12+ Manager Resume Examples & Writing Tips

Landing a management position isn’t easy. You need to prove to employers that you know the ins and outs of your industry, and that you have the leadership skills to guide a successful team.

One of the best ways to make a management resume is by looking at resume examples for inspiration:

• Executive director resume
• Maintenance supervisor resume
• Mid-career resume
• Business manager resume
• Warehouse manager resume
• Program manager resume

Manager resume examples by industry

Here are some managerial-level resume examples to use as a guide while you put together your own job application:

Sales manager resume

Why this example works

Sales managers are expected to lead a sales team and ensure that their targets are met. This candidate immediately shows employers they’re capable of meeting expectations by opening with an accomplishment-packed summary on their sales manager resume.

Then, the candidate moves on to an informative experience section highlighting their leadership skills and strategic thinking – essential skills for a manager role.

Store manager resume

Why this example works

The managerial candidate that wrote this store manager resume knows employers are looking for someone they can trust to run their stores efficiently. That’s why they waste no time showcasing their 10 years of professional experience.

Additionally, the candidate makes a point to demonstrate their high level of experience and successful track record of handling operations. Their background proves to employers that they’re highly qualified for the job, and have all the skills they need to keep the store running smoothly.

General manager resume

Why this example works

Simple but effective, this general manager resume communicates the candidate’s skills and qualifications using a formal, straightforward resume design.

First, an informative resume summary tells employers everything they need to know about the candidate’s skills as a general manager. Then the candidate leads into their professional experience section, featuring plenty of examples of the candidate’s accomplishments backed up with hard data to show employers what they’re capable of.

Restaurant manager

Why this example works

This restaurant manager resume example features an eye-catching header and bold design that will help them catch the attention of potential employers.

In an industry as fast-paced and competitive as food service, it’s important that your application stands out from those of other candidates, and communicates your qualifications as quickly as possible. Using a unique resume header is one way to do this in a way that also makes sure employers remember your name.

Retail manager resume

Why this example works

Unique and neatly organized, this retail manager resume clearly communicates the candidate’s experience and skills using a professional resume template design.

This managerial resume example gets right to the point with a bulleted summary that provides an overview of their most relevant accomplishments.

Additionally, this resume features skill levels in the left column to help illustrate the candidate’s different professional strengths. However, while these skill bars are appropriate for a casual job like retail management, they wouldn’t be appropriate if you were applying for a management-level role in a more buttoned-up industry like accounting or consulting.

Assistant manager resume

Why this example works

This assistant manager resume uses a formal design to keep distractions to a minimum and put the focus squarely on the candidate’s achievements.

Note that this resume features many examples of hard numbers. In a revenue-focused role like retail assistant manager, being able to increase sales is key to impressing your bosses and keeping your job. And the best way to show employers that you’re able to increase sales is by providing these hard numbers — anything that illustrates the extent of your achievements — on your resume.

Marketing manager resume

Why this example works

In an industry as competitive as marketing, your resume needs to stand out and sell you as a candidate. Featuring an eye-catching sidebar design and plenty of achievements, this marketing manager resume does a great job of doing just that.

If you’re working in a more cutting-edge field like marketing, be sure to use a modern resume template design to give your application an up-to-date appearance.

How to write a resume for a management position

Now that you’ve seen some examples of manager resumes, here’s how to write a strong resume for any management-level position:

Start with a resume summary that highlights your accomplishments

For managers, the best way to start a resume is to use a resume summary. Resume summaries are particularly helpful for management-level job seekers because they’re achievement-focused.

By using a resume summary, you can quickly highlight your most impressive accomplishments as a manager to employers.

Here’s an example manager resume summary for you to get a better idea of what we mean:

If you’re still unsure how to write an effective resume introduction, you can use a professional resume summary generator.

Use action verbs to describe your management duties

Hiring managers see the same tired phrases and words on resumes again and again. For example:

Passive words like these are dull, and tell the hiring manager nothing about what you’ve actually achieved as a manager.

Instead, use strong resume action verbs to highlight the successes in your career. For instance:

Trimmed office supplies budget by $470

If you’re not sure what words to use on your resume, here are some common management-related action words to highlight your accomplishments as a team and project leader:

Manager Resume Words

Include numbers to prove your competence as a manager

During your time as a manager, you’ve likely accumulated a lot of experience. Make your resume accomplishments as engaging as possible by backing up this experience with hard numbers.

Adding numbers when you list work experience on your resume helps hiring managers put that experience into context, and better understand what you can achieve for them.

For example, if a hiring manager saw the following bullet point on a marketing manager resume, they would immediately understand that this candidate is skilled enough to achieve an impressive 13% growth in sales (and even could get similar results if they were hired):

Developed new promotional campaign by bundling products together, increasing sales revenue by 13% with projected year-on-sales growth of $400,000

No management experience? List related achievements

If you’re not yet a manager, you can still apply for a managerial role by highlighting transferable skills and any leadership experience you do have.

One approach is to highlight your project management skills. For example, if you’ve led a project through to completion, you should highlight that experience on your resume.

Here’s an example of how one candidate showcased their project management skills on their resume by mentioning the time they coordinated with freelancers:

Delegated beta testing of 13 apps to a team of 47 freelancers

While not in-person management experience, this type of work shows you can coordinate with and direct other people – essential skills for any management role.

Additionally, you may also have experience helping new hires learn how to do their job.

Showcasing this experience on your resume indicates you have the interpersonal skills and job-specific expertise to effectively provide instructions, and also shows you’ve earned your manager’s trust to be given some authority over new hires.

Here’s how to list experience training people on a resume:

Trained 7 new cashiers to become full sales associates in record time

Highlight your relevant management skills

If you want to be hired at the management level, you need to prove that you know more than just the gritty details of your industry.

Companies are looking for candidates who have the management skills needed to train new employees, run a successful team, and lead projects.

Show employers you have the basic skills to be a successful manager by highlighting them clearly on your resume.

For example, make sure to include bullet points on your resume detailing times you trained people or managed projects to showcase your leadership skills. You should also highlight any times you’ve had to interact with clients to show you’re capable of representing your company and communicating professionally.

Read the job description for the position you want

If you’re applying for a management role and not sure what the employer is looking for, the best way to find out is to read the job description.

Hiring managers include all the technical skills, experience, education levels, and even personality traits that they want candidates to have in the “Requirements” section of the job ad.

Additionally, the job description can be a great way to find relevant keywords for your resume.

For example, look at this job description for a Regional HR Manager position:

The words highlighted are all skills or experience that this company is looking for in their ideal manager candidate.

To show that you’re the best person for the job, you should adjust your resume to highlight the specific skills that the position you’re applying for requires.

Manager resume template

Ready to make your resume for a management position? To help you get started, here’s a management resume template that you can copy and paste and then fill in with your own information: