You’re working as a product manager in a great company and you are good at what you do. You are an avid listener & You can understand customer needs very easily. You can manage many cross-functional teams, speak their lingo/language, & get them to deliver cost effective solutions in a heartbeat.
- How do you portray all this info into a professional product manager resume?
- How can a resume for a product manager translate to may interviews?
- Would your resume may be the most important product you manage?
This guide created will show you:
- A product manager resume example better than 9 out of 10 other product manager resumes in the market.
- How to write a product manager resume that lands more interviews.
- Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a product manager resume.
- How to describe your experience on a resume for a product manager to get any job you want.
What’s the Best Resume Format for a Product Manager?
Product managers are those people who make things happen. So why not make it happen in your resume.
- Show your best achievements.
- Make it easy for the hiring manager to find your value.
- Create a visually appealing presentation.
All starts with the Layout. Most of the Resume are created in a reverse-chronological layout format. It’s the best product manager resume format.
Why? Because It shows your most recent work first and the oldest work experience last.
You’ve got the experience, and this resume format will highlight it professionally.
Use white space, legible fonts (Calibri Font Ideally), and big headings to keep your message clean & clear.
Finally, should you save your resume in PDF or Word?
An updated version of PDF or an update MS Word is advisable as they can be Parsed and can be read by ATS’s, Parsing Tools & Jobsites.
w to Write a Resume Summary or Resume Objective
Your product manager resume should overflow with projects done by you and your team.
- Keep the Content neat, crisp & highlight the Achievements
- Always add a resume summary or a resume objective.
- A resume summary sums up all your experience.
- A resume objective shows your passion instead.
- Use one if your experience is on the lean side.
Either way, cramming it with enough achievements to impress the hiring Manager or the Recruiter.
Product Manager Resume Summaries
Which of these Summaries of product management resume examples would you rather use?
WRONG FORMAT
An experienced product manager seeking new position with a great company. Would Take-charge attitude. Highly skilled in product development, design, leading cross-functional teams, and product iteration.
That’s not bad, but it won’t land you and interview. IT would just seem Mediocre.
Compare it to this senior product manager resume summary as given below.
RIGHT FORMAT
Highly capable product manager with X+ years’ experience, seeking to leverage proven leadership and strategy skills to grow revenue at xxxxx company. Met XXX% of revenue goal in fast-paced tech firm. Led XX cross-functional teams to XXXX% efficiency improvement and $XXXXX cost savings.
This summary is like a breath of fresh air & recruiters love the point to point explanation of achievements.
If you are an Entry-Level Product Manager, then the Resume Objectives would have no experience.
The traditional ways to write the objectives were like objectives that showed passion & commitment.
WRONG FORMAT
Junior product manager seeking entry-level position. No real-world experience yet, but I’m highly skilled in all areas of product design, development, and launch.
Its too generic and doesn’t show much info about the real passion or commitment.
Instead add details, and even a junior product manager can have a resume objective like this:
RIGHT FORMAT
Energetic product manager seeking to increase revenue at XXXX. Have created XXX mobile apps with a total of XXXXX downloads. Developed XX wireframes for small businesses and took xx place in xxxx.
Hurray! You just made it..! The best part of all this is, it didn’t take ages to do this.
How to Showcase the EXPERIENCE?
During the Interview the CEO of that great company wants to know one thing: Can you Achieve & deliver what is promised?
That comes down to how you show experience on a product manager resume.
The key to achieve this is to tie it to the job description like a conversion funnel to a product launch.
Show your most recent job first & add a few bullet points crammed with related achievements.
Product Manager Resume Examples [Experience]
RIGHT FORMAT
_____________________________________________________________________________
XXXXXXXXXXX
Product Manager
20__ -20___
- Product manager for a high-volume software development firm.
- Met over ___% of revenue goal all four years, and ___% in 20__.
- Led XXX cross-functional teams from product conception through launch and multiple iterations. Increased XXX efficiency measures by XX%+.
- Implemented Agile ideation plan, collecting and implementing __% more ideas from employees than the historical best. Overall cost savings of xxx million $.
______________________________________________________________________________
The CEO /recruiter and hiring manager would ideally be impressed.
Now here’s the wrong way of showcasing the Experience:
WRONG FORMAT
______________________________________________________________________________
XXXXX Company
Product Manager
2014-2018
- Product manager for a high-volume software development firm.
- Responsible for meeting all revenue goals.
- Led XXX cross-functional teams from product conception through launch.
