Toolkit
The Non-Executive Director Career Guide
The Institute of Directors Ireland supports directors both in the boardroom and on their journey to it. This toolkit helps aspiring directors assess their readiness and plan their path while encouraging experienced members to refresh their CVs to meet current expectations.
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Toolkit
Planning Exercise Template
Assess your board readiness by identifying your skills, experience, and how you would contribute to the boardroom. Use this planning exercise template to help define your unique value. Use the tables provided to answer, "What can you offer?" and note potential companies or boards that could benefit from your skills.
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Toolkit
The Skills You Need To Succeed
Our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework empowers directors to navigate evolving policies and governance. This guide helps you reflect on your essential duties - finance, governance, strategy – and your interpersonal skills, ensuring continuous learning to refine these skills for success in the boardroom.
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Toolkit
Skills Planning Exercise Template
A skills planning exercise template to help identify current skills, assess gaps, and plan for future development. It outlines key competencies, goals, required director development, and actionable steps to enhance capabilities for personal growth or organisational needs.
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Toolkit
How To Write A Board CV
A strong board CV can enhance your transition from Executive to Board-level roles. This guide aims to help you ask the right questions and effectively showcase relevant experience when crafting your board CV.
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Toolkit
Board CV Template
Our board CV templates highlight a candidate's experience relevant to board roles, focusing on leadership positions, governance expertise, strategic contributions, and industry knowledge. They include professional history, board memberships, key achievements, and skills that align with the organisation’s goals.
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Toolkit
How To Write A Board Cover Letter
Cover letters have evolved from a mere formality to a crucial element in Non-Executive Director (NED) applications. This guide will help you craft a compelling cover letter that outlines your strategic value, passion for the role, and suitability for the board position.
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Toolkit
Board Cover Letter Template
Our board cover letter template highlights qualifications, key contributions, and expresses a candidate’s enthusiasm for contributing to strategic decision-making and governance
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Toolkit
Preparing A Board Biography
As you pursue a board director career, you will need a board biography outlining your skills and experience. This guide to a board biography will help you answer the key question: "What do I contribute to the board?" and will help you highlight your own unique value.
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Toolkit
Board Biography Template
Our sample board biography template helps demonstrate a brief overview highlighting a board member's professional background, key achievements, and areas of expertise. The template includes details on current role, relevant experience, leadership skills, and the candidate’s contribution to the organisation's mission or industry.
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Toolkit
Building Your Personal Brand
As you begin your journey as a non-executive director, reflect on your personal brand and its alignment with your goals. This guide will help you consider what you want others to say about you and ensure your brand showcases your potential as a valuable board member.
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Toolkit
Building Your Board-Ready LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn, with over 1 billion members, is essential for networking and enhancing your personal brand on your board director journey. This guide helps you optimise your LinkedIn profile, ensuring a consistent message across your CV, profile, and in-person interactions.
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Toolkit
A Guide To Board Interviews
If you meet the criteria for a new board member or chair, this guide will enhance your chances of success. It covers preparation, expectations, and tips for performing your best during the interview process.
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Toolkit
Interview Questions Workbook
This workbook features categorised interview questions. While not exhaustive, preparing responses to these question types will help you tailor your answers. Adapt your responses based on the specific phrasing of the questions you encounter during interviews.
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Toolkit
Interview Questions Workbook (Word Version)
This workbook provides a categorised list of interview questions. While not exhaustive, preparing responses to these question styles will help you tailor answers. This word document can be edited to add more notes for each question.
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Toolkit
Activating Your Network
Networking is vital for securing board roles and staying updated on corporate governance trends. Ensure your network knows your interest in non-executive director positions and the specific roles you seek. This guide will assist you in your networking efforts.
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Toolkit
A Guide To State Boards
This State Boards guide is based on information from the Publicjobs.ie website and experiences of Institute of Directors Ireland members. It is not an official policy statement and should be viewed solely as a general guide, not a government document.
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