The 8 crucial elements of a compelling Board CV

Even a perfect Board CV is unlikely to get you appointed. However, a poorly written or thought-out Board CV will possibly lose you an opportunity or, at best, fail to separate you from your competitors. It’s just not worth the risk. In my previous article, I explained why you need a Board CV. In this article, I want to take you through the 8 crucial elements of how to write a compelling Board CV. 

1. A board profile

Your Board CV must include your board profile.  It should briefly summarise your board or committee experience and how long you have been working with or on boards.  Don’t make any aspirational statements here. Also, ensure you add any relevant qualifications or extra-professional successes you have had – particularly those focused on governance. I like to write it in the first person – on balance, I think it is marginally better received. If you haven’t yet, you need to write this.

2. Board & committee experience

Include a list of your independent non-executive or committee experience. Do not limit your examples to just formal non-executive directorships; you can legitimately include sub-committee or committee roles, as well as other formal responsibilities with a strategic or governance perspective. 

Under each example, you should provide a list of:

• Any sub-committee positions you have held – for example, audit, governance, remuneration or nominations committees.
• Why you were appointed to the board/committee.
• Include some demonstrable evidence of your success in that role.

Remember that simply listing that you were a board member does not demonstrate that you were a good board member – only your success does this! When providing evidence of success, be specific and avoid making unsupported statements.

If you haven’t had any board or committee experience, you should not include this section. Once you have gained your first appointment, you can insert it. Instead, use this section below.

3. Board level experience

This section provides a bridge between your board and executive experience and is useful for those who have no formal NED or Board/Committee experience. The operative word here is ‘level’ – that means listing all of your experience working with boards in an executive capacity. For example, if you were a CEO/CFO or Director who reported to a board, this is where to include it. If you were an executive director or MD but also sat on a management committee, then include it here. Likewise, if you sat on a policy,  a program, or an audit committee, then include it. 

If you are struggling to find this sort of experience in your background, consider pushing to be part of an internal committee or volunteer for your child’s school council or sports group. There are also plenty of local charities that would value your help. Developing this experience can quickly enable you to list NED experience in your Board CV.

4. Executive experience

Following these board experience sections is your Executive Experience. This section lists, again in descending order, your executive career roles. Whilst you might be tempted to cut and paste this entirely from your executive CV, you should first edit it. You need to strip all the context and minutiae out of your executive CV. Focus instead on listing your successes in that role and your governance, strategic, and macro experience. Be as specific as possible and include statistics or numerical evidence. Don’t, for example, just state that you were a senior executive, as this does not demonstrate that you were a good senior executive.

5. Qualifications and education

List both your tertiary qualifications and any professional development you might have undertaken. This is straightforward but also important, as boards are looking for both experienced and qualified directors.

6. Memberships & extra-professional activities

After your qualifications, list your professional memberships, special-interest groups, languages spoken, and relevant personal activities that might positively impact a board appointment. The list of memberships that you have might include memberships to Governance or professional bodies.

Also, list extra professional activities and personal interests. Extra professional activities are things that you have done outside of your professional life, but are not purely social. For example, you may have presented at conferences, written papers, been invited as an industry expert to contribute or have been given an award. These can all be included in this section.

Include, briefly, a little of your personal life – what you enjoy doing outside of work. This section is unlikely to get you appointed alone, but it is always read, and it is possible to gain a connection with the reader that might work in your favour.

7. Referees 

The last section lists your referees’ details. We include them here as they can influence a board when deciding to appoint or interview you. For your referees to realistically make a difference to your appointability, they should ideally be at board level, preferably as a Chair. 

Having said that, any high-profile individual who can vouch for you can be a valuable referee. Never include your referees’ contact details, as you don’t want anyone speaking to them before you get their permission. Be warned that whilst I recommend using high-profile Chairs or individuals as referees, it is essential that they be genuine, as the non-executive director world is a small one. If you put the name of a referee on your CV, you should assume that they will likely be spoken to informally about you.

8. Formatting 

• Be succinct: Creating a CV is an exercise in succinct writing. For example, you don’t title the document “Board CV, CV, Curriculum Vitae” or any such heading – the reader knows what the document is. 
• Make it readable: Don’t use a font smaller than 11pt, and use an easy-to-read font such as Helvetica, which is clean, neutral, and one of the easiest to read in print and digital formats.
• Keep it simple: Keep your layout simple and easy to save, read, and print. You don’t need fancy fonts, colours or formatting to stand out. Oh, and always submit it in a .docx or .pdf file format.
• Length: I am not sure how many times I have been asked about the appropriate length of a Board CV. My answer is always the same; I have never excluded someone from a recruitment process because their CV was too long. However, I have excluded them if their CV was too long, rambling or unreadable (see the points above). Often recruiters insist on a CV of no more than two pages. So, have an abridged Board CV prepared. 
• Photo or no photo: I am asked this question far too often. In short, I religiously remove photos from the CVs I write for my members. I do so because, in my experience, many decision makers spend too much time looking at them and not enough time considering the content. In the end, I think it’s safer to remove your photo.

CV writing not your thing? 

Hopefully, this advice has given you all the inspiration and guidance you need to write a compelling Board CV. However, I recognise that writing a Board CV can be daunting and challenging; as a result, it is not something many want to do, and fewer still can write a compelling one. Which is why so many people think that their Executive CV will suffice when applying for board roles. Writing NED CVs is something I both enjoy and a skill I have refined over decades. If writing CVs isn’t where you want to spend your time, let me write a bespoke Board CV for you. This service is included in three of my four Membership Packages. 

Related Articles

What is a NED CV? Do I need one?

How to write a powerful Board Profile that will help get you appointed

No Board Experience? No Problem