how to describe project management on resume

How to list project management skills on your resume

When I brainstormed a list of project management skills to put on my resume (which over here in the UK we call a CV), it was a long list.

If you’re putting together an application for a job, you’ve probably found the same. How do you list the project management skills required without it turning into a giant list of buzzwords?

Here’s how.

How to include project management skills on your CV

Let’s just go with the fact that CV and resume are interchangeable terms for the purposes of this article.

On my CV, I have a section that covers skills. While I try to make it obvious in the job descriptions and project descriptions, it’s worth calling out what you can do by adding a ‘Skills’ heading.

Mine is called ‘Skills Profile’. Underneath, I list skills grouped together by:

• Interpersonal skills

Each of those headings has a list of bullet points underneath that give examples of how I have demonstrated those skills.

I don’t specifically call out project management skills on my resume here: it’s implied in the list of projects I have led in the work experience section underneath.

However, if you don’t have work-related projects , you can add project management skills as one of those headings. That’s the bullet point where you’d talk about your ability to do the technical parts of project management.

What skills to choose?

We aim for a CV to be a couple of pages. I’ve had to read resumes that were over 5 pages and frankly I lost the will to live. It’s too much, and too much detail. And there was a lot of jargon that meant nothing to me.

As you want to keep your application concise and to the point, you’ll need to be a little choosy about the project management skills that make it onto your resume.

The good news is that you don’t have to make that call yourself.

Use the job listing, job description, or personal profile to help you uncover what skills the hiring manager is looking for.

Many employers use sifting tools that look for keywords. They will program in keywords from the advert so those are definitely the ones to focus on.

Below, we’ll look at some examples of common project management skills for your resume.

Soft skills (a.k.a. Power skills)

Soft skills are actually the hard part of project management! But we call them ‘soft’ because they are difficult to quantify and are more to do with interpersonal activities and emotional intelligence.

There’s now a trend towards calling them ‘power skills’ (started, I believe, by PMI) because calling them ‘soft’ makes them seem easy. And you don’t have to work as a project manager for very long before you realize they are truly not easy.

Power skills include:

• Communication (written and verbal)
• Stakeholder engagement
• Conflict management
• Negotiation
• Influencing
• Team building
• Change management .

Ethics, diversity and inclusion and managing workplace stress all fall into this category as well.

Hard skills

Hard skills are technical project management skills: things you need to do to tick the box to prove you can lead a project. They aren’t necessarily ‘hard’ in the sense that they are difficult. They are ‘hard’ compared to ‘soft’, so if we’re moving to the power skills terminology, we should probably ditch hard skills as well.

On your resume, don’t describe them as ‘hard skills’, stick to terms like technical abilities, core competencies, technical skills, project management techniques or something similar.

This group of skills includes:

• Time management
• Resource management
• Project budget management
• Scope management
• Governance and project assurance
• Risk management
• Quality management
• Procurement, and supplier/contract management
• Issue management
• Configuration management.

Either list out the skills with an example that shows you can demonstrate each, or work these words and explanations into your job history section. As I said above, that’s what I do: the fact I can manage projects is woven all the way through my job history.

I don’t repeat that I do risk management for every project, and you don’t have to either. Think about showcasing one or two skills per job (or project) so overall your CV demonstrates that you can do them all. It would get boring to read about how you engaged stakeholders on every project — employers simply need to see a mention of it.

Tip: Check what project methodology your prospective employer uses. Then you can tailor your application to mention agile approaches, predictive or hybrid ways of working.

Describe your project management skills

It’s not enough to simply give a list. Anyone can copy a list of skills from any website or job description. You also need to give an example of what that skill looks like, for you, based on your personal experience.

Here’s a real example of one of the bullet points from my CV that falls into the interpersonal skills section.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills gained from speaking at conferences, delivering online and face-to-face training, and facilitating workshops in a professional setting.

You can see that I name the skill and then describe how I demonstrate it. That gives an employer something to ask about at an interview: “Tell me about a time when you have had to facilitate a workshop.”

It also helps employers understand the scale and scope of your skills. For example, have you run workshops for 5 people or 500? There is no correct answer, but providing some numbers and context helps recruiters understand what you are capable of.

You don’t want to write too much, but you do want to let hiring managers know that you can actually do the skill, and haven’t just copied and pasted it off a list on the internet.

Your next steps

The skills needed for project management jobs vary, so check out what is mentioned in the job posting and think hard about how you can evidence those. Then tailor your resume to highlight the skills that the employer feels are important.

Here are some things to do next.

• Make sure you understand the project management job description so you can check you are listing the most appropriate skills.
• Brainstorm your past experience and consider how to include your work projects in your resume.
• Take a look at the different project management job titles so you know what jobs to apply for.
• Invest some time in updating your resume with project management skills and experience so your application shines.

What skills are needed for project management?

Project management needs a mixture of technical and interpersonal skills including scheduling, team leadership, emotional intelligence, organizational ability, and communication.

Project manager, author, mentor

Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK. She holds degrees from the University of York and Roehampton University, and several project management certifications including APM PMQ. She first took her PRINCE2 Practitioner exam in 2004 and has worked extensively in project delivery for over 20 years. Elizabeth is also the founder of the Project Management Rebels community, a mentoring group for professionals. She's written several books for project managers including Managing Multiple Projects .

Project Manager Resume [2024] - Example & Full Guide

As a project manager, you’re the be-all and end-all of any project.

So, you’re great at setting goals, strategic planning, creating budgets, leading a team towards a common goal, keeping tabs on everyone and everything… 

Actually, is there anything you can’t do?

Well, if you’re here, chances are your weak point is writing a job-landing project manager resume .

And, yes—it may seem hard to transfer all of your work experience, skills, and professional achievements onto a single piece of paper. With the right guidance, however, it doesn’t have to be!

So, in this article, we will cover everything you need to know about writing an effective project manager resume, including:

Project Manager Resume Example

Step-by-step guide to write your project manager resume, 50 project manager skills to put on your resume.

Like the look of Jennifer’s IT Project Management resume? Create your own modern project management resume in minutes with these easy-to-complete resume templates and get started on your journey to earning the best PMP certification . 

Quite impressive, right?

These are the elements that make this project manager resume an example to follow:

• Reverse-chronological format. This resume format is the most popular around the world and effectively shows off the candidate’s work experience.
• Eye-catching resume summary. The project manager resume example above includes a brief and to-the-point resume summary that highlights the candidate’s skills and area of expertise.
• Contact information. The project manager resume example above includes all the necessary contact details, such as the candidate’s email address, location, phone number, and relevant social media handles.
• Achievement-focused work experience section. In this project manager resume example, the candidate doesn’t simply mention their responsibilities - they also include their work achievements to help them stand out from other candidates.
• Relevant education section. The candidate only includes their key education details, such as their Bachelor’s degree and a field-related minor.
• Use of bullet points. The candidate uses bullet points to organize and present the information which makes this project manager resume example look neat and structured.
• Well-organized skills section. This project manager resume example includes the candidate’s soft and hard skills that are relevant to the IT industry and project management.
• Effective use of additional sections. The candidate takes advantage of the extra space on their project manager resume by including relevant additional sections, such as their industry-related certifications and academic achievements to show off their professional background.

We've also got more resume examples that you might want to check out:

• Program Manager Resume
• Operations Manager Resume
• Business Development Manager Resume
• Human Resource (HR) Resume
• Office Manager Resume

Writing a project manager resume is no different than working on any other project - you definitely need to have a plan and know the exact steps you’re going to take.

Luckily, you don’t need to figure it out yourself!

We’ve covered each step of writing a powerful project manager resume for you, so let’s dive in:

#1. Pick the Right Format for Your Project Manager Resume

The reverse-chronological resume format is by far the best option for your project manager resume. 

As we’ve mentioned above, the reverse-chronological format is the most popular resume format worldwide. It’s also a recruiters’ favorite!

Here’s what it looks like:

This resume format gives the recruiter a clear picture of your professional background and work achievements by putting your project manager's work experience in the foreground.

Now that you’ve chosen a format for your project manager resume, let’s address the resume layout . 

These are the resume layout elements you should pay attention to:

• Font style . Your project manager resume has to be easily readable, so choose a professional font style that looks good on both PDF and paper.  
• Font size. Keep your font size at 11-12 pts for body text and 14-16 pts for section headings, so that your project manager resume is easy-to-read and fits into a single page.
• Bullet points. Whenever possible, use bullet points to present information and make your project manager resume easy-to-scan as well as well-organized.
• Resume length. Recruiters go through hundreds of resumes every day, so it’s best to fit your project manager resume in one page to make sure they actually read it.
• Resume file format. If not asked otherwise, always save your resume as a PDF file so that it looks the same no matter the device or OS the hiring manager uses. 

Use Our Tried & Tested Templates 

As a project manager, you’re great at time management.

So, you probably aren’t too excited about spending hours on pointless tasks… like formatting your project manager resume.

And especially so when you could be focusing on more important things instead, such as perfecting the contents of your project manager resume.

What if we told you there’s a quick and easy shortcut?

Instead of wasting your time on designing your resume, just pick one of our professional resume templates and dive straight into filling in the contents of your project manager resume!

Besides, our resume templates are far more visually appealing than basic text-editor resumes.

Check it out for yourself:

#2. Add Your Contact Information

Now that you’ve dealt with formatting your project manager resume, you can start filling in the contents.

Let’s begin with the basics - simply add your contact information , including:

• Your first name and last name
• Your title 
• Your phone number
• Your email address
• Your location
• Relevant social media handles (optional)

Here’s an example of a contact information section that includes all of the above:

Lauren Anderson

Project Manager

012-345-6789

[email protected]  

Boston, Massachusetts

linkedin.com/in/laurenanderson29

This step is as easy as it looks - you just have to make sure to fill in the contact details correctly.

Otherwise, you may leave a bad impression which can hurt your application. 

After all, no company wants a project manager who’s sloppy and doesn’t pay enough attention to details.

#3. Write an Impactful Project Manager Resume Summary

The next step is writing an impressive project manager resume summary .

Your resume summary is meant to provide a quick overview (2-3 sentences) of your professional background to let the hiring manager see whether you’re a relevant candidate.

So, to make sure the recruiter doesn’t put your project manager resume aside after taking just a glance (and actually reading the whole thing), your resume summary has to be effective.

Here’s what a powerful resume summary includes:

• Your title and years of experience
• Your most relevant skills in project management
• Your top 1-2 professional achievements

And here’s an example of an impactful project manager resume summary:

• Strategic and detail-oriented Project Manager with 7+ years of experience. Outstanding organizational, time management, planning, and problem-solving skills. Met all project deadlines for 5 years straight and increased Company X’s market share by 12% through successful branding projects. 

#4. Make Your Project Manager Work Experience Stand Out

As a project manager, you have tons of work experience , so the next step is to list it effectively.

First things first - let’s get the formatting right.

Here’s how you should format the work experience section in your project manager resume:

• Follow the reverse-chronological order. Start with your most recent (or current) position and go backward in time. 
• Add your job title. This is supposed to give the recruiter a clear idea of the role you had in the previous workplace.
• Include the company's name and location. You can also briefly describe the company if it’s not a well-known name.
• Add the date of employment. To show how long you worked at the company, use the mm/yyyy format.
• Write down your achievements and responsibilities. Stick to 5-6 bullet points for the most recent roles and 2-3 for older jobs.

Now, no doubt you want your project manager resume to make a lasting impression on the hiring manager and help you land the job. 

So, filling in just the basic work experience details isn’t nearly enough - you’ll end up with a project manager resume that’s similar to other candidates’ resumes.

If you want to make your project manager resume stand out, ask yourself - what exactly are hiring managers looking for?

Sure, it’s your years of experience, but the responsibilities you had in previous roles weigh in much less.

To recruiters, the most important part of your professional background is a proven track record of success . 

As such, the key to a job-winning project manager resume is this: 

Make your work experience section stand out by focusing on your achievements over your responsibilities whenever possible.

So, here’s what you can do to take your work experience section to the next level:

• Use action verbs to describe your achievements and responsibilities, e. g. spearheaded, managed, resolved, executed, etc.
• Only include relevant work experience, e. g. you already have relevant project management experience, so the recruiter won’t be impressed that you scooped ice cream in high school.
• Make your achievements quantifiable , e. g. ”Consistently delivered projects up to 12% below the budget” instead of “Consistently delivered projects under the budget”.

Here’s an example of what an impressive work experience section could look like:

IT Project Manager

08/2017 - 01/2022

• Led and coached a team of 16 IT specialists.
• Managed the Lean Training project for all 54 IT department employees.
• Consistently delivered projects up to 12% below the budget.
• Initiated and managed the project to replace all aging equipment, lowering monthly electricity costs by 23%.
• Introduced a project performance management system that increased project efficiency by 18% over the period of 3 years.

#5. List Your Education Right

Whether you have a degree in project management, business administration, or any other related field, what matters most is your work experience, so keep your education section brief. 

Simply list your education starting with your highest degree as such:

• Degree Name
• University, college, or other institution
• Location (optional)
• Years attended 

As a project manager, technically you aren’t required to have a degree (though this can make competing against candidates with a diploma much harder), so only include your high school education in your project manager resume if you don’t have higher education .

Here’s an example of the education section:

BSc in Project Management

Colorado State University Global

09/2012 - 06/2016

#6. List Your Project Manager Skills

The skills section shows the recruiters your professional abilities, so it’s one of the most important sections (alongside the work experience section) in your project manager resume.

Here are some tips on how to list your skills effectively:

• Tailor your skills section for project management. The point of the skills section is to prove to the hiring manager why you’re a great candidate for this position, in particular, so listing all of your skills is redundant.
• Include any of the skills you have that the company is looking for. Carefully read the job description and see whether the company has listed any specific skills - if you match them, make sure to include them in your project manager resume. 
• Research the most in-demand project management skills. The skills you need largely depend on the field (IT, marketing, retail, etc.), so research the project management field you’re specifically applying to and write down any of the industry-related skills that you have.
• Take a look at your achievements. Not sure which skills you have? Your achievements are proof of your skills, so go back to the work experience section and take a closer look. For example, if you consistently deliver projects before the deadline, you’re likely skilled at time management, planning, delegation, etc.
• List your soft skills and hard skills separately. This will make your project manager resume well-organized and easy to navigate.

Need some inspiration on which skills to include in your project manager resume?

Take a look at our list of the 50 most in-demand project management skills!

Soft Skills for a Project Manager

• Public Speaking
• Active Listening
• Communication Skills
• Critical Thinking
• Problem-solving
• Negotiation
• Conflict Resolution
• Analytical Thinking
• Adaptability
• Stress Management
• Time Management
• Collaboration
• Compromising
• Organizational Skills
• Emotional Intelligence
• Resourcefulness
• Decision-making
• Attention to Detail

25 Hard Skills for a Project Manager

• Business Strategy Knowledge
• Forecasting
• Project Management Methodologies
• Microsoft Office Proficiency
• Technical Documentation
• Project Management Software Proficiency
• Process Management
• Strategic Planning 
• Statistical Analysis
• Risk Evaluation 
• Risk Management
• Database Management
• Programming Languages
• Technical Writing
• Prioritization
• Evaluation of Project Performance Metrics
• Goal Setting
• Financial Management
• Contract Management
• Vendor Management

#7. Include Your Project Management Certificates

While some companies don’t require project managers to have a degree, many are looking for certified project managers.

Having a project manager certificate also means that you’ll get paid more - in fact, certified project managers earn up to 16% more compared to their uncertified colleagues. 

So, don’t let your certificates go to waste and include them in your project manager resume (in reverse-chronological order, of course, in case you have multiple certifications )!

Here’s how to do it:

• Certification name
• Name of agency 
• Year of obtainment
• Location (if applicable)
• Date of expiration (if applicable)
• Expected date of obtainment (if applicable)

And here’s an example:

Certified Project Manager Professional (2019-2022)

Project Management Institute

#8. Make Use of Relevant Additional Sections

Do you still have some extra space on your project manager resume?

Take advantage of it!

Show off your project management experience by adding one or more of these additional sections:

• Associations and organizations you’re a part of, alongside your role in them.
• Publications , such as studies, interviews, and others.
• Conferences , whether they’re on project management or industry-related subjects.
• Awards , if any of them are related to project management.
• Languages are always a plus, but even more so if you’re applying to an international company.

And here’s an example of how to put these extra sections on your project manager resume:

Conferences

• BRIDGE 2021
• English - Native or Bilingual Proficiency
• Russian - Professional Working Proficiency

#9. Match Your Project Manager Resume With a Cover Letter

Now that you know how to write an effective project manager resume, there’s one more thing we need to address - how to write an impactful cover letter .

The point of a cover letter is to prove to the hiring manager that you’re the full package - a competent project manager and the perfect fit for the company.

So, your cover letter should be personalized for the position and include any important details that you haven’t mentioned on your project manager resume.

Here’s how to write a compelling cover letter (even if you aren’t confident in your writing skills!):

• Start your cover letter by putting your contact information in the header.
• Directly greet the recruiter and mention your top 1-2 achievements in the first paragraph.
• In the body of your cover letter, describe your professional background (work experience, skills, etc.) in detail, explain why you want to work for this particular company, and stress why you’d be a great asset to them.
• To end your cover letter , include a call to action.

Check out our guides on cover letter writing tips and cover letter mistakes to make sure your cover letter is top-notch. 

Here’s an example of a convincing project manager cover letter :

Want to show the hiring manager that you are thinking of every detail from A to Z? Match your cover letter to your project manager resume with our cover letter templates !

Key Takeaways

Congrats - now that you know the step-by-step plan of writing a project manager resume, you’re prepared to write a job-winning project manager resume for yourself! 

Before you start, let’s run over the main elements of writing an effective project manager resume:

• Use the reverse-chronological resume format to put your project manager work experience in the center of attention.
• Write an eye-catching resume summary to spike the recruiter’s interest in reading your project manager resume.
• To land the job, focus on your achievements over responsibilities when describing your work experience.
• Only add industry-related soft and hard skills to your project manager resume.
• Add extra sections, such as certificates, awards, associations, etc., to paint a full picture of your professional background.
• Convince the hiring manager you’re the perfect candidate by attaching a compelling cover letter to your project manager resume.

