Professional Manager Resume Guide (+ Examples & Cover Letter Tips)

manager resume sample
Created by CakeResume

Getting ready to become a manager means stepping ahead to the next level of your career, and different challenges in many new aspects could be encountered in the new job you are applying for.

Like its name, the manager's main job is to manage, but what are you expecting to manage? Everything. All things under your authority will be everything you need to manage, starting from your own responsibility, team, projects and even performance. A bigger title comes with a bigger responsibility.

However, fear no more! From this moment on, you will learn different ways on how to create a resume for a managerial position for your new future career as a manager, and pass the application easily with CakeResume!

How to write a manager resume

Before writing a new manager resume, you might have written hundreds of different resumes for the previous job roles you applied or got into. Before writing a perfect manager resume, going back to the basics would never go wrong.

🖋 Step 1: Knowing the Difference between Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Resume

Submitting an application for a manager ____ would not be the first ____ you have written. What do you think is in the blank?

Manager CV:

  • Very detailed information of events for each particular job or experience.
  • More for academic purpose, example: school or scholarship application.
  • Simple layout, mostly plain and formal.

Manager Resume:

  • Specific information of certain events in a particular job or experience related.
  • For general job application.
  • Allowed to choose different layouts, especially following different industries’ application.

So, the answer is resume! Although you may have written a resume previously for the job role you are holding right now, always remember! That being a manager would require a more specific managerial resume to help you ascend to the position, what is it? Let’s find out in the next steps.

🖋 Step 2: Finding the Most Perfect Resume Format for a Managerial Position

Have you heard of the three most common resume formatsIf you have forgotten them after  few years of working, let’s take a short glimpse of them:

  • Chronological resume: A sequence of experiences from the earliest to the latest, or the latest to the earliest according to their names.
  • Functional: Especially focusing on professional skills and different experiences under the list of the skills written.
  • Hybrid: A combination between chronological and functional format. There would be different sections that could highlight the skills and achievements, but at the same time, showing work experiences in reverse chronological order.

It would be totally optional to choose any type of these resumes. However, while writing a manager resume, you are expected to show your longest and latest experience to demonstrate your qualifications. Therefore, a reverse-chronological resume with a bit of functional resume would definitely be recommended to cover both of these needs together.

🖋 Step 3: Identifying Some Different Manager Resume Templates and Examples

Searching different manager resume examples would help you find good points you would like to follow on your manager resume, and also avoid mistakes that others have made in their resumes. Finding common parts that people always add in their resumes could be the first step, because they might be the secret to those successful manager resumes!

🖋 Step 4: Tailoring Each and Every Resume for the Specific Manager Position You Want

Some of you might want to apply for different managerial divisions, and they may require different types of experiences and achievements. Fill in the information needed according to the job description.

For example, if you are writing a senior manager resume, emphasize the years of relevant experiences you have, instead of focusing on your extracurricular experience during college.

🖋 Step 5: Customizing a Manager Cover Letter

Every cover letter should be different for each company and job role. As you are expecting to become a manager, your manager cover letter should be tailored in a more professional way. However, remember to keep it short and direct.

🖋 Step 6: Proofreading

To make sure that there is no misspelling in any of your verbs or even titles you own would be a bonus point to make your manager resume look “perfect” in the terms of grammatical and aesthetic appearance!

CakeResume provides the best Manager resume templates & examples for talents to demonstrate their qualifications. Let us help you land the dream Manager  job with a strong resume (free download)!

What to put on a resume for managers

Always remember, writing a manager resume means you are upscaling your career game. Therefore, it is very important to include basic information and personalized experiences.

Resume Profile

  • Full name
  • Professional email address
  • Phone number
  • Current residing city
  • LinkedIn Profile
  • Personal website (optional but recommended)
  • Other social media profiles (for professional usages)

Resume Headline

A resume headline for a manager is more than just your name, and title, but it is the catchphrase that will help you land a job as a manager.

