Project managers are known for their ability to bring order to a seemingly chaotic team of individuals. They also take pride in overseeing different projects from start to finish to ensure everything goes smoothly. They are an increasingly important part of many industries like IT, e-commerce, construction, finance, retail, and more.
If you are someone who takes pride in your leadership and organizational skills, then being a project manager might just be your call. Before you enter the job arena, you have to be armed with the best artillery, that is, a project manager resume. If you are a little lost as to how to build the perfect project manager resume, this article is here to help. Read this article to understand how to build a perfect project manager resume, proper format, best practices, and samples. We recommend you go for the Best PMP Certification Training to prepare well to clear your exam with utmost confidence.
It is important to remember that a resume with a good format immediately catches the eyes of potential employers. It needs to be organized in a reverse-chronological format. It is probably the most popular format in the professional field, and it means you have to state your latest jobs and achievement first and move on to the rest. Below are some more tips as to how you can prepare your resume with project manager resume examples.
1. Create Solid Project Manager Resume Structure/Template
The first step towards building a good resume is choosing a good layout. In the header, under your name, you need to summarize your expertise in a small paragraph. This will be your introduction and resume summary. This needs to be eye-catchy and encapsulate your skills in a short and exciting paragraph. Below that, you have to put your contact and social media information.
Under your project manager resume description, you will need to write your previous jobs, achievements, skills, and education as per usual. But it is better to follow a certain structure while doing so.
2. Work Experience Section
In any reverse-chronological resume, your work experience section always comes first after the header. One of the main project manager resume objectives is to tell potential employers not just how much experience you have in the field but also about your achievements.
Make sure to always put your latest job placement and achievement on top and go back in time till your first job experience/ achievement is listed. If you are presently working at a company, that should be listed first in your resume. You should also put your responsibilities and achievements in bullet points for ease of reading.
What if You Don’t Have Work Experience?
If you do not have any work experience in the field, do not worry. You can always list your education and any type of internship that you have done as well. Make sure to include any leadership or managerial roles you might have taken up as a student. You should also lead with all the technical skills you have learned in an institute and tell the companies how you can help you with those.
As you gain more experience in the field, you can add more details to your resume.
3. Contact Information
The contact information section is usually written under your resume summary. Here you have to provide your work email, phone number, address, LinkedIn profile link, and other social media handles if they are related to your work. Make sure this section is visible in the resume, as this is what your potential hiring managers will use to contact you.
4. Add Your Education
Your educational background is one of the most important parts of your project manager CV. But make sure not to go overboard with it. The best option is to include your bachelor’s or post-graduation degrees and any field-related minors.
You should also add any extra certification or training you might have taken that is related to a project manager job in your chosen field.
5. Include Project Manager Skills Tailored to the Job
Your project manager resume skills are mostly divided into two types. The first one is hard skills. In this section, you need to add hands-on, practical skills related to this job field. This list includes database management, marketing, web development, project management software, MS office, and more. Make this list concise but include every hard skill you have that is related to the post.
Soft skills, on the other hand, are skills that are more teamwork oriented. This can include skills like leadership, communication, problem-solving, delegation, planning, etc. Whichever skills you may think can help you land a good project manager job, you can include them here.
6. Summary or Objective
The summary acts as the introduction to your whole resume. Your potential employers will always look at the summary of your resume and decide whether your cv is worth their time. You have to summarize your whole resume in a few short sentences at the top of the document.
For example, if you are writing an IT project manager resume, then you can write that you are an IT-focused project manager that has professional training and experience in the field. You can also write a bit about your education without going into the details.
A resume summary should let your employers know you have all the relevant skills and experience they are looking for without being too wordy or long.
7. Use Action Words to Strengthen Your Resume
A resume always needs action words. The words describe your professional skills in a way that demands attention and respect. Action words are usually action verbs. But there are also instances of some common buzzwords and adjectives being good action words. You can always search for good action words online when you write a resume, but here are a few examples to get you started.
Instead of writing ‘was in charge of’, write ‘lead 10 employees towards….’
Instead of writing ‘worked with’, try ‘collaborated with…’ etc.
They can improve your cv and make it seem like you like to take charge and have leadership qualities that others do not.
8. Add Extra Sections to Your Resume
If you think that your resume lacks something, then you should add some of these other skills to it as well.
If you have won any awards or certifications, even if they do not relate to this field but show off your leadership or teamwork strengths, you can add them to your resume. Make sure you add things that strengthen your job profile.
If you know more than one language or have learned foreign languages, then you can list them in your project manager resume as well. These look really good when you are applying for international companies.
If you have any interests or hobbies that improve your cognitive abilities, like reading, sports, puzzles, etc., or ones that flex your creativity, like art, writing or playing a musical instrument, you can and should include them in your resume. They show off your mental capabilities to employers and can make your resume look more interesting.
9. Write a Project Manager Cover Letter
It might be surprising to people that a cover letter is still necessary alongside a resume while applying for a project manager job. But most companies require applying candidates to submit a cover letter along with their resumes. They do not read all of them. But cover letters can become a deciding factor when comparing similar resumes, and if you want your resume to stand out, you need a good cover letter to go along with it.
Much like your resume, a cover letter should not be more than one page. You should always research the company and job posting to make sure your cover letter is customized for them. Remember to mention your achievements and tell the recruiters what value you will bring to their company.
Make sure you sound enthusiastic about the job and channel your passion through your words. At the end of the day, a good cover letter can make all the difference.
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Best Practices to Make Your Resume Easy to Scan
Most companies use an ATS or an Applicant Tracking System to file through the numerous resumes they receive for a job posting. These systems usually scan resumes to filter the ones that are right for the job. If you want to make sure your resume is easily scanned and sent to the recruiter, here are some of the things you can do.
Dos and Donts
| Do’s | Don’ts |
|---|
Use keywords customized to the industry, company, and job posting. You can search for keywords based on the job. | Do not use too many buzzwords. |
Write the whole resume on one page, and use a traditional font that looks good in both print and screen. Use a 10-14 font size. | Do not use varying fonts or make your resume too long. Longer resumes usually have a lot of unnecessary information and get rejected. |
Always put your name at the top of your resume in the correct place. | Do not use italics, symbols, shadows, or underlines. |
Project Manager Resume Example
If you are looking for good project manager resume examples, you can look at the samples below.
1. Project Manager Intern Resume
If you are applying for a Project Manager internship as a fresher, you must highlight your skills. Other than providing them with your name and contact info, list your skills in a way that matches the job description properly. Here is an example.
2. Entry-Level Resume
An entry-level resume has to show a person’s technical prowess since they do not have work experience. You can mention whichever projects you have worked on or managed. You also have to highlight your education and technical skills. Here is an example -
3. Senior Project Manager Resume
If you wish to join as a senior project manager, it means that you already have a lot of work experience under your wings. Make sure you show off your soft and hard skills and work experience in an orderly and correct manner.
Top 10 Skills for a Project Manager Resume
Here are the top 10 skills that are perfect for a project manager resume:
Soft Skills
- Communication
- Active listening
- Problem-solving
- Leadership
- Decision-making
Hard Skills
- Marketing
- Statistical analysis
- Forecasting
- Risk management
- Project management methods
Conclusion
It goes without saying that no matter which job you apply for, most of these will hold while crafting a good resume. Whether you are writing a project coordinator resume, a program manager resume, or a construction project manager resume, you must prepare a format that comprises all of your best professional qualities in one page. Most importantly, always double-check your resume before submitting it to avoid any mistakes.