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25 Project Manager Resume Examples for the Job in 2024

• Project Manager Resumes by Experience
• Project Manager Resumes by Role

Writing Your Project Manager Resume

According to the  Project Management Institute (PMI) , the demand for project managers is expected to grow a whopping 33 percent through 2027.

The need for project managers and the  increase in pay transparency laws  means it’s an excellent time to pursue a project management job.

But that’s easier said than done. 

Whether an entry-level or senior project manager, you must  build a resume  showcasing your ability to plan, manage budgets, produce reports, and ensure projects are on schedule.

We’ve handcrafted 25 project manager resume samples that  have helped candidates get jobs at great companies like Lyft and Atlassian.  Plus, our writing guide can help you navigate the  resume writing process  to help you land that first-round interview. You’ve got this!

Assistant Project Manager Resume Example

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• A resume objective is for candidates with less than two years in the field. It demonstrates your eagerness for the role, your relevant skills, and your goals for the future. It’s a lot to ask in two to three sentences, so you’ll likely need to take a few whacks at it before you’ve cut it down to the proper size. We believe in you!
• Including relevant courses or awards is a great way to show hiring managers that you’ve learned the skills necessary for the job. Only include the courses or awards that are most relevant to increase your credibility immediately.

Entry-Level Project Manager Resume

• Our top tip? Make sure your  entry-level project manager resume  is easy to read.
• Make your body font size relatively big, include section headers, and leave white space (especially in the margins).
• Always customize your experience to match the  project manager job description  as much as you can. If you lack technical skills, highlight transferable skills like communication, collaboration, and time management.
• If you don’t have any experience relevant to project management, that’s okay, too. Employers know you’re just starting, so include any job experience you have, including projects, internships, or even volunteer work.

Associate Project Manager Resume

• Including a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), for example, on your associate project manager resume will immediately tell recruiters you know the principles and best practices required.

Project Management Intern Resume

• For instance, in project planning, you must’ve picked up on leadership, time management, and technical expertise—all transferrable to project management.

Junior Project Marketing Manager Resume

• Your cover letter and resume should form one cohesive whole without being complete copies of each other.
• The goal is to expand on your achievements in your cover letter while still covering most of the abilities mentioned in your resume. So, once you’ve finished building your resume, a free AI cover letter generator can make sure the two documents share similar keywords and achievements.
• If you have more experience in the field, you can consider getting a PCDM or becoming a PCM.
• If you’re newer to the role, try getting entry-level certifications like those offered by Hubspot or Google Ads.

Senior Project Manager Resume

• Employers expect more from senior employees, so they’ll pay extra attention to minor details like punctuation, spelling, and grammar.
• Always  check your resume  multiple times before you submit your application. We’d recommend having several friends look it over, too, just to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
• Always list your highest level of education, whether a college degree or a high school diploma.
• Unless you’re an entry-level candidate, don’t worry about adding your GPA, any awards, or relevant courses. Those are all secondary to work experience.

Senior DevOps Project Manager Resume

• Say, you’ve worked extensively as a product manager in finance and insurance. Including this info in your career objective makes you a notably more eligible prospect for another organization in a similar industry.

Software Project Manager Resume

• A software project manager resume with proof of operating below budgets and optimizing savings will be a favorite among hiring managers. Therefore, including achievements such as saving an estimated $51.2k annually would get you closer to winning the job.

Project Management Professional Resume

• Your soft and hard skills have a place here to set you apart from any other average project manager. Go on a full display mode to highlight your competencies in RiskWatch, Zapier, Harvest, and so on, and show how you’ve used them to optimize project budgets and timelines.

SAP Project Manager Resume

• Numbers matter most here so quantify all past project achievements, success rates, etc. Have a habit of submitting work before deadlines are even close? Mention it! Clearly state how many SAP projects you’ve delivered on time. Adding a project management certificate has also never harmed any candidate!

HR Project Manager Resume

• Make sure your HR project manager resume consists of tools like these in the skills section . Further, write down any instances of you helping a company retain or acquire the top talent for a position while lowering extra costs such as overtime wages.

Project Manager Scrum Master Resume

• Accordingly, align your entire project manager Scrum Master resume around the description and mention how you’ve tackled mishaps, boosted efficiency, and improved a team’s overall productivity. Throwing in a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certificate will greatly help if you’re still an intermediate in this field!

Digital Project Manager Resume

• Therefore, your digital project manager resume must embed metrics in every client satisfaction rating, early delivery time, cost reduction, and proper team management strategies.

Clinical Project Manager Resume

• In your clinical project manager resume, you should therefore highlight your project management metrics, including and not limited to cost reduction, timely completions, team collaborations, and resource prioritization to meet preset goals.

Risk Management Project Manager Resume

• You’ll likely need a master’s degree for this advanced role, and be sure to use your job experience bullet points to highlight specific and successful stories on your risk management project manager resume.

Agile Project Manager Resume

• Even if you lack direct work experience, you can emphasize other relevant achievements or projects that align with you’re desired role. For example, a candidate with experience in Scrum and finance will be well-equipped to tackle the challenges of an Agile project manager position at Goldman Sachs.

Healthcare Project Manager Resume

• If you don’t have adequate paid experience to add to your healthcare project manager resume , a globally recognized certificate like the Project Management Professional (PMP) can help prove you’re a leader and have the relevant expertise to be successful.

Creative Project Manager Resume

• For example, the responsibilities of a project manager at a magazine will share many similarities with that of a creative project manager at an advertising agency. Try to think of similar projects you can use to highlight your competency to come across as a well-rounded candidate.

Marketing Project Manager Resume

• Adding measurable results to your marketing project manager resume is a fantastic way to spotlight the magnitude of your achievements. It also showcases the potential you bring to your next employer.

Engineering Project Manager Resume

• For example, you can really boost your chances of being hired by including your knowledge in management tools like Trello and Confluence, not to mention expertise in engineering software like AutoCAD and ANSYS.

Technical Project Manager Resume

• In your skills section, use primarily hard skills like “SQL,” “Agile Development,” and “Google Analytics,” to show off your training. You can add a few soft skills, but most of the list should be learned, technical abilities that you can demonstrate if needed.
• LinkedIn and GitHub are excellent links to add since they show employers you’ve got the connections and the skills to succeed.

IT Project Manager Resume

• Stuck on how to alter your resume? Start by highlighting keywords and phrases in the  project manager job description . Then find a way to incorporate a few of those highlighted phrases in your work experience bullet points and skills.
• You can start by ensuring you have colored section headers in different fonts than your body text. Then play around with the layout, margins, and font size until you hit the sweet spot.

Integrated Project Manager Resume

• Consider using a  resume template  to make your resume aesthetically pleasing and easier to read. It also allows you to let your personality show; pick a template that speaks to you! 
• For project managers, try to include metrics relating to the number of projects you’ve managed or the number of teams you led. Any percentages relating to relevant KPIs are also a good idea, but if you’re just starting, don’t worry about it. That can come later!

Architectural Project Manager Resume

• Of course, don’t make your skills section a complete copy-paste of the employer’s requirements! Simply use it to tailor your skills section and add a few keywords from the job description in your work experience and skills section.
• As a rule of thumb, highlight six to eight up-to-date and in-demand skills in your  resume skills section .

Electrical Project Manager Resume

• Reverse-chronological is the best format for managers since it shows your career progression. Plus, it’s easier for employers (and ATS!) to scan at a glance. It’s a win-win!
• Start by nailing your technical abilities as an electrical engineer. We’d recommend making each work experience bullet point focused on a different skill (such as communicating with vendors, coordinating schedules, or maintaining equipment).
• Then add your project manager skills into the mix, again using each work experience bullet point to highlight one skill.

Related resume guides

• Account Manager
• Business Analyst
• Product Manager
• Construction Project Manager

Regarding the “skills” section, it can be tough to find the right balance between listing too many  skills on your resume  and including all areas of strength. It’s a push-and-pull for two reasons:

• You need to include enough relevant skills to get past automated filters companies use (called an ATS) that grade resumes based on keyword matching.
• The person reviewing your resume, either an HR professional or a project manager themselves, will be wary if you list more than 10 skills on your resume.

To strike the right balance, ask yourself if you’d be comfortable answering questions about a given skill in an interview.

For example, if you list “reporting” as one of your skills, you should be able to immediately answer the question “How do you know if a project is on track?” by pointing to specific metrics or reports on your resume or cover letter.

Another good litmus test to determine whether or not you should include a skill is if you can discuss using that skill in one of the projects you list on your resume. This accomplishes two things:

• Reinforces that you’re only including strong skills.
• Provides more context regarding how you deployed your skills in project management (making your resume and candidacy even better).

After all, what would be more convincing to you: a candidate listing a skill or discussing how they used it to achieve a specific outcome? When in doubt, put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes and ask yourself what they would like to see on a project manager resume.

So, what are some common skills you should include on your project manager resume? Look no further than our list!

Skills to include on your project manager resume:

Hard skills.

• Project Management Software (Jira, Trello)
• Microsoft Office/ Google suite (Excel/Google Sheets, PowerPoint/Slides)
• Project Management Frameworks and Methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban)
• Programming Languages and Frameworks (JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Django)
• Data Analysis
• CRM Experience (HubSpot, Salesforce)
• Digital Marketing

Soft skills

• Public Speaking and Communication
• Problem-solving
• Prioritization
• Conflict Resolution

If you’re in a more senior role and have many of these skills, you should focus on the skills mentioned in the job description.

Yes, customizing your resume like this means more work. However, it’s worth it—our data suggests that this practice alone increases your chance of getting an interview by 11 percent.

As a practical example, look at this sample project manager job description. Look at the underlined skills—they’re what you might want to include if you applied for this position. Try to match the language in the job description as best you can.

Sample project management job description and skills:

• Be accountable for the entire project lifecycle: develop scopes of work and associated project plans and own the day-to-day operations to ensure that projects remain on track and within budget
• Lead internal and external status meetings: capture notes, assign action items to team members and own all necessary follow-up
• Relay clear and specific expectations, timelines, priorities, challenges, and new developments in detail to key internal and external team members/parties
• Own daily project plan components, including task estimation, resource allocations, and new work requests
• Coordinate internal reviews and implementation-related quality assurance efforts
• Come from a place of perpetual learning, always seeking to improve and optimize processes, develop new ones, and participate in the overall growth of the department and agency
• Work with Jira, Smartsheet, or other project management tools
• Eliminate scope creep by ensuring that projects remain within parameters identified in the scope of work
• Communicate issues, bug reports, and change orders to leadership

Project manager resume summary or objective

Before we dive into the topic of resume objectives and summaries, let’s first set the stage with some definitions:

• Resume summary: A short summary of your work history and accomplishments as a project manager. Recommended for professionals with 10+ years of experience in the industry.
• Resume objective: A short statement expressing a few of your skills and what you’re looking for in your next project manager role. Recommended for entry-level candidates.

Although they might sound drastically different, they’re pretty similar in reality, so don’t get too hung up on specific definitions. The key is that you should only include a  resume objective  or summary if it adds real value to your resume.

Resume real estate is valuable since you’re limited to one page, so you can’t waste words. Hiring managers spend, on average, six seconds reviewing a given resume. Don’t divert attention from your work experience and skills if your objective or summary doesn’t provide anything of value.

Senior project managers should use a  resume summary  since it’s a high-level highlight reel showcasing your most significant accomplishments or goals in two to three sentences.

WRONG – generic resume summary

“Experienced project manager with a history of working across departments to achieve goals and positive outcomes on the projects I manage.”

RIGHT – specific project manager resume summary

“PMP certified project manager with 5+ years of experience owning all stages of the project lifecycle from inception through monitoring and closing to deliver projects that exceed expectations on time and under budget.”

The second resume summary works well because it leads with this PM’s certifications (we’ll touch on this more below) while also showcasing their experience delivering projects on time and within the allotted budget. The first example will take up space on the page.

On the other hand, an objective should be used by more junior project managers to talk about your skill set and what you’re looking for in your next role. It can also be used by PMs who are undergoing a career change or looking for something specific in their next role.

WRONG – vague resume objective

“I’m looking for an opportunity to work as a project manager at a growing organization where I can utilize my unique abilities to plan, scope, and deliver projects.”

RIGHT – resume objective tied to experience

“Project manager with experience building web apps as a software engineer and leading projects that have a meaningful impact on the company’s bottom line. I’m looking for a role where I can utilize my ability to communicate effectively with developers and executives alike.”

The second resume objective is a great way to call attention to the fact that this project manager has experience as both a software engineer and a project manager, which can manifest itself in more effective communication between those two groups.

Projects and work experience

When it comes time to talk about your work experience on your project manager resume, you must tell the story of the projects on which you worked. You’ll have more room to dive into this in your  project manager cover letter , so how do you keep it short and sweet in your resume? 

Rather than talking about one-off tasks you completed, focus on one to two of the biggest projects you led. The beauty of being a project manager is that the experience you should discuss is right in your job title.

Here are some questions you might want to answer about the projects you worked on when talking about them on your resume:

• What was the scope or goal of the project?
• How big was the budget, and what was the timeline? Was it a year-long project, or was it a short-term one?
• How large was the team involved, and with what departments did you collaborate?
• What kind of reporting or metrics did you use to determine success?
• Did you encounter any major roadblocks? How did you remove them?
• What kind of collaboration did you have with the executive team? Did you give a presentation upon project completion?
• You can and should use quantifiable metrics here!

Remember that you should also mention some of the skills listed in your official “skills” section. For example, did you use Trello to ensure the project was on time? Did you build reporting to measure project success?

Let’s describe a specific example of how all of this might work when describing your work experience as a project manager.

WRONG – non-specific work experience

Feedzai August 2016 – May 2018, New York NY Project Manager

• Managed several projects in collaboration with the executive team from inception through to closing
• Regularly removed roadblocks to ensure projects were delivered on time
• Presented the results of each project in a clear and efficient manner
• Worked collaboratively with the engineering, product, marketing, and customer success teams

RIGHT – work experience detailing a specific project

• Led the development of content prediction engine, which grew to $1.5M in annual revenue
• Analyzed the scope of the project based on competitive analysis, interviews with customers, and customer feature requests
• Set deadlines for incremental goals, allocated budget, and worked across software, marketing, and executive teams to ensure all teams were properly resourced
• Communicated progress and roadblocks to stakeholders, including executive management, and made proactive recommendations to remove roadblocks leading to the on-time and on-budget delivery of the project

Specialization and industry experience

Since project managers are in such high demand, they can work in various industries and have a wide range of specializations.

So, if you’re looking for a more specialized PM role, you must highlight your experience in that specialization on your resume. If you’re looking for an I.T. project manager or technical project manager role, you should focus on your experience shepherding projects related to software.

Conversely, if you’re applying for a construction project manager role, your field experience will be more valuable. Focus your resume on the position you’re applying for, and pay particular attention to the  project manager job description .

Education and certifications

No matter what you went to school for, you should include your highest level of education on your resume. If you’re an entry-level project manager, you should include relevant classes you took in school that will convince the hiring manager you’ll make for an effective PM.

When you’re a senior PM, you should avoid listing relevant classes because you want the focus of your resume to be your work experience. Since you want to keep it to one page, you can’t afford to use that space for classes.

No matter where you are on the career ladder, certifications can help your candidacy as a project manager.

Top program manager certifications:

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
• Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
• Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
• Kanban Management Professional (KMP)

If you have one of these certifications, you should include it in your education section and your resume objective or summary, should you include one.

Finalizing your project manager resume

Don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “great.” Building a project manager resume can be daunting, but the hardest part is getting started. Don’t worry about perfection just yet; instead, focus on making your resume great. No one-size-fits-all “perfect” resume exists because each person has different experiences and skills. Just do the best you can!

If you need a launching point, feel free to use our  free resume templates  or choose a  Google Docs resume template . Or you can try a  resume outline  to give you a relatively blank slate to build on. Add on to include your experience, skills, education, and contact information until it’s complete. Then, and only then, do you need to worry about the details (in which case, go back and reread this guide to make sure you’re hitting all the right notes). 

Feel free to edit any of the resumes above in our resume builder or download the project manager resumes as PDFs. Then as you write, follow the rules in this guide. You’ll be well on your way toward landing your next (or first) role as a project manager!

Here’s a quick summary of our  resume tips :

• Only include skills you’d be comfortable being interviewed on in your resume. Include these keywords both in your skills section and in your work experience bullet points.
• Make sure your resume objective or resume summary adds value to your candidacy. Avoid vague or generic statements.
• When discussing your work experience, highlight the details of one to two major projects you worked on instead of focusing on one-off tasks you completed.
• Be sure to include your highest level of education and any certifications you have in your resume objective or summary.

And that’s it! We wish you the best of luck in whatever role you hope to land!

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How to Write a Project Manager Resume: A Guide

Do you enjoy working on a project from start to finish? Are you interested in creating products that delight other people? If you answered yes to these questions, a job in project management may be a good fit for you.

Project managers are responsible for leading the direction of a project. They will drive an initiative, meet with other professionals to determine the scope of a new project, create timelines, assign work, and ensure that a project is completed on time.

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If you’re interested in working in project management, you may be asking yourself, “How do I write a project manager resume?” or “How can I show to an employer that I have what it takes to manage all these responsibilities?”.

In this guide, we’re going to discuss how to write a project manager resume that adequately demonstrates your skills and potential worth to a prospective employer.

How to Write a Project Manager Resume

Project managers, also called PMs, serve an essential function in many businesses. Therefore, you may be wondering how you can best position yourself as a good candidate for this role. To help you write a resume dedicated to a project management role, we have compiled a list of tips as follows.

Tip #1: Highlight Your Main Accomplishments

Your resume is an opportunity to discuss the skills and expertise you think uniquely qualify you for a position. You want to do as much as you can to impress the person reading your resume—the more excited a recruiter feels about you, the more likely they are to reach out.