Strong, a bold and simple one-line phrase with a maximum of 10 words should be able to identify your whole career, personality, skills and qualifications.

Examples of a manager resume headline you may like to consider:

  • Goal-oriented Financial Manager with Expertise in Strategic Financial Planning
  • SHRM Certified Human Resources Manager with 5 Years of Experience

Resume Summary

Like a resume headline, a resume summary should be strong and bold. In a manager resume summary, you can talk a bit more about your expertise in the field, and reasons why you want to apply for this specific manager position.

A general summary would be around 2 – 3 sentences, with a maximum of 50 words.

Example of a manager resume summary:

Hotel Manager with 8+ years of experience driving growth and service excellence for well-established international hotel franchises. Proven expertise in managing 300+ hoteliers and increasing 75% of work efficiency in 5 hotel branches.

Resume Objective

Resume objective usually comes along with an entry-level manager resume, and it’s normally seen as an alternative to a resume summary. The structure of a manager resume objective is similar to a summary statement, only it’s more focused on stating what you want to achieve in the company that you are applying to.

Example of a manager resume objective:

Hotel Manager with 10+ years of experience driving growth and service excellence for well-established international hotel franchises. Hoping to lead a bigger scale team at Hotelier.

Skills

As a manager, you would definitely be expected to have various skill sets, but what skills are most suitable to be on your manager resume? Matching your resume skills with the job description would be the best way to show your qualification.

Examples of skills to put on a manager resume:

📍 Hard Skills 

  • Business strategy 
  • Cost control
  • Risk management 
  • Finance
  • Logistics 
  • Negotiating
  • Conflict resolution
  • Budgeting 
  • Hiring
  • Coaching 

📍 Soft Skills 

  • Planning 
  • Problem solving
  • Delegation
  • Critical thinking
  • Teamwork
  • Organization
  • Leadership
  • Time Management
  • Communication

Work Experience

Like your skill sets, you may have different work experiences along your career or education, but fitting all of them would only make your resume cluttered.

As a manager, you are expected to have impressive work experiences, but you only have a limited space. So, what should you do?

  • List down your work titles, but only include the ones that best fit the job you are applying for.
  • Use numbers and metrics to prove your achievements.
  • Make  use of bullet points to emphasize the ideas.
  • Start your work descriptions with action verbs in past tense such as ”led”, “created”, “initiated”.
  • Write from the most recent experiences to the oldest ones to show what you have accomplished.

Example of manager work experience:

General Manager
Light Group

May 2015 - Present

  • Performed effective strategies by introducing performance evaluation for different teams, increasing productivity by 37%.
  • Built succession planning in maintaining full oversight of multiple company venues in both Taiwan and US.

    Education

At this point of your career, maybe the last time you had your education was a couple years before. However, some people might just graduate from a master degree and are trying to write an entry-level manager resume. This is the moment to emphasize your degree, but keep it short and clear. 

Most companies recruiting a manager often aim for people with more experience, so if you have been in the job for years, take more space to write about them. If you are a fresh graduate, take more spaces to write your experiences in some student organizations, relevant course works and most importantly, leadership roles you have taken during your school time.

Example of manager education profile:

Master of Arts in Comparative and International Studies

June 2018
ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerlan
Extracurricular Activities: Students Across Borders Community Service Volunteer

Additional Information: Manager Certification

Many companies would take you in a higher consideration if you have earned specific managerial certificates, especially globally and officially recognized ones. These certifications would show the highest professionality of yours in that particular field, but make sure that it is the right managerial certification for the wanted manager role.

Some examples of certifications are:

  • PMP, CAPM, APM or PPM Certification for a Project Manager Resume
  • CSP Certification for Sales Manager Resume
  • ServSafe Certification for Restaurant Manager Resume / Retail Manager Resume
  • CHA Certification for Hotel Manager Resume

Tips for writing the best manager resume

Below are some tips that would help you make the perfect manager resume more easily.