- Implemented Agile ideation plan, collecting and implementing employee ideas.
______________________________________________________________________________
This would not impress the CEO / Interviewer / Recruiter as much as the previous format.
How to Write a Resume for Product Manager with no Experience
The good thing about resumes with no experience is that they are easy to create.
Add realistic this which you have done as below only if they are true.
- Create a wireframe.
- Make a mobile app.
- Make a case study.
- Research an existing product and suggest improvements.
- Volunteer to help a small business or a non-profit organisation.
You can also list related experience in non-product manager jobs. For instance, maybe you were a support rep. You listened to customers and passed solutions to the design team. You can list that on a resume for a product manager.
Product Manager Resume Samples with No Experience
This first sample product management resume experience section would not impress at all:
WRONG FORMAT
______________________________________________________________________________
Product Manager Experience: No real-world experience.
Other Experience:
- Retail
- Customer Service
______________________________________________________________________________
It takes a few intricate details to make a junior IT product manager resume
RIGHT FORMAT
______________________________________________________________________________
Freelance Product Manager
20__-20__
- Created an app that received xxxxx downloads.
- During XXXXXX, led team that developed xxxx pitch.
- Created a corporate case study that got xxxxx views.
- As customer support rep for xxxxxx, took requirements from customers and passed x implemented solutions to development team.
______________________________________________________________________________
The real key to a good “experience” column would be to tie your resume to the job description. To do that, ask yourself, what is product management? What does a product manager do? How does he/she do it? is it aligned to what I currently do?
The answers to these questions will inform your resume indirectly.
Your Education Section in resume how should it be?
You must show your education details on a resume for a product manager role.
But don’t just list it. Elaborate it.
Start with the basics:
- College Name & Location
- Years in School.
- Degree.
But add achievements that fit you to the job like an Armani suit.
Product Manager Resume Example Education section
This sample product manager resume sections are for a job that values marketing & leadership.
RIGHT FORMAT
______________________________________________________________________________
MBA
XXX University, 20xx-20xx
- Pursued a passion for Product Management.
- Received a XXX% across all XXXXX classes.
- Excelled in marketing and leadership classes.
- Class Leader, XXXXX University Student Council.
______________________________________________________________________________
WRONG FORMAT
_________________________________________________________________________
MBA
Columbia University, 2012-2016
- GPA 3.1
- Received MBA
_________________________________________________________________________
This is very much crude & un professional.
But add the key details and the resume would highlight.
Now Let’s investigate the work of the recruiter / hiring manager and the CEO.
They are going through hundreds of product manager resumes. On one, they see a list of 30+ skills. Are they really impressed? God NO!
It’s not how many skills you have as a list on your Resume but It’s whether they match what’s listed in the job offer. It’s also whether you can prove to them that you are proficient in those skills.
Let’s look at these two product management resume examples. Both are for a job that values marketing, product launch and UI/UX skills.
Product Manager Resume Sample – Skills Section
WRONG FORMAT
_________________________________________________________________________
Product Manager Skills: Leadership, communication, collaboration, creativity, listening, UX, strategy, feature definition, forecasting, marketing, ideation, business skills, PowerPoint, MS Project, Agile, research, kitchen sink iteration…
_________________________________________________________________________
Adding a list of skills like above would not help. Many people make this common mistake while applying for a product manager role. They would want to showcase all skills without classification or diversification.
But now let’s pick just the few skills listed in the product manager job description.
We’ll add a couple for an example, but then we’ll rework on them in our bullet points:
RIGHT FORMAT
_________________________________________________________________________
- Product manager for a growing SaaS business.
- Improved UX measures by XX% through increased user feedback collection, synthesis of solutions, and more frequent iteration to customer needs.
- Launched X new products in two years, for total XX% revenue gain.
- Oversaw X successful marketing campaigns with ROI of XX%.
_________________________________________________________________________
That’s not just a resume skills list. That’s pure personal branding and showcasing your achievements as a product manager.
List of Skillsets to Put on a Product Manager Resume
Product Manager Resume Skills
A few important skillsets of 2019 would have been:
Strategy thinking and tools:
- Taskade
- Trello.
- Type form
- Google Docs
- Evernote
- Balsamiq
- Google Drive.