As a result, you should make sure that you mention all your main accomplishments in your resume. When you start writing your resume, think about what you achieved in your past jobs. What projects did you work on? Were they successful? How can you demonstrate your impact on these projects?

Once you’ve considered what your main accomplishments are, you can start to think about how to phrase these on your resume. They should be listed as bullet points next to each position on your resume. Suppose you were responsible for determining the KPIs for a project in your last job. Here is how you could mention this experience on your resume:

Facilitated with the project team to determine relevant KPIs, and set up a dashboard to track those KPIs to keep team members focused.

Tip #2: Discuss Your Technical Skills

Project managers employ a wide range of technical skills on the job.

Do you have experience using methodologies like Agile or Scrum? Or do you have a history using tools like Slack, Asana, Trello, or the Atlassian suite to manage products? If so, you’ll want to mention these on your resume.

Employers not only want to know that you have the right soft skills—like being organized or reliable—for a job. They’ll also want to know what technical skills you have. If your skills tick all of the boxes that an employer is looking for, they will have to invest less in training and onboarding.

Tip #3: Use the Right Keywords

No matter what position you are applying for, you should make use of relevant keywords in your resume.

Many employers use tools called Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) which scan resumes and pick out the ones that include certain keywords. These systems help employers sift through large numbers of resumes and identify the people who are most likely to be a good fit for the job.

To know what keywords to use, you should read over the job posting of the position for which you want to apply, and think about which skills are most relevant to the job. While there is no “master keyword” list you can use, here are a few that you may want to mention in your project manager resume:

• Due diligence
• Impact assessment
• Meeting deadlines
• Data analysis
• Project life cycle
• Scope management
• Stakeholder management
• Vendor relations

The keywords you mention in your resume should be tailored to the position you’re applying for. For instance, if a PM job clearly states that the ability to set your own KPIs is an essential requirement, you would want to make sure that you mention this skill somewhere on your resume, or give an example of when you set your own KPIs.

How to Format a Project Manager Resume

While every resume is different, there are a few best practices you should keep in mind when formatting your resume. Here are the main rules you should follow:

Rule #1: Keep It Short

There is no specific rule around how long a resume should be, but the common rule of thumb is to keep it as short as possible. Ideally, your resume should be no longer than a page, unless you have extensive experience in a field.

A recruiter will only spend a few moments reviewing your resume. If you include too much content, there is a risk that the recruiter will skip over the main points that qualify you for a position. This, in turn, may result in your resume being passed on.

Rule #2: Use Section Headings

Section headings—such as “Education” and “Professional History”—help make resumes easier to read. Each item in your resume, such as past work experience, should fall under a heading with a relevant name.

Rule #3: Review Your Resume

Before you submit your resume, you should make sure that you have proofread it thoroughly. Check for typographical errors, grammatical errors, and inconsistencies in your resume. You only get one shot at making a first impression. If your resume contains a number of errors, a recruiter may get the impression that you rush through your work, or are imprecise.

You could also ask a friend or a family member to read over your resume before you send it. This is a great way to get feedback on your work and identify areas for improvement.

Tips for New Project Managers

If you’re applying for your first job in project management, you may be wondering, “How can I showcase my project management skills without any prior experience?”.

If you don’t have any direct experience in project management, don’t worry! Everyone starts somewhere. Here are a few tips you can use to improve your resume as an aspiring project manager:

Tip #1: Mention Side Projects

Have you worked on any side projects in your spare time? If so, you can mention them in a “Projects” section on your resume. While working on a side project is not the same as managing a professional project, many of the fundamental skills are similar—setting timelines, determining KPIs, and so on.

Whether you have started a podcast, built a website, or worked on a product as part of a club, you can mention this experience on your resume.

Tip #2: Sell Your Soft Skills

Project management involves using a wide range of soft skills. If you are lacking in technical skills—which you presumably will be if you are new to the field—then you should try to sell the soft skills that would make you a good product manager.

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Are you organized? Do you thrive on meeting deadlines? Do you pay attention to every detail? These are the types of soft skills that employers are looking for in product managers. You can mention these in the “skills” section on your resume.

Tip #3: Discuss Your Past Project Experience

Even if you have not managed a project, you can still discuss your experience as a contributor to various projects.

Did you help your last employer on a website migration? Were you responsible for improving load times on their website? Did you manage the budget for a project? These are all skills that project managers use and that you can mention on your resume.

Project Manager Resume Example

Now you know what goes into a project manager resume, you’ll likely be thinking, “What does a project manager resume look like?”. Here is an example you can use as inspiration for writing your own resume:

Irene Charleston

San Francisco, CA

[email protected]

Experienced and hard-working project manager with four years of experience contributing to projects in the paper industry.

University of California Berkeley

Masters of Business Administration

Professional Experience

Cloud Paper Company, Project Manager

2016-Present

• Directed project management initiatives from ideation to implementation and evaluation
• Determined budgets, KPIs, deliverables, and milestones for core projects
• Presented progress updates to the executive team
• Prepared project documentation, finances, and resource allocations
• Vendor Management
• Microsoft Office
• Team Management
• Project Analysis
• Experience using Scrum, Kanban, and Agile methodologies
• Experience using Jira, Google Drive, SharePoint, Trello, Slack, and Basecamp

Writing a resume is an essential part of applying for any job, especially in the product management industry. The goal of your resume is to help you showcase the value you can provide to a business. This will help the prospective employers see clear value in reaching out to you to schedule an interview.

When you’re writing a project manager resume, you should highlight your main accomplishments, discuss specific projects that you have worked on, and mention any relevant keywords. Doing so will help you set yourself apart from the other candidates who are applying for a position.

By following the tips in this article, you’ll be on your way to writing a resume that catches the attention of a recruiter.

About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication .

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Resume Worded   |  Proven Resume Examples

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23 Project Manager Resume Examples - Here's What Works In 2024

Your resume can make or break your search for a project manager position. we’ve got five resume templates here with the key qualities that project manager recruiters are looking for in 2023 (google docs and pdfs attached)..

Project managers are versatile, multi-talented professionals who play an essential role in the success of a business. Among other things, project managers oversee projects from start to finish, ensuring that the entire process runs smoothly while working closely with their team, communicating with clients, resolving conflicts, and staying within set budgets. Career prospects for project managers are expanding exponentially -- according to some estimates, by 2027, around 87.7 million workers will be employed in project management-related jobs. In some respects, there’s never been a better time to become a project manager. However, like many other fields, project management is quite competitive, and if you want to land a position as a project manager, you’ll need a strong resume and a diverse skill set to show potential employers that you’re the right fit for the job. So, what should a project manager resume look like in 2023? First, let’s take a look at some templates of successful resumes. Next, we’ll discuss some of the essential skills for project managers as well as tips for creating a knockout resume. Finally, we’ll cover some of the best action verbs to use in your resume bullet points.

Project Manager Resume Templates

Jump to a template:

• Project Manager
• Entry Level Project Manager
• Senior Project Manager
• Technical Project Manager
• Marketing Project Manager
• Construction Project Manager
• Agile Project Manager
• Engineering Project Manager
• Assistant Project Manager
• Healthcare Project Manager
• Junior Project Manager
• IT Project Manager
• Project Management Office (PMO) Director
• Process Manager
• Process Operator
• Software Project Manager

Jump to a resource:

• Keywords for Project Manager Resumes

Project Manager Resume Tips

• Action Verbs to Use
• Bullet Points on Project Manager Resumes
• Related Manager Resumes

Get advice on each section of your resume:

Template 1 of 23: Project Manager Resume Example

Project managers oversee the planning, executing, and monitoring of an organization’s projects and initiatives. Project managers can work in many different industries, and the job responsibilities may vary based on the industry. In any case, the project manager is responsible for overseeing each step of a project, ensuring timelines are being met, ensuring the project is staying within budget and collaborating with key stakeholders to ensure all expectations are met. To become a project manager, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in a related field such as business intelligence, applied statistics, or business management. Hiring managers may look for candidates with additional project management certifications. In addition, hiring managers will be looking for someone with several years of experience in relevant roles, such as prior experience as a business analyst, operations associate, or project estimator. Ideal candidates for this role will have superb organizational skills and an understanding of budgets and business operations.

We're just getting the template ready for you, just a second left.

Tips to help you write your Project Manager resume in 2024

   obtain project management certifications.

Since no specific degree is required for a project management role, gaining project manager certifications can help you specialize your knowledge and stand out when applying for these roles. There are several certifications you can obtain, such as the PMP (project management professional) or CSM (certified scrum master) credentials.

   Apply to roles in industries you have experience in

Project managers are needed in a variety of industries, including education, construction, IT, healthcare, technology, and many more. Having experience in the industry you want to be a project manager for will help strengthen your resume. For example, if you have experience working in IT, applying for a project manager role at an IT company is wise.

Skills you can include on your Project Manager resume

Template 2 of 23: project manager resume example.

When applying for a project manager role, you need to demonstrate that you have the right skills for the job. Your work history and skills section should show evidence of your abilities in areas such as time management, planning, and communication. If you have experience with specific project management software or methodologies, make sure to mention those in your resume as well.

   Skills section and bullet points

Skills sections in resumes are most effective when they succinctly list the relevant skills for the job you’re applying for. This template shows only specific project management-related skills, and there are bullet points under the work experiences that exemplify some of the more abstract skills (e.g. strategic planning).

   Strong action verbs

The bullet points in this template begin with strong action verbs such as “developed”, “spearheaded”, and “managed”. We always suggest framing your past successes with verbs like these to emphasize the role you played in your accomplishments.

Template 3 of 23: Entry Level Project Manager Resume Example

As an entry level project manager, you're just beginning your journey in overseeing projects from start to finish. One of the key aspects of this role is understanding and adapting to the ever-evolving industry trends and company expectations. When crafting your resume, emphasize your project management skills in areas like planning, execution, and risk management. Also, stay updated with industry-specific certifications and showcase your ability to learn and grow in the role. Companies hiring entry-level project managers often look for those who can adapt quickly and bring fresh perspectives to the table. Therefore, it's crucial to highlight your innovative thinking, problem-solving skills, and willingness to collaborate with diverse project teams. Demonstrating these qualities on your resume will help you stand out as a potential candidate.

Tips to help you write your Entry Level Project Manager resume in 2024

   focus on relevant coursework and certifications.

As an entry-level applicant, you may have limited work experience. Make sure to highlight relevant coursework and certifications such as PMP, CAPM, or Agile methodologies that showcase your knowledge in project management principles and practices.

   Emphasize your team collaboration experience

Employers value candidates who can work effectively with others. Use your resume to showcase experiences where you successfully collaborated on class projects, internships, or volunteer work, highlighting your ability to communicate and contribute in a team setting.

Skills you can include on your Entry Level Project Manager resume

Template 4 of 23: entry level project manager resume example.

At first, it might seem intimidating to apply for project manager jobs with little to no prior experience in this line of work. But if you have a strong academic history and the skills to succeed as a project manager, you can break into this field. Use your resume to highlight projects you worked on in school, extracurricular activities, and any other experiences where you had to use skills such as problem solving and organization.

   Education and academic background

On an entry-level resume, leading with your educational history can put your strengths in the forefront - especially if you excelled in school. If you had a high GPA or academic honors, it’s great to mention those here, as well as any coursework or projects you did that could be relevant for project management.

   Volunteering and internships

Even if you don’t have an extensive work history, you’ve likely done internships, community service, and other projects that show who you are and where your strengths lie. Extracurricular activities can also tell recruiters that you’re driven, ambitious, and actively involved in your community.

Template 5 of 23: Senior Project Manager Resume Example

As a Senior Project Manager, you're the orchestra conductor of your organization. You're the bridge between various teams, clients, stakeholders, and upper management, making sure everything and everyone moves in harmony. You're the one who pulls together all the disparate threads into a cohesive, successful project. Because of the central role you hold, you should focus on showcasing multidimensional skills on your resume, from technical knowledge to team leadership. Moreover, due to the recent remote work trend, companies are seeking project managers who can effectively spearhead virtual teams. So, an understanding of online collaboration tools and strategies is now crucial.

Tips to help you write your Senior Project Manager resume in 2024

   highlight leadership skills.

In your resume, emphasize your ability in leading teams, resolving conflicts, and fostering collaboration. These are indicators of a strong Senior Project Manager who can keep everyone aligned with the project goals. Also, provide examples of your leadership skills in action, especially in highly complex projects.

   Showcase Technical and Industry Knowledge

As a Senior Project Manager, you should demonstrate deep knowledge of project management methodologies and tools. Illustrate your expertise in industry-related software and highlight any project management certifications you hold. Also, relate your knowledge of the industry, trends, and regulations, which shows that you understand the business context of projects.

Skills you can include on your Senior Project Manager resume

Template 6 of 23: senior project manager resume example.

As a senior project manager, you won’t only be managing projects; you’ll likely also be managing other members of your team. To get this kind of job, you’ll need to show that you have leadership capabilities along with the experience and expertise of a senior-level professional. Your work history should highlight any management or leadership roles you’ve held in the past, in addition to any previous achievements managing projects.

   Emphasis on work experience

If you’ve been working in project management for many years, you’ll have a lot of work history to show for it. Leading with this section places the emphasis on your experience and all that you’ve learned from it.

   Promotions at previous jobs

Being promoted shows that you achieved a high level of excellence and that you’ve been regarded as a top performer with past employers. This resume includes an example of a promotion, which demonstrates leadership and professional growth.

Template 7 of 23: Technical Project Manager Resume Example

As a Technical Project Manager, you're the key person responsible for bridging the gap between technical teams and stakeholders, ensuring projects are completed efficiently and on time. The tech industry is always evolving, so staying up-to-date with the latest trends and methodologies is crucial. When writing your resume, make sure to emphasize your technical expertise and proven experience in managing complex projects. Additionally, showcase your ability to adapt and learn fast, as this is highly regarded in this role. In recent years, there's been a shift towards agile project management methodologies, which require Technical Project Managers to be more flexible and responsive. This means that when crafting your resume, it's essential to highlight any agile or Scrum experience you have, as well as your capability to work within a fast-paced environment.

Tips to help you write your Technical Project Manager resume in 2024

   emphasize technical skills and certifications.

As a Technical Project Manager, your technical skills and certifications are a huge selling point. Make sure to list all relevant skills, as well as any formal training or certifications you hold, such as PMP, Agile, or Scrum Master, to demonstrate your expertise in the field.

   Highlight successful project outcomes

Technical Project Managers are responsible for delivering projects on time and within budget. Make sure to include specific examples of your past project success, including quantifiable outcomes like time, budget, and scope management. This will show prospective employers your ability to drive results.

Skills you can include on your Technical Project Manager resume

Template 8 of 23: technical project manager resume example.

Technical project management jobs often require you to have a background in IT, engineering, or another tech-related field. If you’re pursuing one of these positions, you’ll want to use your resume to highlight your technical expertise as well as your project management experience. This resume template will show you how to do just that.

   Tailored to the specific position

This resume effectively showcases prior work history with examples of both project management and technical experience. A work history like this one clearly demonstrates that you have the right blend of skills to succeed in a technical project manager role.

   Detailed bullet points with measurable results

As much as possible, when talking about your accomplishments, you should mention the specific results that you achieved through your actions. This resume template is filled with quantifiable results (e.g. increased ROI and reduced onboarding time for new hires) that show the impact you had at your previous workplace.

Template 9 of 23: Marketing Project Manager Resume Example

A marketing project manager is someone who oversees a company’s marketing campaigns and initiatives. Marketing project managers are typically responsible for overseeing high-priority projects from start to end, such as the execution of a commercial. The marketing project manager is responsible for working with other senior-level marketing professionals to establish the vision for the marketing strategy. Then, they must execute this vision from beginning to end. To become a marketing project manager, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in marketing or business administration. Hiring managers will be looking for someone with several years of experience in marketing, sales, management, and/or public relations. It’s important that candidates for this role have experience executing large scale projects. Marketing project managers must have excellent organizational skills, great leadership abilities, and critical thinking skills.

Tips to help you write your Marketing Project Manager resume in 2024

   show your previous experience planning and executing projects.

Even if you don’t have project management specific experience, you probably have experiences that relate to the key responsibilities of being a project manager. If you have any experience planning events, coordinating or leading staff, or launching new products, you should note this on your resume.

   Demonstrate your experience developing marketing campaigns

The marketing project manager does not just oversee the granular aspects of a project, they also help develop the marketing campaigns themselves. So, it’s important to note your professional marketing experience, including any marketing campaigns you have successfully developed.

Skills you can include on your Marketing Project Manager resume

Template 10 of 23: marketing project manager resume example.

Marketing project managers collaborate closely with the marketing department of a business. If you’re seeking a job as a marketing project manager, use a resume similar to this template to highlight your skills and experience in fields such as marketing, journalism, or communication.

   Great action verbs in bullet points

Describing your accomplishments with strong verbs like “led”, “coached” and “designed” shows that you have taken an active role in your success - something any potential employer will be glad to see.

   Use of skills, education, and projects sections

In this resume template, the skills and education sections complement the work experience. Mentioning personal projects and achievements outside of work can also help you come across as a well-rounded individual.

Template 11 of 23: Construction Project Manager Resume Example

A construction project manager does more or less similar work as a construction manager. This professional ensures all the processes in a construction project run according to the project schedule. These include planning, implementation, controlling, monitoring, and closure. Think of a construction project manager as the overall head of a project. As a project's overall head, a construction project manager has a wide range of skills and knowledge. So, their resumes primarily focus on showing their in-depth understanding of the industry. It also highlights their top talents and the certifications they have received in their career.

Tips to help you write your Construction Project Manager resume in 2024

   highlight the recognitions you've received as a construction project manager.

There is no better way to tell the recruiter that you're a top professional in construction project management than listing the awards you've won in your career. If you've been a construction project manager for a long time, including any recognition you may have received will elevate your profile.

   Focus on your ability to manage construction projects remotely

Thanks to the recent COVID-19 incident, recruiters are on the lookout for construction project managers who have demonstrable ability to work and manage teams remotely. Show that you are conversant with video-conferencing platforms and other tools that support virtual communication.