Tip 1: Customize the Manager Resume for the Job
Remember to prioritize experiences and achievements over education if you have graduated years ago. Always emphasize your qualification at the very top of your manager resume.


Tip 2: Craft an ATS-friendly Manager Resume
For a resume submitted online
, a single-column format is highly suggested to make an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) friendly manager resume.
For a resume submitted offline
, a double-column format would be recommended to fit in more content.


Tip 3: Adopt Certain Resume Action Words

Always remember to start writing descriptions with action words to give the impression of being active and motivated.


Tip 4: Use Suitable Fonts with Proper Spacing

Most HRs would receive hundreds of manager resumes once for an opening, and they only use a couple seconds to read each of them. To make one noticeable, the resume headline must not only be short and bold, but also big and clear. 

Layouts could vary from one another, but a clear font would make it very easy to be noticed, such as Arial or Cambria, and don’t forget to put a generous white space around it as a higher contrast between the title and background.

How to write a manager cover letter

A cover letter shows your sincerity and commitment for the new managerial role. In your previous jobs, you may have a lot of experiences that could be stamped on your application, but all these experiences would be in vain if you don’t explain how they can help you succeed in the position you’re applying for.

A cover letter for a business intelligence position is composed of the following sections:

  • Contact information at the beginning of your cover letter. Include your name, professional email and a phone number to make sure that the company would be able to contact you easily.
  • Proper introduction referring to a certain person in charge who might first see your application. “To whom it may concern” is the safest choice, but “To  XX Company’s Hiring Manager,” would be more directed and specific.
  • Add reasons why you want to apply for this job and why you are the best fit. Give some specific goals you want to achieve in the hiring company.
  • State the qualifications that go along with these goals. Specify the skills and experience you gained previously that will help you achieve your goals in the new position more effectively.
  • Add a strong closing with a CTA (Call to Action). If you have a certain idea related to the managerial role you are aiming for, you could make a quick proposal and invite them to further discuss the ideas with you in person.

Manager Resume Sample

There are various types of managers, so do remember to tailor your manager resume to the job description. Here we provide a manager resume example for one of the most common managerial roles: Marketing Manager.

A marketing manager’s duties include generating leads, increasing sales & revenues, growing brand awareness, and etc..


Kathryn Yang

Dedicated Marketing Manager with 5+ Years of Experience

Mobile: (+02)-123-456
Email: [email protected]

Professional Summary

Senior Marketing Manager specializing in East Asian regions. Well-versed in serving customers, initiating negotiations, and arranging meetings with international companies. Made a $500k deal in a single seating. Hoping to lead bigger Marketing projects covering the whole East Asian regions through a progressive approach.  

Work Experiences

Marketing Manager | Rogers. Inc

Jun 2017 – Present

  • Managed a marketing team of 12, responsible for the team’s marketing training.
  • Provided outstanding consultation to improve digital marketing recognition of the company and gained 1.5x more online customers from China in 2 years.
  • Established a systemized data structure to present the company’s performance. Boosted customer satisfaction by 54%.

Marketing Associate | Digital Tree

May 2016 – Jun 2017

  • Initiated a marketing social event inviting 150 young entrepreneurs to demonstrate the importance of digital marketing platforms. Gained 45 clients over a night.
  • Assisted in a digital marketing project and generated $400K+ profit in a year. 
  • Increased the team’s sales’ performance by 36% in 1 year’s time.

Education

Master of Science in Marketing

Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
May 2016

Skills

  • Influential Negotiating Skills
  • Cost budgeting
  • Conflict resolution
  • Marketing coaching
  • Business knowledge
  • Brand Awareness Development
  • Digital Media Management
  • Planning
  • Problem Solving
  • Leadership
  • Critical Thinking

Now, you are settled to build your own manager resume and here is one last tip for you! Don’t forget to make your resume for a managerial position very specific, whether it is in marketing, property, store, retail, finance or many more!

--- Originally written by Janette Williams ---

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