- Google analytics
- Mix panel
- Fullstory
Financial mindset:
- Revenue
- Cost of goods
- Net & Gross profit
- EBITDA
- Margin
- Accounts payable
- Accounts receivable
- Debt
- Assets
- Revenue generation
Marketing Acumen
- B2B
- B2C
| Product Manager Resume Skills | ||
| Hard Skills | Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
| Strategy | UX | Leadership |
| Feature Definition | Research | Detail Oriented |
| Forecasting | Defining Product | Communication |
| Marketing Skills | Product Iteration | Collaboration |
| Profit and Loss | Scope Management | Creativity |
| Product Vision | Agile | Listening |
| Cross-Functional Teams | Scrum | Problem Solving |
| Ideation Leadership | SDLC | Time Management |
| Project Management | PowerPoint | Analytical Thinking |
| Product Design | Microsoft Project | Decision Making |
How to Showcase your Certifications on a Resume
Does a Product Management certification look good on a resume for a product manager? Of course, it does. Highlight it as a crucial point. Put it right after your name in the resume header. Add it to your summary. Last, put it in a special section just above “Experience.”
_________________________________________________________________________
Certifications
Certified Product Manager, from XXXXXX Academy
Agile Certified Practitioner, from XXXXXXX
_________________________________________________________________________
This way, no matter where the hiring manager glances first, he’ll know you’re a qualified candidate and have certified credentials to prove it.
How to Add Other Sections for an Effective Resume
The product management field is an extremely competitive field. Most product managers would have technical expertise and at the same time lots of experience and an MBA.
How can you stand out of the crowd? how can you prove to be better than the rest?
Adding non-work-related achievements to resume can help give a better perspective of you in your resume.
Read about how to do it right (and wrong) thru these resume examples.
Product Manager Resume Examples [Other Sections]
WRONG FORMAT
_________________________________________________________________________
Interests
- Clubbing, partying, Pubbing
- Stamp Collection, coin collection
_________________________________________________________________________
But you’ll get more interviews if you stick to relevancy of what you do and non-generic stuff.
Now let’s look at a far better product management resume example:
RIGHT FORMAT
_________________________________________________________________________
Additional Activities
- Member, _____ product institute
- Regular speaker at event XXXXX.
- Lead a weekly XXXXXX for fun and fitness.
- Conferences
- 20__ CONFERENCE Details ____ Spoke on panel about ______.
- 20__ Industry: The Product Conference @ _________.
- Publications
- “XXXXXXXXXX talk about product ” appeared in Product Talk.
- “Speak the Language of product XXXXX” appeared in ______ Blog.
_________________________________________________________________________
Putting a little effort, into your CV can have a product manager resume like that of PRO!
How About a Cover Letter for a Product Manager?
Why do so many recruitment experts tell you to “write a cover letter for a product manager resume?”
Because 100’s of resumes is floated to the recruiter, hiring manager and CEO! So many cover letters become too generic in nature.
Don’t write causal texts such as “Here’s my resume” or “Given in my resume”
Always Make your cover letter personal in nature
Add a bit of information which shows you are passionate for the job role.
First, use the hiring manager’s name and credentials / designation
Next, show you understand the persons need.
Then, show evidence that you can fill the position and are apt for it.
Product Manager Cover Letter Example
_________________________________________________________________________
Dear _______ hiring manager of _____________,
I’ve been a huge fan of _______________ products for years.
That’s why I’m so excited about your product manager opening. I know you put customer needs first and the company’s moto is ___________.
I believe my proven skill at product road mapping puts me at a distinct advantage. It’s why I was able to meet x% of my revenue goals at ____________.
Close the call letter with a call to action.
“Can we set up a time to talk about growing__________ revenue by X% in the next 6 months?” works great. would love to discuss more on the role and requirement.
_________________________________________________________________________
A great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates.
How to Add Contact Info to Your Resume
Of course, you’ll add this contact info to your product manager resume:
- Full Name
- Updated Phone Number
- Professional Email Address
- Social links
- Links to testimonials / projects / website etc.
Like this:
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|
Make sure that you add a few critical details such as
- A formal picture of you
- LinkedIn profile.
- A profile website (if you can create)
Key Takeaways:
So, this is how to write a professional product manager resume and keep you ahead of others in the talent race. Please remember:
- Emphasize on your achievements. That means products you’ve launched and metrics you’ve improved and revenue that the products have got for the business.
- Tie your product management resume to the job offer like a wireframe to a website or links to the product (demo). List achievements that fit what’s listed in the job description and the job role.
- Add an “others’ section to show your product manager skills run deep. Those can include events, conferences, publications, seminars, speeches, demos, product launches etc…
- Hope this guide to help you create an effective Product manager resume helps you with a great job opportunity, Cheers!