Skills you can include on your Construction Project Manager resume

Template 12 of 23: construction project manager resume example.

Construction project managers are project managers that are specifically focused on the construction projects. This includes consulting with architects, managing stakeholders and deadlines, and overseeing day-to-day work at sites. Remember to focus on your construction or real estate experience when applying for construction project management jobs.

   Emphasize transferrable project management skills like leadership

Core project management soft skills include leadership, communication and teamwork. Recruiters want to see evidence of these skills on your resume, so highlight them in your bullet points.

   Strong action verbs highlight experiences

Use action verbs like "Supervised" and "Coordinated" to show your leadership and teamwork experiences. Every bullet point on your resume needs to start with an action verb to show recruiters your role in each accomplishment.

Template 13 of 23: Construction Project Manager Resume Example

Template 14 of 23: Agile Project Manager Resume Example

An Agile project manager leads differently. APMs use the Agile framework, created in the 90s, to create and manage teams. As an APM you will be less concerned with hierarchy and top-down leadership. Your leadership will be based on 4 main values; being team-focused over tools-focused, using working software over extensive documentation, collaborating with customers over impersonal contract negotiations, and being agile and flexible in the face of change. Outside of certification as a project manager, a recruiter will need to see Agile certification. So ensure all your Agile qualifications are clearly listed.

Tips to help you write your Agile Project Manager resume in 2024

   use people/team-centered language..

The Agile philosophy is deeply rooted in concentrating on the team and personalizing their experience to ensure success. So you will want your resume’s language to reflect Agile’s philosophy. So keep your experience focused on what the team has accomplished and how your work as a project manager has improved the way your team works.

   Use Agile keywords.

To help you get through recruiters’ ATS (Applicant Tracking System) filters, ensure your resume is filled with Agile keywords and language. This applicant uses Agile language including ‘Agile Scrum’, ‘Kanban principles’, ‘scrum master’, etc.

Skills you can include on your Agile Project Manager resume

Template 15 of 23: engineering project manager resume example.

An engineering project manager focuses on engineering projects. They ensure these projects are created and completed within budget, on time, and to a high standard. Your everyday tasks will include the management of schedules, material sourcing, cost management, and procurement of all necessary permits and documentation. While it is not absolutely necessary for you to have an educational history in engineering, it is generally expected that you will have at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering; especially the type of engineering you will be interacting with as a project manager. Take a look at this successful engineering project manager resume.


Tips to help you write your Engineering Project Manager resume in 2024

   have a balanced engineering and management skill set..

An engineering project manager needs to be knowledgeable about engineering as well as project management. Make sure your skill set reflects these two areas. So list both engineering and project management tools like this applicant has done.

   Use engineering language.

You want recruiters to feel confident that not only are you a good project manager but that you are a good engineering project manager. So include engineering language and terms to show recruiters that you are knowledgeable in the field.

Skills you can include on your Engineering Project Manager resume

Template 16 of 23: assistant project manager resume example.

As the name suggests, an assistant project manager is there to support a project manager in whatever way they can. You will not be the decision maker but you may be delegated tasks to manage. You will also most likely do a lot of the administrative and coordination tasks. In essence, you will do the project managers ‘grunt work’. To succeed in this role you must have very strong interpersonal, communication, and collaboration skills. The ability to multitask will also be important for your success. Educationally, any degree or certification in project management would be highly beneficial. This applicant has three listed project management certifications.

Tips to help you write your Assistant Project Manager resume in 2024

   show off your experience with tools useful for project management..

Prove to project managers that you will be able to adequately support them by listing the tools you are experienced with that would make their lives and work easier. This applicant includes tools like Trello and Microsoft Project which are both great for making project management organized.

   Demonstrate your organizational skills and success.

An easy way to convince a project manager that you would be an asset as their assistant is to list the successes you have had organizing projects. E.g. this applicant mentioned that they ‘supported in developing a project schedule for 15 projects’. This shows employers your capacity and capability to handle projects and delegated tasks.

Skills you can include on your Assistant Project Manager resume

Template 17 of 23: healthcare project manager resume example.

A healthcare project manager will manage a variety of projects in the field. These projects could range from building and opening a new wing at a hospital, to hiring new nurses, to reducing patient waiting times by a certain percentage. Because of the variety of tasks, you need to be well versed in the healthcare industry and have a clear idea of the needs of both the healthcare providers and also the patients. While a degree in healthcare is not absolutely necessary, having certification in healthcare would be a huge plus for recruiters. This applicant has 2 healthcare-related certifications.

Tips to help you write your Healthcare Project Manager resume in 2024

   show growth in your healthcare project management promotions..

Show recruiters your dedication to the healthcare field by showing consistent growth and promotion in the field. Apart from dedication, it will also indicate to recruiters that you excel in every position you are put in and that you are an exemplary employee who employers wanted to reward with promotions.

   Ensure your skills section includes healthcare industry-standard skills.

There are certain systems and skills that are commonplace in healthcare. E.g. You need to know regulations on patient safety and also know how to handle medical records. The healthcare industry has a ton of regulations so an industry-specific skills list will help recruiters feel confident that you are knowledgeable on how one needs to operate in the industry.

Skills you can include on your Healthcare Project Manager resume

Template 18 of 23: junior project manager resume example.

Junior project managers are much like assistants and will assist project managers with their more mundane tasks or with whatever tasks they get assigned. They will generally focus on administrative, oversight, and management tasks. A bachelor’s degree in business administration, management, or a similar field, would be highly beneficial. If you have any certification in project management be sure to highlight that as well.

Tips to help you write your Junior Project Manager resume in 2024

   include previous administration experience..

Because this is an entry-level position, you may not have a ton of project-management-specific experience. If however, you have administrative experience, be sure to include that in your resume. Junior project managers will help with a lot of administrative tasks, so any administrative experience will be relevant to this position.

   Use manager and leader keywords.

You will want to show project managers that they can delegate tasks to you that you will manage as effectively as they would. To do this, use leadership and managerial keywords to show them that you too possess those traits and that you can handle significant projects and tasks without much oversight.

Skills you can include on your Junior Project Manager resume

Template 19 of 23: it project manager resume example.

As the name dictates, an IT project manager must be experienced and qualified in IT. Recruiters will therefore be looking for an educational background in IT, IT-related certification, and IT-related previous experience. As a project manager, you will also need your resume to highlight your management and coordination skills. This applicant has the necessary educational background and a strong extensive IT-related experience history.

Tips to help you write your IT Project Manager resume in 2024

   use it-related keywords..

Show recruiters that you are well versed in the IT sector by using IT keywords. This applicant uses words like ‘Software Development Lifecycle’ and ‘virtualization’ to prove their competence as an IT project manager.

   Use metrics to impress.

Make your resume easier to digest by using metrics to show recruiters your workload capacity, the size of the teams you have managed, and the measurable success of your efforts.

Skills you can include on your IT Project Manager resume

Template 20 of 23: project management office (pmo) director resume example.

This is a high executive-level position. In this position, you may be leading the entire project management department or a whole project-based company. As an executive your responsibilities are broad and the people under you are many. You may find yourself developing strategy and planning projects, overseeing the execution of projects, speaking to clients or other stakeholders, etc. Recruiters will almost always expect at least a bachelor’s degree in project management or a related field, and at least 5 years of experience as a project manager. Take a look at this strong PMO director's resume.

Tips to help you write your Project Management Office (PMO) Director resume in 2024

   get certification to increase your credibility..

Stand out from the crowd by gaining one of the many project management certifications you can get. It shows dedication to the profession and also improves your credibility.

   Show your impact on the bottom line.

Show recruiters that you can efficiently lead the execution of successful projects by including metrics of success in your resume. Include figures that reflect how much money you saved clients or how much money you made for clients.

Skills you can include on your Project Management Office (PMO) Director resume

Template 21 of 23: process manager resume example.

As a Process Manager, your resume has to showcase your ability to optimize business operations. This role requires a mix of technical and management skills, and your resume should reflect your proficiency in these areas. You need to be aware of the current emphasis on digital transformation in businesses, as the drive towards efficiency and accuracy is pushing companies to automate processes. Hence, your familiarity with these technologies is a critical asset. As you draft your resume, remember that hiring managers want to understand your achievements. They're looking for specific examples of how you've improved processes and delivered measurable benefits. So, don’t shy away from including concrete figures and results in your achievements.

Tips to help you write your Process Manager resume in 2024

   demonstrate knowledge of process improvement methodologies.

When writing about your previous experience, you should detail your knowledge of methodologies like Six Sigma or Lean, as these are often used in process management. Show the impact you made using these methods with quantifiable results.

   Show expertise in relevant technologies

Since the role of a Process Manager now often involves digital transformation, it's essential to detail your proficiency in technologies like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) or AI-based systems on your resume. This could be in the form of the specific projects you’ve led or certifications you've earned.

Skills you can include on your Process Manager resume

Template 22 of 23: process operator resume example.

The role of a Process Operator often involves managing and maintaining the equipment that produces products in various industries. It's a job that requires both technical knowledge and operational efficiency. With the recent shift towards automation and remote work, many operators now need to be comfortable using and troubleshooting digital interfaces. Furthermore, the ability to adapt rapidly to new processes or technologies is becoming progressively valued. When creating your resume, it's important to go beyond simply listing past job duties. Instead, provide clear examples of how you've used your skills to increase efficiency, maintain safety protocols, or enhance product quality.

Tips to help you write your Process Operator resume in 2024

   showcasing technical skills.

As a Process Operator, you're expected to be well-versed with the equipment and technology used in your industry. It's crucial that your resume reflects your facility with these tools. Mention any specific machinery or software you've worked with, and don't forget to include any certifications or formal training.

   Emphasizing problem-solving abilities

Process Operators often have to troubleshoot on the fly and keep things running smoothly. You should include specific instances where you've used your problem-solving skills to prevent or manage issues, whether they were mechanical failures or process inefficiencies.

Skills you can include on your Process Operator resume

Template 23 of 23: software project manager resume example.

As a Software Project Manager, you're not just a tech enthusiast. You're the thread that holds the chaos in check, driving the rhythm of a shared heartbeat amongst coders, testers, designers, and stakeholders. It's a balancing act between understanding technical specifics and team management. Recent trends show an emphasis on Agile and Scrum methodologies, coupled with a stronger focus on 'ship fast, iterate faster' strategies. In crafting your resume, remember, it's not about being a master of everything, but a maestro in orchestrating the symphony of software creation. In recent years, there's been a surge in remote and distributed teams. Therefore, your resume should reflect not just your ability to manage projects, but also your proficiency in handling teams scattered across different time zones. Demonstrate your ability to handle the unique challenges that come with managing remote teams, and keep an eye out for the latest project management tools and platforms trending in the industry.

Tips to help you write your Software Project Manager resume in 2024

   demonstrate proficiency in project management methodologies.

Agile, Scrum, and Kanban methodologies have become a mainstay in the software development process. In your resume, discuss projects where you've successfully applied these methodologies. You should elucidate how you have adapted and applied them to drive project success.

   Exhibit capabilities in managing distributed teams

Show your potential employers that you can handle the challenges of managing remote teams. Elucidate instances where you've effectively navigated through issues of communication, time-zones and cultural obstacles to achieve project goals.

Skills you can include on your Software Project Manager resume

As a career coach and hiring manager who has worked with top companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, I have seen countless project manager resumes. In this article, I will share insider tips on what makes a project manager resume stand out and increase your chances of landing an interview. These tips are based on real feedback from hiring managers and successful job seekers in the field.

   Highlight your leadership experience

Employers want to see that you have experience leading projects and teams. Instead of simply listing your responsibilities, focus on the impact of your leadership:

• Led a team of 12 developers and designers to deliver a $500K project on time and under budget
• Managed stakeholder expectations and communicated project status to executive leadership

Quantify your achievements whenever possible to show the scope and impact of your leadership.

   Showcase your technical skills

While project managers are not expected to be technical experts, it's important to show that you have a solid understanding of the technologies and methodologies used in your projects. Some examples:

• Proficient in Agile methodologies including Scrum and Kanban
• Experience with project management tools such as JIRA, Trello, and Asana
• Familiarity with software development lifecycle and DevOps practices

Avoid simply listing buzzwords or acronyms without context. Instead, explain how you used these skills to deliver successful projects.

   Tailor your resume to the job description

One mistake I often see in project manager resumes is a generic list of skills and experiences that are not relevant to the specific job. Instead, take the time to customize your resume for each application. Here's an example of what not to do:

• Experienced project manager with 5+ years of experience
• Strong communication and leadership skills

Instead, focus on the specific requirements and priorities mentioned in the job description:

• 5+ years of experience managing software development projects in an Agile environment
• Proven track record of communicating with technical and non-technical stakeholders

   Highlight your certifications and training

Project management certifications such as PMP or Scrum Master can set you apart from other candidates and show your commitment to professional development. However, simply listing the acronyms is not enough. Provide context on how you applied the knowledge and skills gained from these certifications in your work:

PMP-certified project manager with experience applying PMBOK best practices to deliver complex IT projects. Completed Scrum Master training and successfully implemented Scrum methodology in Agile development teams.

   Show your ability to manage budgets and resources

Project managers are often responsible for managing budgets, resources, and vendor relationships. Highlight your experience in these areas with specific examples:

• Managed project budgets ranging from $100K to $1M, consistently delivering on time and within budget
• Negotiated contracts with vendors and managed relationships to ensure timely delivery of key project components
• Optimized resource allocation across multiple projects to maximize team productivity and minimize downtime

Use numbers and metrics to quantify your impact whenever possible.

   Emphasize your problem-solving skills

Projects rarely go according to plan, and employers want to see that you have the ability to adapt and solve problems under pressure. Instead of simply saying you have 'strong problem-solving skills', provide concrete examples:

• Identified and mitigated risks early in the project lifecycle, resulting in a 20% reduction in project delays
• Developed contingency plans and worked with the team to quickly resolve issues when faced with unexpected roadblocks

Showcase your ability to think critically, make tough decisions, and lead your team through challenges.

The best project managers have the ability to wear numerous hats. They are usually team players who are exceptionally organized, highly strategic, adaptable, and great at communicating with a variety of people. When you’re applying for a project management role, use your resume to show that you have the right skill set and personality for the job. With that in mind, here are some tips for creating a project manager resume that will help you stand out from the crowd.

   Be specific about your accomplishments.

On any resume, you should specify what you’ve accomplished in your previous work. However, when you’re applying to become a project manager, your accomplishments should include specific projects you’ve worked on at past jobs. While you want to keep your resume fairly succinct, don’t be afraid to go into a bit of detail about what projects you did, what your role was, how you ensured the project’s success, and what the end results were.

   Showcase relevant skills for project management.

If your resume has a skills section, use it to highlight several relevant skills for project management. Even better, for any skills that you list, include bullet points about achievements at your previous jobs where you used those skills. Showing hiring managers evidence of your problem solving abilities is always better than simply saying that you have a “solution mindset”. What skills should you emphasize? Project managers need soft skills like organization, planning, management, and coordination. However, soft skills are only part of the equation; many project managers also need to be versed in workspace tools, platforms, and software. Different companies will use different frameworks, but if you can show that you have experience with using some of these tools, you’ll have a definite leg up on the competition.

   Create an ATS-friendly resume.

Whenever you’re applying for a new job, it’s always good practice to optimize your resume for ATS software. Even if you don’t know for sure that the company filters incoming resumes, you should err on the side of caution and assume that they do. Getting past an automated resume filter may sound daunting at first -- but if you follow a few basic strategies, you can get your resume through ATS and in front of a live (human) recruiter. First, make sure that your document is easily readable and that it’s in a standard format such as Word or Google Docs. Keep your text free of images, diagrams, tables, and unusual fonts. Next, you’ll want to include relevant keywords from the job description, but be careful not to overdo it or make your language sound unnatural -- after all, the goal is to eventually get your resume read by a live person!

   Use strong, measurable achievements.

Our last word of advice is to include strong, measurable achievements in your resume -- talk about what you accomplished, not simply what you were responsible for at your old jobs. And, of course, make sure that your LinkedIn and other social media profiles are up-to-date to leave the best possible impression on the recruiter.

Writing Your Project Manager Resume: Section By Section

  header, 1. highlight your project management certification.

If you have a relevant certification like PMP, PRINCE2, or Scrum Master, make sure to include it after your name in your header. This instantly communicates your expertise and commitment to the field.

Here's an example of how to format your name and certification:

• John Smith, PMP
• Sarah Johnson, PRINCE2 Practitioner

Avoid simply listing 'Project Manager' as your title, as it doesn't add much value:

• John Smith, Project Manager
• Sarah Johnson, Project Manager

2. Include your location, phone, and email

Hiring managers want to quickly see if you're a local candidate or if you would need to relocate for the role. Including your city and state is sufficient - no need to list your full address.

You should also include your phone number and a professional email address. Make sure your email handle is straightforward and professional, like [email protected] .

• John Smith, PMP San Francisco, CA | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected]

Avoid using casual email handles that you created years ago:

3. Add your LinkedIn profile URL

In today's digital age, hiring managers often look up candidates on LinkedIn. Make it easy for them by including your LinkedIn profile URL in your header.

Ideally, your URL should be customized with your name rather than a string of random numbers. Here's how:

• John Smith, PMP San Francisco, CA | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] linkedin.com/in/johnsmith

Avoid using the default LinkedIn URL format:

• John Smith, PMP San Francisco, CA | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected] linkedin.com/in/john-smith-37b6a8142

  Summary

A resume summary, also known as a professional summary or career summary, is an optional section that appears at the top of your resume. It provides a brief overview of your professional experience, skills, and achievements that are most relevant to the position you're applying for. While a summary is not required, it can be a valuable addition to your resume, especially if you have extensive experience or are making a career change.

When writing a summary for a project manager position, focus on highlighting your most impressive accomplishments, leadership skills, and industry expertise. Tailor your summary to the specific requirements of the job posting and the company's needs. Keep it concise and impactful, ideally no more than 3-4 sentences.

