio companies in similar industries and related markets to your own career achievements. Mention if you have previously put your money into a portion of the company’s equity.

Remember to write a frank and honest resume, especially regarding your job titles, experiences, and accomplishments. I advise most executives to ask their most important references in their most recent jobs to provide them with a written one paragraph reference. I always recommend they send each reference a copy of their resume and a reference request confirming the resume statements covering the time they worked with the job seeker. If the resume is not truthful and contains gross exaggerations, most references will not agree to confirm their mutual experiences with the resume’s statements. Numerous times I have emailed a job candidate’s resume to the reference I am checking and the first thing I am asked is, “Who wrote this bull crap, anyway? It’s mostly baloney!”

Do you need a proven first class executive resume writer to help produce an effective resume? Below are proven experts I recommend if you want top notch help producing a high quality resume and cover letter.

Mark S. Freedman, Director, The Resource Planning Group, Inc.

http://www.resourceplanning.com/#!bios/c20r9

Ph. 1-413-458-9462

Email: mfreedman@resourceplanning.com

Mark is skilled in creating a cutting-edge personal branding presentation as well as the traditional resume format. He applies that expertise in both consulting assignments and resume production.

In 1994 Mark founded the Career Strategies Division that provides resume and cover letter development and production, direct targeted mailing, and search strategy coaching and counseling to senior level executives worldwide. His clients represent all line and staff functions within a broad range of industries. They include food service, biotech and pharma, consumer products, manufacturing, hospitality, telecommunications, IT and high tech, and sports management. He has established alliances with national job banks and outplacement organizations to provide resume consultation and development to their clients and members.

Previously, Mark served as Executive Director of large and medium-sized human service agencies in California and New York. He has developed leading-edge programs and procured the grant funding for persons with a broad range of disabilities to maximize their potential and integrate them into an independent life in their communities.

Mark has been a featured speaker at many New York City metropolitan area organizations on the topic of executive job search strategy. He has been published in Resumes! Resumes! Resumes!, Career Press, 1997, and Resume Winners from the Pros, Wendy S. Enelow, Impact Publications, 1998.

He received his B.A. from California State University, Hayward, pursued his M.A. at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and earned credits toward a Ph.D. while teaching Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Jan Melnik M.A., MRW, CCM, CPRW, Specialties: Professional Career Management, Interview Coaching, Job Search Coaching, and Resume Writing Services... create branded resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, critical leadership initiatives addenda, bios, and other targeted career-search tools for the highly motivated and accomplished professional... Executive Coach | Career Strategist | Keynote Speaker | LinkedIn Coach |

www.janmelnik.com

Ph. 860-349-0256

Email: compspjan@aol.com

As a regular career expert on NBC, Jan speaks frequently at libraries, universities, and conferences nationwide, and is quoted in the media regularly (from the New York Times and Entrepreneur to USA Today).

Since 1992, Jan has written seven books, five in the entrepreneurial field for Globe Pequot Press and two for JIST Publishing. In 2006, JIST published Executive’s Pocket Guide to ROI Resumes and Job Search (co-authored with Louise Kursmark). In 2007, One-Hour College Application Essay was published by JIST.

John Marcus, award-winning author whose books include The Resume Doctor: How to Transform a Troublesome Work History Into a Winning Resume (Harper Collins), The Resume Makeover (McGraw-Hill) and The Complete Job Interview Handbook (Harper Perennial).

Ph. 941-363-0340

Email: Jobauthor@aol.com

Your local library will likely have a copy of these gems for you to peruse. The Wall Street Journal’s career website hailed The Resume Makeover as, “The authoritative guide to resume writing.”

C-Level executives always ask me what type of resume format I prefer: the chronological format or the resume featuring skills and accomplishments. I prefer the chronological resume. Should you worry about whether your resume is one page, two pages, or three pages? Again PEGs are due diligence-oriented deal makers. If you need three pages to incorporate your credentials, skills, accomplishments, and experiences, then three pages it is. I favor a black and blue and white resume with blue highlighting featured metrics, sales, numbers, and data.

If you feel confident that you can produce a legitimate attention-getting resume as opposed to a Barnum & Bailey version, go ahead and create one. I suggest you consult a professional resume and cover letter veteran expert writer. I recommend, in this highly competitive job market where there are many C-Level job contenders and fewer C-Level jobs, that you make a modest investment in your next SITG career move. Bob Bronstein has more to say in support of that at the end of chapter 9.

A final suggestion regarding your missing yet desirable credentials. If you lack an MBA, I suggest you look into local MBA programs online where you can study according to your schedule and time availability. While you are seeking an SITG job with a PEG, your time will be otherwise occupied for the most part. Securing an MBA takes longer that way, but I have seen instances where my SITG C-Level candidate enters an online MBA program, say in Operations Management, and lists it in his resume as currently enrolled in an MBA Operations Management degree curriculum. That will look better than your “lonely” undergraduate degree on your resume. The PEG client who hired this manager was impressed that this VP Operations, twenty years out of college, was continuing his education part-time and staying current in his career focus. It’s not a make or break issue but could be beneficial to you in more ways than just educationally.