To learn how to write an effective resume summary for your Project Manager resume, or figure out if you need one, please read Project Manager Resume Summary Examples , or Project Manager Resume Objective Examples .

1. Showcase your project management expertise

Highlight your experience and skills that are directly relevant to project management. Mention the types of projects you've managed, the industries you've worked in, and any notable achievements.

For example, a good summary might look like this:

Experienced project manager with 5+ years of experience leading cross-functional teams in the software development industry. Proven track record of delivering complex projects on time and under budget, resulting in an average of 20% cost savings per project. Skilled in Agile methodologies and proficient in project management tools such as JIRA and Asana.

2. Quantify your achievements

Whenever possible, use numbers and metrics to quantify your accomplishments. This helps hiring managers understand the impact you've made in your previous roles.

Avoid vague statements like:

• Managed multiple projects successfully
• Improved team efficiency

Instead, provide specific details and figures:

• Led a team of 12 in delivering a $500K project 2 weeks ahead of schedule
• Implemented process improvements that increased team productivity by 30%

3. Tailor your summary to the job

Customize your summary to align with the requirements and preferences outlined in the job posting. Highlight the skills, experience, and achievements that are most relevant to the specific project manager position you're targeting.

For example, if the job emphasizes experience with a particular project management methodology, such as Scrum, make sure to mention your expertise in that area:

Certified Scrum Master with 7+ years of experience leading Agile software development projects. Skilled in facilitating sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives to ensure timely delivery of high-quality products. Collaborated with cross-functional teams to implement Scrum best practices, resulting in a 25% increase in team velocity.

  Experience

The work experience section is the most important part of your project manager resume. It's where you show hiring managers how you've applied your skills in the real world to deliver results. In this section, we'll walk through how to write an effective work experience section step-by-step, with examples of what to include and avoid.

1. Use reverse-chronological order

Start with your most recent or current role at the top, then work backwards. This puts your most relevant experience first. For each role, include:

• Company name and location
• Dates of employment (month and year)
• 3-5 bullet points detailing your accomplishments

Bad example:

Project coordinator, 2018-2019 Junior project manager, 2019-2020 Project manager, ACME Co, New York, 2020-present

Good example:

Project Manager , ACME Co, New York, NY, 2020 to present Junior Project Manager , XYZ Inc, Boston, MA, 2019 to 2020 Project Coordinator , 123 Agency, Chicago, IL, 2018 to 2019

Tip: Bold your job titles to make your career progression stand out at a glance. Try our Targeted Resume tool to see if you've included the right keywords and skills for each role.

2. Focus on achievements, not duties

Don't just list your day-to-day responsibilities. Hiring managers want to see the impact you made in each role. Ask yourself:

• Did you deliver projects on time and under budget?
• Did you improve any processes or implement new methodologies?
• Did you mentor or train other team members?

Quantify your accomplishments with metrics where possible. Bad example:

• Responsible for managing project timelines and budgets
• Coordinated project tasks and deliverables
• Communicated with stakeholders
• Managed 5+ projects simultaneously with budgets up to $500K
• Implemented Agile methodology which reduced average project time by 20%
• Mentored and trained 3 junior project managers

After drafting your bullets, run your resume through our free Score My Resume tool. It checks your resume on 30+ key criteria hiring managers look for and gives you instant, actionable feedback to improve.

3. Tailor your experience to the job

Hiring managers want to see experience that's relevant to their open role and company. Carefully review the job description and mirror the language it uses, where applicable. If a posting mentions specific project management tools, methodologies, or domains, call those out in your work experience.

Let's say a job description lists Jira, Trello and Scrum. You'd want to include examples like:

• Managed Scrum ceremonies including daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives
• Tracked and assigned tasks to team members using Jira and Trello

If it mentions healthcare experience, you could say:

Managed a $1.2M telehealth implementation project in collaboration with clinicians, IT, and operations teams

Tip: Include relevant certifications like PMP, CSM or ITIL in your title or a "Certifications" section to further show your expertise in specific project management areas.

  Education

Your education section is a key part of your project manager resume. It shows employers you have the knowledge and training to succeed in their role. It also provides context for your work experience. Here are some tips for writing a strong education section on your project manager resume.

1. Put your education section in the right location

Where you place your education section depends on your level of experience:

• If you are a recent graduate or have limited work experience, put your education section above your work experience. This highlights your relevant training first.
• If you have several years of project management experience, put your education below your work history. Your professional experience is more important to employers at this stage.

2. Only include relevant degrees and coursework

As a project manager, include your bachelor's degree and any advanced degrees. However, don't include your associate or high school diploma. For example:

• MBA, Stanford University, 2018
• B.S. Business Administration, NYU, 2014

If you are a recent graduate, consider listing relevant coursework too:

• Relevant coursework: Project Management, Operations Management, Leadership
• Irrelevant coursework
• Online certificates (put these in a separate section)
• High school diploma

3. Keep your education section concise

Experienced project managers should keep their education section brief. Employers are more interested in your work accomplishments than your degrees at this stage. For example:

M.S. Project Management, Columbia University B.A. Business Administration, University of Florida

However, recent graduates can go into more detail to highlight their qualifications:

B.S. in Industrial Engineering, UCLA, 2022 GPA: 3.8 Relevant Coursework: Project Management, Supply Chain Management, Statistical Quality Control Honors: Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa

4. Use consistent formatting

No matter how much detail you include, keep your formatting consistent. For example:

Master of Business Administration, Harvard University, 2019 Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Stanford University, 2014

MBA, Harvard University, 2019 BSE, Stanford University, 2014

Avoid inconsistent formatting like:

Master of Business Administration (MBA), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 2019 B.S.E., Stanford University, 2014

Consistent punctuation, abbreviation, and order make your education section easier to scan.

Action Verbs For Project Manager Resumes

The best project manager resumes discuss specific accomplishments using strong action verbs. Strong verbs convey your role in your achievements; in any resume bullet point, we recommend pairing an action verb with the quantifiable result you achieved to show the impact of what you did. Project managers may have a diverse set of skills to draw upon, and there are a huge number of verbs you could choose to describe what you’re good at. We have an entire article devoted to action verbs to use in resumes -- in particular, project managers may want to pursue the ones in the accomplishment-driven, communication, management-related, leadership, and problem-solving sections.

• Facilitated
• Accelerated
• Spearheaded

For more related action verbs, visit Leadership Action Verbs .

For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs .

Action Verbs for Project Manager Resumes

Skills for project manager resumes.

To craft an outstanding project manager resume, you’ll want to show that you have the most crucial skills for the job. Recruiters will want to see that you are adept at managing, leading, planning, and strategizing -- use your skills section and bullet points within your work history to illustrate your abilities in these areas. In addition to highlighting essential project management skills , you should also re-read the job posting to look for specific skills that your potential employer is seeking. If they mention any skills, be sure to mention those (and include supporting examples) within your resume. Finally, many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) or other technology to sort through and analyze the high volume of resumes they receive. You can optimize your resume to get past the automated filtering process and give yourself a better chance of getting noticed. We’ll go into ATS in more detail below.

• Copy Protection
• Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
• Agile Methodologies
• Project Planning
• Integration
• Project Management
• Software Project Management
• Business Analysis
• Business Process Improvement
• Program Management
• Microsoft Project
• Agile Project Management
• Agile & Waterfall Methodologies
• Requirements Analysis
• Enterprise Software
• Change Management
• Vendor Management
• Project Coordination

Skills Word Cloud For Project Manager Resumes

This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Project Manager job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.

How to use these skills?

Resume bullet points from project manager resumes.

You should use bullet points to describe your achievements in your Project Manager resume. Here are sample bullet points to help you get started:

Implemented a system upgrade for an American bank just 8 weeks before deadline; resulted in securing additional business worth $5 MM

Developed an Excel macro and standardized reporting templates, resulting in efficient data collection and a 35% reduction in turnaround time

Managed a 10-member cross-functional (engineering, product, sales, support) team and coordinated with five business partners towards the successful launch of an e-commerce website

Enforced Kanban principles as a scrum master that reduced cycle time by 25% and increased the team's throughput in less than 9 weeks.

Reduced new user acquisition costs by 20% through implementing social sharing features and streamlining user adoption; shortened development cycles by 25% and increased release date accuracy by 20%

For more sample bullet points and details on how to write effective bullet points, see our articles on resume bullet points , how to quantify your resume and resume accomplishments .

Other Manager Resumes

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Project Administrator

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Project Manager Resume Guide

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• Director of Information Technology Resume Guide
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• Project Manager Resume Example
• Entry Level Project Manager Resume Example
• Senior Project Manager Resume Example
• Technical Project Manager Resume Example
• Marketing Project Manager Resume Example
• Construction Project Manager Resume Example
• Agile Project Manager Resume Example
• Engineering Project Manager Resume Example
• Assistant Project Manager Resume Example
• Healthcare Project Manager Resume Example
• Junior Project Manager Resume Example
• IT Project Manager Resume Example
• Project Management Office (PMO) Director Resume Example
• Process Manager Resume Example
• Process Operator Resume Example
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• Tips for Project Manager Resumes
• Skills and Keywords to Add
• Sample Bullet Points from Top Resumes
• All Resume Examples
• Project Manager CV Examples
• Project Manager Cover Letter
• Project Manager Interview Guide
• Explore Alternative and Similar Careers

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Project Manager Resume: Templates, Examples, & Essential Skills

As a Project Manager, you are most likely great at leading, and exceptional at organizing. But are those skills of yours not transferring to resume writing? If that’s the case, take advantage of our resume templates, and make sure your resume is as well organized as your daily tasks.

Project Manager Resume Example MSWord® Manage the job application process the right way by using our customized Project Manager Resume Template in Word.

Being a project manager requires extensive knowledge and refined leadership skills. 

The position comes with huge responsibilities since it’s the project manager’s job to integrate, strategically plan, and control both the company team and its projects’ progress. 

Demanding as the job of a project manager may be, crafting a suitable resume for a related position can be even more daunting. Competition, professional competence, related achievements, and experience—all these and more can make or break a project manager resume. 

No matter how good you might be at project management, it will ultimately be your resume that will speak on your behalf and paint a whole picture of you as a professional before your hirers. 

Dread not, for we have compiled a detailed guide on how to write a resume for a project manager position, and get the job you applied for—no questions asked.

Project Manager Resume Sample

Since the best way to understand how to write a resume for a project manager is through an example, here is what a full project manager resume ought to look like:

[ Jennifer Decker ]

[ Product Manager ]

[88 Northland Street, OH 45205   |   513-555-1204   |   [email protected]]

Detail-oriented project manager with 15+ years of experience executing multi-function management and business analysis for a variety of projects. Excellent organizational, planning, time-management, and problem-solving abilities. For 5 years in a row, I met all project deadlines and improved Fever Productions market share by 12% through effective branding projects.

Product Manager

Fever Productions, Cincinnati, OH

08/2010 to Current

• Led the company’s software development project
• Analyzed and strategically planned the business goals, budget, schedules, and team member coordination
• In control of the project’s team and communicating about problems to improve overall interaction between team members

Venus Flytrap Printworks, Cincinnati, OH

01/2007 to 07/2010

• Managed telephone interaction, and offered issues to potential clients
• Helped chief project manager in handling multiple projects at once, prioritized them and efficiently solved them
• In control of expense reporting, risk management, budget, and execution

Master’s Degree in Business Administration 

From the University of Pennsylvania

2006 – 2007

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration

From the Monte Ahuja College of Business

2001 – 2005

Certification

Project Manager Professional Certification  

From the Project Management Institute

• Database management
• Web development
• Microsoft Office
• Project management software
• Documentation

What’s the Best Project Manager Resume Format?

There are a few project manager resume formats available, with the ever-favorite being the reverse-chronological resume format. 

As the name itself suggests, a resume with a reverse-chronological format serves to describe your previous work experiences, starting from the most recent and moving backward.

Some studies have shown that this type of resume format is most appealing to a big number of employers since it is fairly easy to read—almost like a story. 

At the top of the resume, candidates should include a short summary or objective , to catch the attention of the hiring agent.

The reverse-chronological format starts with the professional experience and then moves on to the personal life, education, and other talents and hobbies of the candidate. 

Some of the best skills should also be mentioned here, both characteristic skills and job position-related skills. It’s also important to mention some certificates or awards, because they may bring extra credit.

Other Project Manager Resume Formats

The second most commonly used format is the functional resume format . Here, the summary or objective of the candidate comes first. And, unlike the previous format, in a functional resume format, all the attention will fall on your skills section. For applicants who don’t have a rich work experience section (or any experience for that matter), the functional format is ideal since its main aim is to highlight your personal skills and show the employer that you’re capable of doing the job flawlessly—even without the professional background. 

Finally, there is also the combined resume format , whose name is self-explanatory. 

This format is a combination of both previous resume formats. In the combined resume format, the main focus will fall on both the candidate’s previous work experiences as well as their professional skills. 

Both sections are equally highlighted, which makes the combined format ideal for applicants who want to change their profession or include the best of both worlds – skills plus experience. 

To make the resume even more professional, you can always use a project manager resume template tailored just for your needs.

When explaining your professional history, emphasize your accomplishments and any other relevant awards or affiliations. This will paint a complete picture of you as a valuable project manager—and it’s a chance to emphasize the best parts of your career.

How to Write a Project Manager Resume Summary or Resume Objective

Another required section that makes your resume stand out is the project manager resume summary. 

For those unfamiliar with it, a resume summary should include a brief overview, no more than 3 sentences long, of all your professional experiences.

In this short section, the candidate should highlight their most significant achievements, thus allowing the employer to quickly determine if the candidate is qualified for the position. 

A resume summary can also be useful when creating longer resumes, and you can always boost it with relevant keywords and thus make it more relevant. 

On the other hand, a project manager’s resume objective is a statement included at the beginning of the resume and serves to describe the candidate’s key goals. 

Similar to the resume summary, the resume objective serves to inform the employer if the candidate is a good fit for the company.

The section should be short and precise, and briefly clarify the candidate’s goals and ambitions in the long run.

Both the summary and objective are similar to one another, with the difference that the summary is more commonly used by people seeking employment in the same profession, and the objective for those looking to change industry fields.

Project Manager Resume Summary Example

An exceptional project manager resume summary should include the following:

• Description of the candidate’s top professional accomplishments 
• The candidate’s professional title 
• The applicant’s most relevant project management skills
• Number of years of professional experience

Below is an example of what a resume summary should look like:

Project Manager with over 7 years of experience, strategic and detail-oriented. Excellent organizational, planning, time-management, and problem-solving abilities. For five years in a row, I met all project deadlines and improved Company X’s market share by 12% through effective branding projects.

To compare, you should also see an example of a poorly written summary section:

Experienced project manager with a track record of collaborating across departments to meet goals and generate excellent outcomes on the projects I oversee. I’m searching for a job as a project manager at a rising company where I can use my unique skills to plan, scope, and deliver projects.

How to Write an Entry-Level Project Manager Resume Objective

To create an appealing entry-level project manager resume objective , you must first understand what the recruiter is looking for. 

All in all, the objective’s aim is to demonstrate to the employer that you’re the perfect choice for the job at hand.

In order to show that you deserve the position – even without the experience – you can emphasize a few of your greatest abilities. It’s very useful for entry-level project managers to point out the education and degrees they have, along with some certification if they possess any.

Here are some tricks in how to write a good-looking entry-level objective:

• Keep the objective as brief as possible . Don’t include any irrelevant information that won’t do anything well. You only need a few well-structured sentences and make certain that each word is thoughtful and necessary.
• Be specific and precise about the work position you seek, in this case, project manager. Discuss your objectives simply and make them relatable to the position you are applying for. Keep the sentences well-written and use professional terminology to grab the attention of the recruiter.
• Draw attention to some extra project or activities you’ve been a part of while studying. This way, you will fill any gaps you have in the experience section.
• Explain what you’re willing to do for the company and how you will contribute to its overall success and further accomplishments. Take your objectives a step further and outline how they align with the demands of the organization, all the while relying on the job description as your guide. 

Entry-Level Project Manager Resume Objective Sample

There are many diverse ways to structure an entry-level project manager resume objective :

Highly qualified and talented professional seeking associate-level project management role to practice good communication, efficient planning approach, and deliver great projects to customers, four-year business bachelor’s degree program, as well as proficiency in six languages.

Take a look at this example of what an objective shouldn’t look like. 

When writing an objective, it’s important to see both right and wrong examples and compare them to help you fully understand what employees are looking for.

I’m an excellent project manager in search of a regular eight-hour job, where I can show all my project management skills and contribute to the company. 

Even though the objective should be simple and brief , that doesn’t mean that it should be void of its primary essence. Being eloquent and using professional lingo will always make you seem better for the position and more versed. Since you will be lacking professional experience in your entry-level project manager resume, pay more attention to your top skills , and include any respective degrees and certificates you have to support your professional readiness for the job. 

How to Describe Your Project Manager Experience

Before becoming professionals in the project management industry , most project managers firs t worked as an IT employees. 

Interestingly, this part of the candidate’s previous work experience is rather important for the employer, so do your best to feature it in your resume and describe it in detail at that. 

It might be best to write down what your previous professional title was, alongside the purpose you served at the company as a front end employee. 

Mentioning any viable IT-related skills is also a plus, as it helps the hiring agent to, in a way, filter out the unripe fruits from the ripe ones. 

To explain your level of expertise in this area, you first need to include your level of knowledge. You will also need to describe your professional comprehension of popular operating systems, including debugging software issues. 

Also, you can mention that you are able to assist clients with minimal IT knowledge who need a professional’s helping hand to sort a related issue. 

Any certifications and publications that describe your solid proficiency in hardware and software, among other IT areas, should have a place in your resume since it gives the employer a clearer picture of your skills and accomplishments. 

If you also have finished any professional courses or did training in the field of software and IT management, add these to your professional resume strengths.

Project Manager Resume Examples: Experience 

The experience section is the most significant to craft, since hiring agents are most interested in a candidate’s prior projects. The project manager resume experience section should ideally look like this:

Senior Project Manager Company X 08/2005 – 07/2009

• I oversaw and coached a staff of 16 experts.
• I was in charge of the Lean Training initiative for all 54 staff members.
• Delivered projects up to 12% under budget on a regular basis.
• I started and supervised a project to replace all old equipment, which resulted in a 23% reduction in monthly electricity bills.
• Over a three-year period, a project performance management system was implemented, which boosted project efficiency by 18%.

Below are some tips and tricks that might come in handy when writing an experience section for a project manager resume:

• To explain your accomplishments and duties, use action verbs such as managed, spearheaded, resolved, executed, and so on.
• Include only relevant information regarding your previous experience. It’s recommended to provide information about previous jobs that are similar or at least in the same branch as the job position you are seeking. The employer won’t be impressed to read about your high school part-time jobs or non-related tasks.
• Make your accomplishments measurable , and provide percentages when talking about certain things. For example, try using “Consistently delivered projects up to 12% under budget” rather than “Consistently delivered projects under budget.”

Entry-Level Project Manager Resume: Experience Section

The work experience portion of your project manager resume for entry-level candidates should be formatted as follows:

• Follow the functional resume format . This helps you point out your top work-related as well as your soft skills and assure the employer that you’re the right fit for the position even with no significant experience.
• Write a well-structured education section. For candidates with no previous work experience, education comes as one of the most important factors. Include the name of the college, university, or course, along with the years of attendance.
• Point out any internships, college projects, and activities you partook in. Even though entry-level candidates don’t have real job experience, working on college-related projects will make up for the lack of professional practice.
• Include the name of the company in which you had your internship, especially if it’s a major business. Add a few sentences to elaborate on your responsibilities there, and detail your contributions to the company projects.
• Mention voluntary projects that you might have been a part of, and explain how you gained the relevant experience.
• Write a short objective at the top of your resume to state why you want the job
• Create a list of accomplishments and obligations. 5 to 6 bullet points will do. 

If you want your project manager resume to stand out and strike the attention of the employer, you need to make it unique. 

And, whilst you may be lacking the professional experience to get the job, your skills, additional accomplishments, and most of all—your adequate experience—can often be just enough to land you the position you applied for.

Have You Tried Troubleshooting Your Education Section? You Should

Even though project management knowledge can be gained without college, having a degree of some sort will more likely get you the job faster. 

Every major company in this industry seeks candidates who have at least a Bachelor’s degree. Two degrees, or even better—a major’s degree—heighten your chances of scoring the job you seek. 

The education section on a resume is just as necessary to include in a resume as other sections. 

If you have a high-quality education, but somehow, the hiring agents reject your resume after a single glance, the issue might be your poorly described education section or choosing the wrong resume format. 

Alterations are a great way to showcase your project manager education section. 

If you are having trouble determining what a quality education section in a resume looks like, read on as we elaborate on the details that will make you stand out from the crowd —educationally and otherwise. 

Project Manager Resume Education Section

The education section should be kept short and tight , unless you are an entry-level candidate and have no real experience to show for. 

By default, employers will be more interested in your professional journey; however, without it, your education section is the next big aspect of your resume to polish and write accordingly. 

Arrange your education resume section in the following order, starting with your highest degree:

• Title of the degree
• University, college, academy, or other educational institution
• Years of attendance
• Location (optional)

A project manager applicant should not pile up information regarding their education, but neatly organize it, so it’s readable, precise and relevant. 

If you just throw information here and there, your resume will look chaotic, and it might cost you getting the job altogether. 

As mentioned earlier, a project manager position does not always demand that candidates have a professional degree. If you don’t have a degree but have the experience, you can pay more attention to the latter and put your professional skills to the test. 

The Best Skills for a Project Manager Resume

In a project manager resume, the skills section should showcase your best hard and soft skills for the job, and offer a brief explanation on how you plan on putting these into practice. 

Soft Skills

Speaking in Public

Astute Listening

Great Communication

Critical Thinking

Problem-solving

Resolving Conflict

Analytical Thinking

Being Adaptable

Managing Stress

Time Management

Collaboration

Hard Skills

Budgeting & Forecasting

Digital Marketing

Business Strategy Knowledge

Project Management Methodologies

Computer Literate

Proficiency in Project Management Software

Process Management

Strategic Planning Statistical Analysis

Risk Evaluation

Again, the best way to organize this section is to start listing your top hard skills first, and then move on to your soft skills.

Soft skills are worth mentioning; however, the recruiter will ultimately be more eager to see what skills you can immediately bring to the table in your project manager role. 

Remember, try to subtly intertwine these skills within other areas of your project manager resume and not just list them at the end.

Picture these words as magic keywords—employees are scanning hundreds of resumes looking for these skills, so your resume will jump out at them if you have cleverly included them throughout.

How to Add Other Sections for an Effective Resume

If you’re under the impression that the project manager resume is still not fully written , that there are gaps in your content, or that you are lacking sufficient experience, adding other sections can help make up for the shortcomings and still make you a viable candidate for the job. 

Here are some of the most commonly used additional sections in a professional resume:

• Publications such as research, interviews, and other forms of media. If some of your works have been published in the media, make sure you bring that up in the resume.
• Conferences , on both project management topics and industry-related topics. If any of these are relevant and connected to project management, they should be considered for your resume.
• Partaking in any associations and organizations and details on your level of involvement in each. Explain briefly what your job was and how you contributed to those organizations.
• Language skills are always advantageous, no matter if you’re applying for a position in a domestic or an international company. Especially for international positions, mentioning your polyglot skills will be highly appreciated. 

Project Manager Resume Sample “Other” Sections

As many other sections as you might want to include in your resume, sticking to the relevant ones only will do a better job at representing you professionally. 

If some of your achievements are more impactful than others, include them first, and leave out the information that serves you no purpose in getting a project manager’s job. 

However, if you possess both language skills and have relevant publications , or you have attended respective conferences, all sections need to be included in your resume for better effect. Ambition counts, so use it. 

Here’s a sample of a well-written additional section on a project manager resume:

Conferences 

AIPM National Conference 2020, ACMP Annual Conference

• English – mother language, native proficiency
• German – professional working proficiency
• Spanish – excellent writing and speaking abilities

Organizations 

Project Management Institute, Association for Project Management

Project Manager Resume Writing: Key Takeaway

You’ve reached the end of this ResumeGiants guide and hopefully, we’ve helped you answer how to write the perfect job-winning project manager resume. 

Before you go and nail that resume like a pro, here’s a nifty checklist to keep in mind and refer back to when needed: 

• Use a reverse-chronological resume format to highlight your project management job expertise.
• To pique the employer’s interest when reading the resume, create an attention-grabbing resume summary or objective .
• When explaining your work history, emphasize your accomplishments above your obligations.
• Only include relevant talents and skills in your sector 
• Include other professional information, like awards and affiliations, to provide a complete picture of your professional profile.

If you are still having trouble composing a suitable project manager resume, use our free resume builder available online.

All the best with your job hunt!

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• • Accelerated outbound sales cycle by 330% by designing and implementing customer acquisition platform for training and managing technical and IT teams
• • Established and curated strategic partnerships with 6 out of 10 top state manufacturing companies which resulted in $20M additional annual revenue
• • Led re-architect effort of a core SaaS product to reduce the platform deployment time for clients by 2 months
• • Lead a team of developers to build a proprietary CRM system for enterprise and its strategic partners, optimizing sales process and increasing sales revenue by 24%
• • Curated a $2M business implementation project that saves ~ $3.5M on operational inefficiencies between sales and development departments
• • Researched user behavior and led strategic product roadmap discussion across multi functional teams
• • Integrated Tableau reporting system into BI sales workflow, which led to 23% increase in post-meeting inquiries for technical sales department
• • Streamlined post-sales support to increase customer retention rate among enterprise clients by 27%
• • Acted as liaison between 3 country offices
• • Maintained and documented inventory of over 4,000 items
• • Led a team of 15 as a project manager, creating a trusting, respectful team in the process
• • Consistently ranked in the department's top 3 for completed tasks
• • Trained over 270 temporary remote workers

26 Project Manager Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

Customize this resume with ease using our seamless online resume builder.

All resume examples in this guide

Senior Project Manager

Junior Project Manager

Entry Level Project Manager

Agile Project Manager

Assistant Project Manager

Associate Project Manager

Business Project Manager

Clinical Project Manager

Commercial Project Manager

Creative Project Manager

CRM Project Manager

Digital Project Manager

Electrical Project Manager

Engineering Project Manager

Event Project Manager

Financial Project Manager

Freelance Project Manager

Implementation Project Manager

Infrastructure Project Manager

SAP Project Manager

Software Project Manager

Technical Project Manager

Web Project Manager

Marketing Project Manager

Certified Project Management Professional resume example

Resume Guide

Project manager resume example

Formatting Tips

Resume Experience

Skills On Resume

Certifications & Education Tips

Resume Summary Tips

Additional Resume Sections

Key Takeaways

By Experience

Project managers need to have strong resumes – not only to stand out from other applicants but also to show their experience and accomplishments in a manner that shows recruiters quantifiable achievements.

See, as a project manager, you play a key role in ensuring projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards. Furthermore, you are responsible for planning, organizing, and overseeing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and objectives.

This is a huge investment for any business, and it’s the reason why recruiters evaluate all project manager applications with scientific accuracy. Including yours.

Let’s see what you’ll learn here:

• Begin with a Project Manager resume example to understand the layout and essential information.
• How to list your skills in managing projects, leading teams, and meeting deadlines.
• How to share examples of successful projects you've led, highlighting budget management and problem-solving.
• How to phrase specific parts of your resume, e.g. how you coordinate with different departments and stakeholders to ensure project success.

If you’re specializing in a specific field of project management, we’ve got guides that cover it all:

• Program manager resume
• Program analyst resume
• Project analyst resume
• Scrum master resume
• Product manager resume
• Operations manager resume
• Systems analyst resume
• Change management resume
• Management resume
• IT manager resume
• IT project manager resume

Project manager  resume example

Here's what this applicant does well in their resume:

• Quantifiable achievements : Demonstrates impact with specific, measurable results, such as increasing sales revenue by 24% at Tesla and improving outbound sales cycle by 330% at Rover Games.
• Professional progression : Shows a clear career trajectory from Project Coordinator to Senior IT Project Manager, underscoring increasing responsibility and expertise.
• Technical skills and certifications : Lists relevant technical skills and certifications like PMP and Agile Certified Practitioner, aligning with the demands of project management roles.
• Key achievements section : Highlights significant accomplishments, like saving Tesla $100M, which adds credibility and draws attention to major successes.

How to format a project manager  resume

A reverse-chronological resume format  is a gold standard for resumes. The experience (listed from most recent to oldest), is going to be the centerpiece of your resume. This should be your first choice too.

Here are the most common resume layout elements to be aware of:

• Font family. Choose a professional font  that looks good both on PDF and printed on paper. Our recommendations are Lato, Rubik, Arial, Calibri, Bitter, or the classic Times New Roman.
• Font size.  The standard font size for resumes is 12p., but it can vary slightly between 10p and 14p so that you can fit your resume on a single page. Anything above or below will make it difficult to read.
• Color . Use color sparingly. We suggest using one base color for your content, and a secondary one for highlights, such as your section headings.
• Margins.  Use a standard 1-inch. A smaller margin will make you want to cram too much unnecessary information.
• Length . Keep to a maximum of two pages. The rule of thumb is to go back up to 10 to 15 years of relevant experience.
• Create a resume header  with your basic content information, including your phone number, a professional email address, your location, and a link to your professional LinkedIn profile. Don’t add a photo if you’re applying for a US or a UK company - it’s frowned upon.
• File format . Save your resume as a PDF , to preserve your formatting. Modern applicant tracking software can read them flawlessly.

If you’re wondering whether your resume format ticks all the ATS boxes, give our Resume Checker a spin:

Is your resume good enough?

Drop your resume here or choose a file . PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.

The top sections on a project manager resume:

• Contact information : Provides recruiters with necessary details to get in touch.
• Summary statement : Presents an overview of qualifications and expertise relevant to project management.
• Project management experience : Demonstrates your background in and knowledge of managing successful projects.
• Skills : Highlights your project management abilities - both soft and technical.
• Education and certifications : Proof of professional development, showcasing relevance to the project management field.

What recruiters want to see on your resume:

• Project execution history : Recruiters prioritize this to understand your experience in leading and managing projects from initiation to completion.
• Leadership skills:  Essential for a project manager's role, recruiters look for this to ensure you can guide, motivate, and monitor a team effectively.
• Time management skills : Critical in meeting project deadlines, recruiters prioritize this to confirm your ability to allocate resources and time efficiently.
• Risk management skills : A key element in project management, recruiters value this to ensure you can identify, assess, and mitigate potential risks in a project.
• Certification in project management : Recruiters prioritize qualifications like PMP or Agile certificates, which are specifically relevant and demonstrate your proficiency in project management.

How to write your project manager resume experience

Use your resume experience section to prove exactly why you’re the right person for the job.

The experience section is less about efforts and more about accomplishments. HRs will hire people who have a track record to show it, and this is the place to do so. Here’s how to frame your experience:

• Use direct action verbs  to highlight the work you achieved as a project manager.
• Feature relevant, strong project management skills that are most required in the job application.
• Include precise numbers and business results to showcase the value you provided.
• Tailor your resume to the job description. For example, if it uses terminology, such as “Prince2”, and what you use is “Prince 2”, or “Prince II”, chances are this mismatch will affect your ATS (applicant tracking system) score.

Now, let’s look at some practical examples.

• • Responsible for project management processes and procedures for contracted work.
• • Reviewed customer specifications and requirements for potential future product development.
• • Handled communicating with project progress and challenges to stakeholders.
• • Responsible for the reporting and documentation of all departmental activities.

Notice how shallow the example above is.

Although it shows some of the tasks you handle, it doesn’t highlight any of the results. It also includes basic job duties that any candidate can copy from resumes online.

That keeps you away from getting hired.

We’ll show you a better example of how you can improve your experience section.

Let’s make some simple tweaks.

• • Introduced an expense tracking strategy to stay within yearly budget goals which reduced business costs by $1.2M.
• • Developed strong cross-functional relationships with big clients and stakeholders across different levels of the business.
• • Lead monthly meetings with 8 project teams to identify challenges and resolve software development issues.
• • Conducted post product launch evaluation to identify successful software features and find ways to improve on them

The second example, on the other hand:

• Shows enough details about your past work.
• Demonstrates more metrics and examples, which enhances trust and shows credibility.
• It portrays you as a professional project manager who contributed a lot to the company.

Need more work experience section tips? Go through our guide here: How to Describe Your Work Experience on Resume .

How to quantify impact on your resume

You’ve heard many times that quantifying your achievements makes it easier for hiring managers to evaluate your performance in previous companies. To kick off your brainstorming process, let’s look at a few work situations in project management that you can use to show numbers in your resume :

• Include the number of projects you've managed: This demonstrates the breadth of your experience and your hands-on expertise.
• List the sizes of teams you have led: Showing the number of people you've managed can indicate your leadership and coordination skills.
• Mention the budgets you have handled: This reflects your ability to manage resources, which is key for any business.
• Detail the percentage by which you've completed projects under budget: This showcases your financial management skills, and how you save resources.
• State the average percentage of projects delivered on time: On-time project delivery is crucial and this shows respect towards deadlines and efficiency in project execution.
• Quantify the overall project performance improvement under your management: This can help demonstrate your value-add in improving operational effectiveness.
• Provide the number of risk assessments performed or handled: This indicates your active involvement in risk management, a critical aspect of project management.
• Include the number of successful stakeholder negotiations: Demonstrating your skills in managing stakeholder expectations can indicate your communication and negotiation abilities.

How do I write a project manager resume with no experience

Let's be honest here for a second:

Having experience is a plus to your resume. It makes hiring managers more confident in recruiting you.

But, HRs understand well that job success isn't only about experience. Many attributes can make a difference in an applicant.

Here's the deal:

The hiring company is looking for an entry-level project manager to handle specific tasks. You'll be able to find more details about that in the job application. Here’s how to build your resume:

• Read the job description, identify those duties, and prepare to include them in your resume.
• Feature the specific skills you have that allow you to perform those tasks.
• Support that with your educational background and unique certificates.

We'll teach you in the rest of this guide how you can do all that. Learn how to read a job description and extract the main resume keywords in this guide .

How to list your hard skills and soft skills on your resume

Since project managers cover a wide field of responsibilities, it doesn't help to list a handful of skills that are of the same nature.

You must pick the most relevant skills for the position you're applying to. Then use them to show that you can guarantee objectives, ensure quality, mitigate risk, etc.

14 technical skills on a project manager resume

• Project development
• Project Management Software
• Project Schedule
• Data processing
• Microsoft Office: Word, MS Excel, Project, PowerPoint
• ProjectLink
• Oracle Project Accounting
• Project Management Tools
• Risk Management
• Project Deployment

As you may have noticed, these technical skills  are specific to the job duties of any project manager.

Of course, you shouldn’t list them all in your resume.

Identify which skills are most required for the job you’re applying to by reading the job description carefully.

17 important soft skills to include in your resume for a project manager job

• Leadership skills
• Negotiation
• Communication Skills
• Critical Thinking
• Strategic project planning & Project scope
• Multitasking
• Detail-oriented
• Analytical skills
• Team management
• Customer Focus
• Interpersonal Skills
• Business Analysis
• Decision-Making
• Problem-Solving
• Resource Allocation
• Vendors Management
• Project Budgeting

These skills are a must-have for any applicant that’s serious about getting hired. But don’t limit yourself to the skills section for them.

The best way to showcase your soft skills  is in other parts of your resume.

For example, you can include them within your experience section. Or list your skills in your summary section to capture the HR’s interest .

Also, don’t lean too hard on buzzwords. If you decide to use buzzwords  in your Project Manager resume, make sure to use them in the right context and in the right place.

How to list your certifications and education on your resume

Project management is a role that requires lots of human interaction, flexibility, and creativity.

And you don’t learn this anywhere in school.

So you might ask:

Why do I need to include an education section in my resume anyway?

Think of it this way:

If you’re the hiring manager and had to cut a list from 1000s of candidates down to a dozen ones, what would your criteria be?

You’ll now focus on the secondary features of the applicants.

You want to hire someone who has all that, plus some relevant educational background .

Your resume needs an education section. Of course, you won’t detail everything you learned since primary school. In fact, you’ll do the exact opposite.

You’ll list your highest school degree, the university or college you went to, and the duration you spent there.

Check out this example:

All in all, the required degree depends on the industry the hiring company operates in.

Most often, those companies ask for a Bachelor’s in management or business. But sometimes they only hire candidates from technical fields such as computer science and IT.

It doesn't matter how strong your resume is. Featuring certifications in project management on a resume is always a plus.

It shows that you've invested lots of time to boost your career and learn new skills. And it also proves that you're experienced in your work.

But the most important thing is this:

It makes the hiring decision easier on recruiters and allows them to feel good about their choices.

If lots of trusted organizations are vouching for a candidate, it's a good thing to trust their judgment.

What are the best project management certificates to feature on your resume?

Top 10 certificates for your resume

• Project Management Professional (PMP) from Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
• Certified Project Management Practitioner (CPMP)
• Master Project Manager (MPM)
• Lean management

Project management and PMP from PMI – the gist of it

Let’s do a blitz round of the hottest questions about whether a PMP certification is worth the money or not.

Is PMP certification still relevant today?

Yes, there’s a growing demand for certified project managers. The demand for project managers is likely to continue to grow as organizations increasingly rely on project-based work to achieve their goals.

Can a PMP certificate increase my salary?

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the median annual salary for non-certified project managers in the United States is $93,000. On the other hand, Project Management Professionals (PMPs), who are certified by PMI, earn a median wage of $123,000 per year, which is a 32% increase compared to their non-certified colleagues.

Should I invest in a master's degree or PMP?

A PMP certification is considered superior to a Master's degree in Project Management. This is because a PMP certification requires at least 7,500 hours of hands-on experience leading and directing projects, as well as an objectively assessed level of theoretical knowledge. In comparison, a Master's degree in Project Management is focused primarily on theoretical knowledge and may not provide the same level of practical experience.

How to write your project manager resume summary or objective

Not sure what the utility of a summary in a resume is? It’s meant to provide a quick overview of your career so that hiring managers can learn more about you at a glance.

Generally, you want to include:

• Most successful projects you worked on
• Strongest project management skills that allowed you to thrive in your past jobs
• Best results and accomplishments you achieved in your career
• Types of projects you were responsible for implementation

To take this a step further, you’ll:

• Include precise metrics to support your claims.
• Use short, direct sentences to keep HRs interested.
• Personalize it by including specific project management keywords, skills, and achievements.

Let’s take a look at some project management resume summaries.

This barely scratches the surface as to who the candidate is and what they’re up to. Instead, it makes them look too uninterested and lazy to update their resume.

Let’s make this better with a few simple changes.

This is a better summary, because:

• It contains precise numbers that serve as strong evidence of your competence.
• It’s more personalized and speaks directly to the hiring manager.
• It features real examples of what the candidate worked on and achieved in their past job.

Finally, the question begs…

Do you need a resume objective ?

We say - you don’t. A project manager is usually an experienced candidate for whom a career objective won’t greatly help.

Additional sections for a project manager resume

You feel you need to add more depth to your resume, but you keep repeating the same bullet points over and over again? Let’s look at some additional sections that can put your experience beyond just professional roles and settings:

• Languages : Demonstrates multilingual abilities, beneficial in global project teams and diverse work environments.
• Professional affiliations : Lists memberships in relevant organizations, indicating engagement with the professional community.
• Volunteer experience : Showcases leadership and teamwork skills in non-professional settings, reflecting personal values and work ethic.
• Awards and honors : Presents achievements and recognitions, underscoring excellence and dedication in the field.
• Publications : Includes articles or papers written, reflecting expertise and thought leadership in project management.
• Personal projects : Describes relevant personal or side projects, showing initiative and passion beyond professional work.

Key takeaways for making an outstanding project manager resume

• Read the job description carefully . Understand what the hiring company is looking for, then craft your resume accordingly
• Use your resume header to grab attention and prove your competence
• Highlight your greatest accomplishments throughout your resume to remind people of your worth
• Use your experience section to feature your relevant expertise in cross-functional teams, and strongest skills
• When faced with competition, add an education and certificates sections to stand out from other

Project Manager resume examples

Explore additional project manager resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.

• The career objective clearly states the candidate's career goals and relevant experience.
• The internship experiences provide specific examples of the candidate's relevant experience in the IT industry.
• The strengths and skills sections include specific examples of the candidate's soft and hard skills, providing evidence of their abilities in real-life situations.

• 10 years of work experience as a project manager in Agile teams
• Project Manager Professional Certification
• Bachelor degree in adjacent to project management industry

Looking to build your own Project Manager resume?

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Project Management Resume | Examples | + Ultimate Guide

Table of Contents

Our dear esteemed reader, we welcome you to today’s insightful session.

At the end of today’s reading, you’ll understand what it takes and how to write an outstanding resume to make applications irresistible to recruiters.

Here are the major concepts you’ll learn in this article:

Guys, let’s get started as we help you broaden your chances with a charming resume!

How to Write a Project Management Resume

It will be very challenging to get a project manager job if you don’t write a catchy resume.

In this guide, you’ll understand how to prepare a project manager resume that converts.

However, before we proceed, we need to remind you that another word for project managers is project management professionals.

We’ll use these words interchangeably in the course of our discussion.

Carefully arrange your resume templates

It is one of the key attributes of best project manager resumes; you should succinctly communicate your PMP value to a prospective recruiter.

A well-structured resume shows your most-valuable wins.

Of all resume formats, the reverse-chronological style is the most respected.

This style focuses on your present personality, work experience, skills, and areas of strengths.

Include your contact details in the resume header.

You should divide your resume into six parts:

• Heading (containing contact information)
• Resume summary/objective
• Professional experience
• Miscellaneous section (containing certifications, volunteering experience, additional training, and conferences)

Make the headings enticing and also use white space well.

Write sentences in bullet points to make them concise.

Your resume template should be a page, but two pages will do if you’re highly experienced.

You must save your resume template as a PDF to ensure the formatting isn’t disorganized, as it’s very easy for word documents to shred in the course of sending them to people.

If you aren’t sure of the structure to use, you can use a resume builder application.

You drag and drop your skills and bullet points at the right places, and it’ll auto-fill the rest for you.

Caveat : Hiring managers will conduct an online search about you; thus, you must optimize your LinkedIn profile to stand a chance of securing the job.

Include experience in resume

A project manager’s resume without work history is best described as a charade.

Potential recruiters are concerned about your on-the-job expertise; they want to know the number of projects you’ve managed.

Best project manager resumes have a well-detailed experience section.

It is how to write a resume for a project management job.

Use these tips to insert your work experience in your resume properly:

• Begin by highlighting your latest job title—the last job first.
• Include your firm’s name, with start and finish dates.
• Carve out a job description for your project manager roles.

Pay specific attention to your achievements while executing the jobs.

Write five to seven bullet points to highlight your achievements.

Below are project manager resumes examples to give you a practical understanding of what we’ve been trying to explain.

Sample Resume for Project Manager Job Description

The Ideal Way:

Project Manager,

Electronics Outlet,

May 2009-September 2015

New York City

·        Directed electronics projects for Radiant SYC’s 97 workers

·        Satisfactorily managed Agile (Scrum Master) projects for four years where I reduced costs by 40%, minimized lead time by 30%, and improved quality by 30%.

·        Coordinated the “Learn through Benchmarking” project where I facilitated the traveling of 35 change-leaders to other facilities, and the beneficiaries subsequently came back to impact their peers positively.

This is an ideal project manager job description resume.

The Wrong Way :

• Oversaw electronic project management of a leading firm
• Directed lean training program for four years
• Managed the “Learn through Benchmarking” project

While a well-laid resume will get the attention of the HR manager, it’s how you record projects on it that seals the deal for you.

Learn how to use action verbs or power words like coordinated, directed, provided, and created because they strike more in the hearts of hiring managers.

Don’t sound vague; mention the specific projects you were involved in and your impacts on them.

Add percentages to each aspect to prove that your contributions had measurable impacts.

It is how project management improves the resume.

Perhaps, you’re bothered about writing this section of your resume because you’re at the entry-level project management.

There’s no cause for alarm; you can still build an outstanding resume to apply for entry project manager jobs.

While you may not take cognizance of it, we all have some experience in project management.

Have you ever led a team, set and met a goal, or reshaped a process in the past?

If yes, you’re already a junior project manager ready to win your first entry-level project management job!

So, reflect on all the projects you’ve led or played a role in in the past to prepare an irresistible entry level project manager resume.

Here, your years of experience don’t necessarily count, but your impact on the projects you coordinated.

Entry Level Project Manager Resume Tips

The ideal way.

Technical Project Manager

May 2008-August 2014

Brooklyn Agencies

Well Drilling

• Changed company pattern to the latest velocity air technique for improved handling of complex projects
• Coordinated project to ensure every member of staff complied with the revised Personal Protective Equipment Standards
• Reconfigured main office to real-time scheduling software for improved customer satisfaction and seamless job execution processes

The Wrong Way

Assistant Project Manager Construction

• Helped in general operations and management at Brooklyn Agencies for seven years
• Didn’t work as a project manager, but I am enthusiastic to learn

If this is how your assistant project manager’s resume is written, you’ve shot yourself in the leg.

Don’t paint yourself as a novice who needs time for the employer to brush up before you can work well.

The project manager description for resume is all about the experience; demonstrate to the employer that you can hit the ground running.

As you can see in the technical project manager resume sample above, despite being for an entry-level job, the applicant still showcased his technical skills commendably.

If you submit this resume for technical project manager jobs, you have a high chance of landing a deal.

Project management is all about deliverables – what can you get done?

What value are you bringing?

Before you begin to search for “assistant manager jobs near me” on LinkedIn, make sure your project manager CV stands out.

If it doesn’t stand out, your application would be lost in the pool of other misinformed applicants.

Make the Education Section Meaningful

It’s very easy for certified project officers to add a degree to their resumes.

You’re to list only your highest relevant educational attainment.

However, if you’re a newbie, enrich the education section with bullet points to further sell yourself.

You may choose from the GPA on a resume, relevant coursework, extracurricular activities, Dean’s list, and Latin honors.

Project manager resume examples for education

• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Stanford University
• Studied risk management in coursework
• Treasurer, Association of Business Administration Students, 2012-2013

You didn’t only keep it short; you also masterfully displayed your project management skills!

Include Relevant Skills in Your PMP Resume

Your primary field of expertise determines the project management skills you should put on your resume.

Don’t be generic or even duplicate the skills; resume writing should be a personal affair.

For instance, an engineering project manager resume will differ from a senior project manager’s resume.

Below is the list of project management skills every manager should possess:

• MS Office skills (Excel, PowerPoint, Google Sheet)
• Analytical skills
• Data analysis
• Risk management
• Project scheduling
• Methodologies: Waterfall, Agile, PRINCE2, Kanban, XP, Lean, IPM, CPM, etc
• Problem-solving skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Project management software (Trello, Jira)
• Time management
• Cost control
• Process improvement
• Attention to details
• Resource allocation
• Communication skills
• Leadership skills
• And other core skills

You need all these skills to function satisfactorily in a project manager position.

They’re the project management skills resumes project managers should have.

You shouldn’t use the generic project management resume skills list above to create a masterful agile  project manager resume.

Rather, the job description will dictate the ones to use.

Here’s how to include project management skills in resumes:

Divide the skill lists into two – the first will contain all your skills, while the second will list the project manager resume skills from the job posting.

Find the connections between the two lists to find your project management keywords.

Include both the soft skills and hard skills in the project management resume skills section

Re-adjust the achievement section of your PMP resume to show their relevance to the skills you’ve listed.

It is how the skills section should look like in an ideal marketing project manager resume:

Project manager resume sample for skills

• Negotiation skills
• Charming verbal and nonverbal communication skills
• Business development
• Process involvement  
• Strategic planning and analysis
• Proficient in MS Office
• Vendor management

There’s an intrinsic link between your experience and skills, and you must consciously reflect it in your PM resume.

It’s how to prove that you can lead or be part of a successful project.

The objective of project management resumes is to give you your desired job and not just to register your presence with HR managers, so you must be intentional with the message you pass with it.

Your project management resume skills should be relevant to the job advert if you’ll stand a chance of winning the job.

In the project manager resume template on marketing above, all the skills we listed are directly relevant to the project manager position.

We cannot overemphasize the importance of project manager skills resume because it determines how employers see you.

They weigh your competence based on the project manager resume skills you claim to have.

Embellish Your Project Resume With The “Extras”

Just as seasoning gives taste to your food, the “extras” also give a new look to your project manager’s CV.

HR managers are always enthusiastic about going through this section as it shows that you’ve distinguished yourself from the crowd.

It is the point to include the list of professional conferences you’ve attended, workshops, professional achievements, initiatives you’ve sponsored, and awards you’ve won over time.

Project managers often overlook these gold nuggets; many don’t know they possess numerous un-nurtured assets.

Here are some of the extras that shouldn’t be missing resumes.

Licenses and certifications

Whether you’re an experienced construction project manager or executive project manager, earning certifications is an indisputable way to show you’re worth your onions.

A survey by Wrike indicates that certified project managers are leading 80% of high-performing projects.

There’s no gainsaying that certifications remain a major way of gaining a lead over one’s competitors with this result.

Stakeholders specifically look for the certifications you’ve acquired before entrusting anything into your hands.

If you’re highly experienced without an official designation to back it up, you’ve only short-changed yourself.

For instance, an IT project manager who wants to be taken seriously should have Microsoft appellations.

These are the metrics with which managers are judged.

To have the best resume, get certified and put them on your project manager resume templates.

There are many free project management courses on Google that you can take to bolster your career.

It is especially good for those searching for Microsoft project manager jobs.

Our discussion on how to write project management experience in resumes is incomplete without mentioning licensing.

Some of the recognized designations you can add to your PM resume include:

• Certified Project Manager (CPM)
• Associate in Project Management (APM)
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• PRINCE2 Practitioner/PRINCE2 Foundation
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
• Professional in Project Management (PPM)

Most of these designations are awarded by the Project Management Institute (PMI)

There’s no better way to prove to an employer that you can expertly use project management software other than showing them the appropriate appellation.

Certifications take off many doubtful expressions in a resume.

They tell recruiters that you can perform well in the project manager role you’re applying to.

Volunteering experience

While you’re still waiting for that dream job, what are you doing with your time?

Volunteering activities are one of the ways to sell yourself to a prospective employer.

If you’ve ever been part of a charity event or contributed to building homes for the homeless, this is a huge experience for you.

Under this section, you can proudly use the expression “I can manage….”

List out areas where you’ve done the same or similar thing in the past.

Conferences

If you’ve attended any program management event in the past, this is the appropriate section to insert it.

Attending conferences is evidence that you’re up-to-date about events in the industry.

How to add PMP certification to resume

Below is a sample resume for senior project managers where the “extras” are added.

Senior Project Manager resume examples

The ideal way : awards and accolades.

• Guest Speaker at Global Scrum Gathering in 2016
• Awarded the Management Research Prize for “Project Lifecycle & Project Plans” podcast
• Published an article on the project team and use of Kanban for task execution in “Northwest PMP Newsletter.”
• Organized an in-house training at Crux Managers for team members on how an ideal project team should work to meet project timelines.
• Certified Associate Project Manager, 2017
• Project Management Professional, 2020

The Wrong Way : Additional Information

• Best Performing Staff, Briarwood Inc., 2019
• Passionate about information technology
• Top Scholar, Brainers College, 1995

You can see the differences between the two.

Even if you’re preparing a resume for IT project manager jobs, you don’t say you’re enthusiastic about it but demonstrate the specific awards and accolades that prove you’re worth the position.

The accolades section contains some PMP experience examples to show that the applicant is “passionate” and living his dreams.

Adding PMP examples enrich your resume.

In the project management experience examples listed in the resume above, you’ll discover that the applicant demonstrates his involvement in different industry-related activities.

It’s the main purpose of the section, and all resume project managers put up for jobs should have the “extras.”

Write an Engaging Project Manager Resume Summary

We’ve spoken so much on resumes for project managers, but in most cases, hiring managers don’t get to read those extensive project manager resumes.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the resumes project managers submit for job applications should be defective.

However, you should ensure your project manager’s resume summary statement is well-written because this is the section that most hiring teams glance through.

Make sure you add project manager resume keywords to the objective segment; you should use the keywords strategically to catch the manager’s attention.

Before we move further, let’s quickly distinguish between a project summary and an objective.

A project objective in your resume profile is what you aim to achieve or become in the industry, while a project summary is what you’ve achieved over time.

So, if you’re a career changer, a new niche hunter, or a fresh graduate, a project manager resume objective is the most ideal for you.

But if you’re highly experienced in the advertised field, go for a project manager resume summary.

Modalities to write a resume summary

1.        Use adjectives like dedicated or highly experienced

2.        Include your title ( IT Project Manager )

3.        State your years of experience ( 3, 4+, 7 )

4.        State your positive contributions ( minimized lead times for Agile  Managers Inc )

5.        Add your most outstanding project management achievements

If you stand a chance of getting hired, you have to demonstrate your project manager resume skills here explicitly.

Let’s consider this project manager resume example to expatiate this concept:

Portfolio manager resume summary

Dedicated project manager with a foundation in law and 15+ years of experience in helping a silicon valley-based online banking company grow its revenue.

Want to leverage leadership experience as portfolio manager for Investopayers.

Project Manager with 12+ experience with an online banking outlet. Passionate with a high interest in mesh computing

The two project manager portfolio examples above shed light on how you can either set yourself up for success or failure through your projects manager job description summary.

We could see the consistent use of project management keywords such as project manager, experience, revenue, and leadership experience in the first one.

It is one of the tricks to excel as an applicant.

On the other hand, the second one is too generic; anyone can use it.

Though it is designed for project engineering manager jobs, even a portfolio or risk manager can equally use it.

Your project management description history or plan must be clear, personal, and detailed.

You may take a look at the project description examples above and see the differences.

Now that you’ve understood how to write a resume summary let’s shift our focus to the newbies in the industry.

If you’re a starter or career changer, your resume profile should be an objective.

See the project manager sample resume below.

Highly-motivated business administration graduate with exceptional planning and communication skills.

Seeking a job placement at Taxophone Inc. to build on the leadership and organizational skills to execute the digital marketing plan.

New business administration graduate looking for a role at Taxophone Inc, hoping to get first-hand experience in the industry.

If you were the recruiter here, you know the candidate to hire!

The resume objective project managers write will always distinguish them.

Write a Convincing Cover Letter to Top it Up

To know how important cover letters are in an application process, a report by Zety indicates that five out of every ten recruiters overlook resumes with an accompanying letter.

Make your letter very brief but striking; the letter must convince the recruiting team to take a look at your resume.

Keep these points in check while writing your letter:

Make sure the formatting is correct.

Be very engaging in the opening sentence of the letter.

Prove you understand the job roles in the body of the letter.

Conclude by telling them the unique thing you have to offer the organization.

You may also carry out a brief background check on the firm and mention one thing that intrigues you about it.

Most companies now use the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) in their hiring process.

If you don’t want your application to be filtered off, ensure you produce an outstanding and relevant one.

In this article, we’ve taken you through the journey of drafting the best resume.

To make the read very engaging, we gave you illustrations at every point, ranging from engineering manager resume examples to marketing resumes.

The most crucial takeaway in this course is that your project summary section must be catchy, detailed, and relevant.

We gave a project summary example to illustrate our point.

There’s no gainsaying that if you religiously follow the steps listed here, you’ll easily produce one of the best project manager resumes in the industry.

What is project management experience?

It’s the total amount you spend planning, directing, coordinating, leading, and executing projects. It’s the experience you garner while undertaking all the tasks mentioned above.

How do you show membership of PMI on your resume?

You show PMI membership in the “Awards & Accolades” section. Write the membership and year of conferment. For instance: “Project Management Institute Member, 2017.”

How to change resume for a project management role

To change a resume to a PM role, link your past experiences to project management. Make the summary personal and list PM skills related to the job you’re applying for.

How to describe software project management in resume

Mention it under the “Skills” section. To make it more detailed, list the major software management skills you have, such as Trello, Slack, Jira, etc.

How to gear your resume towards project management

Intentionally use project manager’s resume keywords such as PMP, highly experienced, and management. State out the role clearly (project manager) and mention your years of experience. List your project management-related accomplishments.

How to update a resume to show more PM experience

Go to the “Work Experience” section of the resume and insert the latest relevant experience and date of accomplishment. It should be the first item in this segment.

How to write project management techniques in a resume

Choose the right template and state your skills with measurable illustrations. Refer to your skills while highlighting your experiences. Add your portfolio to show how you’ve used the skills in the past.

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Table of Contents

Types of project manager resume, project manager resume guide , tips for project management resume , sample resume, how to create a job-winning project manager resume in 2024.

Strong resumes are essential for project managers to separate from the competition and demonstrate their accomplishments to potential employers. As a project manager , you make sure projects are finished on schedule, within budget, and to the necessary quality standards. Moreover, you organize, plan, and supervise a team's work to meet particular aims and objectives. Any organization that hires a project manager will be making a significant investment, which is why recruiters carefully consider each project manager resume. 

Your ability to handle projects is effectively demonstrated in your project manager resume. All firm projects, whether internal or client-facing, are the project manager's responsibility. A project manager's CV must include all relevant abilities and duties to be completed. It should persuade the recruiter that you would be a good fit for the organization in addition to demonstrating your abilities and skills as a capable project manager. This implies that you must tailor your project manager resume according to the job role.

Senior Project Manager

You won't just be managing projects as a senior project manager but also oversee other team members. You must demonstrate leadership skills , experience, and knowledge appropriate for a senior-level professional. The management and leadership positions you've held in the past, along with any project management successes, should be highlighted in your work history.

Construction Project Manager

Your CV should clearly define your skills in this specialized field. Highlight the scope of the projects you've completed and any sectors in which you have expertise in your experience section. Include the significant project areas you have experience with, such as permit approvals, contracting, and legal inspections.

Technical Project Manager

Keep a list of the sectors, project management techniques, and software you have worked with. Additionally, make sure to give a summary of your highlighted skills that individually lists your technical and project management skills.

IT Project Manager

Resumes for IT project managers should place a strong emphasis on management experience, applicable technology abilities, and IT experience.

The most crucial tool in your job search arsenal is your Resume/CV. It will be necessary to demonstrate to any employer the value you contribute as a project manager and must stand alone.

The most significant portion of your resume is the summary section. Consider it an overview of the value you can contribute to any employer. Because employers are not interested in your goals, this area is not an "objective" portion. They are looking for a qualified project management specialist and are deciding fast whether to move forward with you.

Include your degree, the name and location of the institution you attended, and the dates you were a student when detailing your education. If you have a tonne of professional employment experience, stop there. You can include every degree you have if you have more than one.

Professional Experience 

You should discuss your knowledge and accomplishments in part of your professional experience. Avoid writing lengthy paragraphs that detail all you've accomplished in the last 10 years. You are not required to share your entire life's narrative here. Focus on current, pertinent experience only. To summarize your venture and its quality, utilize bullet points.

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Skills Section

Your resume's skills section makes it easy for employers to examine and take note of your qualifications quickly. The following advice will help you organize the critical talents portion of your resume. 

• Examine the job description and adapt the section on essential abilities to the particular position. 
• Look into the most sought-after project management abilities, and include them on your CV/Resume if you can.
• Look over your achievements to find more specialized skills you may list on your resume.

Achievements 

Most prospective employers will be able to infer from your job titles, particularly if you have experience as a project manager, what your past positions involved in general. The limited space on your resume is better utilized if you focus on your achievements rather than your role, even though you can briefly describe it. 

Anytime you can use statistics and numbers to illustrate your accomplishments. This could entail describing the size of the budget you oversaw, the number of individuals working on the project, and so on.

Choose the Right Format

A functional resume style is the best option because project management requires many specialized skills. Nevertheless, recruiters also value past employment and achievements. These factors lead us to believe that a hybrid resume structure is the best option.

Make Your Resume’s Objective Stand Out

A compelling resume objective is a great place to start. A resume goal, which summarizes your professional experience and skills in two to four sentences, might help you rapidly demonstrate your suitability for the project manager position you're going for.

Include Your Certifications

Your resume should highlight any credentials you have that are knowledge-based, such as certifications, degrees, and other training. A certificates section on your resume is an excellent idea to have unless you are applying with just your high school diploma and professional experience.

Add Your Contact Details

You'd be shocked at how many individuals forget to write their name, address, and contact information, so please do so without sounding patronizing. 

Mention Your Projects

Because project management positions are achievement-focused, your CV must highlight your accomplishments and, more importantly, be quantified with precise figures.

Pick the Right Font

Choosing a traditional typeface like Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, or Georgia is a safe bet. You desire a crisp, uniformly spaced typeface that is simple to read and flows naturally. For easier reading, keep the size at 11–12 points.

Use Correct Grammar

Writing your CV and cover letter with perfect grammar and syntax will significantly impact the hiring team. It's the quickest method to win them over.

Customize Your Resume for Each Job Posting

To sum up, always customize your resume for each job you apply for. Although it may be tempting to utilize a basic outline for all your applications, tailoring your CV will significantly increase your chances of getting an interview. To achieve this, thoroughly read the job description and note any keywords that specifically state the qualifications the firm seeks in a project manager. Afterward, incorporate as many things as possible into your resume using the exact wording.

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You bring many skills to the table as a project manager. And it is certainly something to be proud of! The ideal CV will capture a hiring manager's interest by compellingly describing your skills and accomplishments. Educational and technical qualifications are among the essential things in your resume. To make your resume job-winning, consider getting our PGP in Project Management.  

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Project Management Courses typically range from a few weeks to several months, with fees varying based on program and institution.

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How to Prepare for Your Project Manager Interview Questions

• Leigh Perkins
• April 19, 2022
• Project Management
• Text-based Story

Your resume grabbed the attention of a recruiter and now you’re officially a candidate for a project management role. Congratulations! To get the job, though, you’ve got to know how to prepare for your project manager interview questions . Let’s do a run-down of what to expect and how to get ready.

Study the Job Description

Project management is a varied field with a range of responsibilities. Your first step in prepping for a project management interview is to identify the main requirements of the job on the posting. While all PMs have core competencies, a PM role in IT will need different skills than a PM in construction, so it’s helpful to drill down to the specifications on the job listing.

Be prepared to give examples of how your background qualifies you for the specifics of the role. For instance, if the job description places risk assessment as a priority skill, have examples at the ready for how you handled a project’s dangerous elements. If you’re an entry-level applicant with no job or internship experience, relate how you did in your risk coursework, including any projects you can present in your portfolio.

• Pro tip: If your confidence isn’t high that your skills are a perfect match, focus on the transferrable skills that do match. For instance, if you worked in manufacturing and helped the company simplify its processes, saving 12 percent in materials costs, that’s relevant experience that you should highlight in the interview, even if was not gained in an official PM role.

Start With a Super-Sharp Elevator Pitch

Almost every interview begins with some variation of, “Tell me why you’re interested in this role.” Have a succinct but powerful one or two-liner at the ready that focuses on the value you will bring to the team and to the organization at large. They want to hear your story and know why you’re the one for this job. Give them the condensed, lively basics in your first response, adding details as the interview progresses.

Research the Company

Even if you have a contact or two at the firm and can identify their logo at a hundred paces, you still need to do your due diligence to find out everything you can about the company. This isn’t just about you earning brownie points for being prepared; it’s also to gain a deeper understanding of the company’s mission, culture, competition, and growth potential.

Start with the company website, then do a Google news search to see if the board, the brand, or the project have made headlines. Check their social media feed, especially LinkedIn, and pay particular attention to how many open roles are listed on job boards. If you discover a long list of vacant roles, that could be good news about the company’s expansion, or it could mean high turnover. Either way, it’s a good topic to bring up with the recruiter to gauge the status of the organization.

• Pro tip: Reframe your thinking about the interview. It is not an inquisition. It should be a conversation, so have your questions ready for the interviewer, too.

Get Familiar With the Hiring Manager’s Profile

While you’re investigating the company on LinkedIn, do a quick read-through of the hiring manager’s online bio. You might learn you both volunteer for the same nonprofit or that you both worked for the same company at different times, which is all good fodder to break the ice.

But you will also find clues about what it’s like to work at the company. Has the recruiter just been hired? Have they been promoted repeatedly over the years or stayed in the same role? While on the company’s LinkedIn page, look at the credentials and backgrounds of more senior PMs and their bosses – it can give you a roadmap for how you might advance in the company, an important topic you’ll want to discuss with the recruiter.

• Pro tip: If you notice all the PM jobs you want tend to have the same three or four qualifying skills, take a moment to update your profile blurb with similar phrasing. It helps recruiters find you (in case you don’t land the role at hand).

Practice and Practice Some More

Most preliminary interviews for PM roles are conducted via video call. The downsides of Zoom interviews are legendary, but there is a golden upside: the opportunity for rehearsal! A day or two before your interview, prepare a list of potential PM interview questions , turn on your computer camera, and record a test-run interview of yourself answering the questions you think you could get in the real interview.

Don’t memorize your answers, but get comfortable with the format and with how you look and sound on screen. Slow down. Repeat the question before answering to give yourself a moment to organize your thoughts. Review the recording to pinpoint your weaker answers, then repeat the ones you don’t think were strong enough. Practicing does soothe your nerves on the big day.

• Pro tip: Mannerism matter in video interviews. Try to smile as naturally and as often as you can. Video can feel unnatural, but it helps to make it less robotic if your body language tells the interviewer that you’re enjoying yourself and you love talking project management.

Detail Your Technical Skills

Be prepared to discuss the PM software systems you prefer, which methodologies you have used on projects – such as agile, scrum, or a hybrid – and how you handle responsibilities such as scope, budget, complexity, and scaling. If they pose a hypothetical situation to you about your technical skills, have a solid answer about how you would solve the challenge. Back it up, if you can, with an example from your work experience. Scenarios set the stage, so paint a realistic picture of how you work in the real world.

When interview day comes, it pays to be prepared to answer some common questions, including those that will help highlight your technical skills:

• How do you prioritize tasks on a project?
• How do you feel about generating reports?
• How do you manage team members who aren’t pulling their weight?
• How do you get projects back on schedule once they fall behind?
• What metric is your most important indicator of a project’s progress?

Highlight Your Soft Skills  

Your resume lists the credentials that qualify you for the role, so you don’t need to rehash every element of your background. But when the opportunity arises to discuss your soft skills, that’s your chance to display your personality and leadership presence. Don’t hold back, but do not simply tick off “organized, patient, good multitasker, persistent.” This is the time to deploy engaging storytelling. Give examples of a project that demanded you to be a team player. Be specific and honest, even about the soft skills you’re still working on.

Show up to the interview prepared to answer a few common questions about your soft skills:

• How do you delegate tasks?
• What’s your communication style?
• How would you get stakeholders on board?
• Do you like to get credit for a project or be behind the scenes?
• Can you tell me about a mistake you’ve made on a project?

Present Your Results

Arm yourself with data ahead of any interview. Did you bring in your last project 10 days ahead of schedule and 10 percent under budget? Draw a big verbal circle around that and be prepared to tell the recruiter how you did it and what you learned that can be applied to future projects. The more specific you can be with the results you share, the better.

PM Certification From USF Can Help You Get Hired

If you want the best chance to land that PM role, enroll in USF’s Project Management courses . You’ll gain hands-on skills to shepherd projects to completion and position yourself to pass the PMP® exam, a credential that not only could give you a competitive advantage against other candidates, but could also boost your salary by as much as $20,000 per year.

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Naples awaits state and county funding to help pay for $86M stormwater management system

The construction of a new coastal stormwater management system could restart this summer in Naples.

In a brief update to council on Wednesday, city manager Jay Boodheshwar shared the news, noting the start date would be heavily dependent on the financing .

In hopes of bringing down its costs, the city has asked for a county grant, and more state dollars to finish construction. That money could reduce the price by $35 million, putting the city in a "great place" to get the rest of the critical system built, with less financing required, Boodheshwar said.

Previously, the city received $15 million from the state to help fund the project. It could get another $25 million, which is included in the state's proposed budget for next year.

Governor must approve appropriation

While approved by the Legislature, the overall state budget – and the local appropriation – still needs a thumbs up from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis has yet to receive the budget, but he's anticipated to make trims, before signing it. Once the budget hits his desk, he has 15 days to take action on it.

And: Naples faces exponentially higher costs for a new stormwater system. Here's why

More: Naples leaders not scaling back critical stormwater management project. Who will pay for it?

At the latest, the city will know the fate of its hard-fought appropriation by July 1, the start of the state's new fiscal year.

During a summary of the outcomes from the legislative session, shared at the same council meeting, the city's lobbyist Lisa Hurley encouraged the mayor and all councilors to write personal letters to the governor, expressing the importance of the project and the need for the money to complete it. She said she could hand deliver them.

The city hopes to get $10 million from Collier County, through a grant funded by the tourist tax. The city recently applied for the grant to supplement the state money.

The cost of the new stormwater system is still at about $86.2 million, far exceeding the engineer's estimate of $32 million, received a few years ago.

Construction costs could come down

As the city awaits the decisions on its requests for more funding from the state and county, it continues to work with an outside contractor to reduce construction costs, which have ballooned for myriad reasons.

Costs will be brought down to "something else," Boodheshwar assured.

"We don't have final numbers for you," he told council.

Council plans to discuss potential changes to further improve water quality, based on suggestions by the contractor Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., at a future meeting, but the city manager warned any revisions to the outfall removal project could be more detrimental than beneficial at this point.

If there is only a minor benefit, Boodheshwar said council should "punt on it."

He said he'd bring back more details.

Project is 'massive' undertaking

The design work for the project is done, unless council makes changes, and so is the permitting, said Bob Middleton, the city's director of public works.

It's too early to know the timeline for building and finishing the project, he said, emphasizing the extensive scope of it. It includes the installation of about 6,000 feet of new stormwater pipes, varying in size from 24 to 54 inches.

"What does a 54-inch pipe look like? It's massive. My point is this is a large project," Middleton stressed.

Based on the current scope, the project would remove eight of the stormwater outfalls – or large pipes – lining the city's beaches, as directed by the state's Department of Environmental Protection more than a decade ago. The new stormwater management system, including two new pumps, is designed to reduce street flooding, water pollution and beach erosion.

The system will pump excess water 1,500 feet into the Gulf, through new underground drainage pipes.

Planning for the project began in 2011 after the state Department of Environmental Protection notified the city that if it didn't take any action the agency would no longer approve permits for beach renourishment — or restoration — in Naples.

City in much more "manageable position'

The city has already spent more than $11.5 million on the project, including engineering and directional drilling for new outfall pipes from the beach end at Third Avenue North into the Gulf.

Gary Young, the city's finance director, told council if the requested money from the state and county comes through, the city may only have to finance about $12.7 million of the project, putting it in a much more "manageable position."

The city is trying to avoid a major increase in its stormwater utility fees, paid by users, and has cobbled together multiple sources of funding for the system, including unspent federal recovery money tied to the pandemic.

"We are in a much better position than we were just 60 days ago, but we have much more to do," Young said.

He pointed out the city has more stormwater and water quality improvements on its wish list, so it's not wise to spend too much of the user fees on one project, as they'll be needed for others down the road.

"It's not just about what we want," Young said. "It's about what we can afford."