General Manager Resume

General managers are busy people in charge of many operational aspects of a business, and their responsibilities vary greatly by industry, working environment, and the scale of their respective operation.

To make sure you come across as fully qualified for a vacant general manager position, your resume must be tailored for the specific industry and job opening you’re applying for. We’ll show you how to write your general manager resume in a way that gives you the best chance of resonating with employers (and hopefully getting the job).

1. Highlight your general manager resume skills

Specific technical skills are required for general managers in any industry, so make sure you know the ones required to succeed in yours. If you’re not sure what they are, Onetonline.org is a good resource, or you can see what skills are mentioned in your job listing (and similar listings).

To highlight your wealth of skills, you should place emphasis on your resume skills section and consider even moving it to the top of your page if your skill-set is extensive enough.

To show that you’re a strong general manager, here are some top skills to add to your resume’s skills section (or to include in your work experience section):

2. Add hard numbers to your achievements

As a general manager, you’ll primarily be evaluated on the way you impacted revenue growth at previous companies (although your management skills will be evaluated as well). To demonstrate your qualifications, add hard numbers anywhere you can on your resume (whether that’s your resume introduction, skills section, or elsewhere).

You can begin by quantifying your accomplishments in terms of employees managed, annual revenue earned (or increased), and percentage-based improvements you made a positive impact on.

Here are some examples of how a general manager used numbers to emphasize contributions at former companies on their resume:

Spearhead a team of 14 managers, including 2+ assistant managers, 3+ sales managers, and 4 facilities and engineering managers

Developed and implemented marketing strategies and concepts which resulted in increasing  revenue growth by 35%

3. Include General Manager-related keywords in your resume

Using resume keywords specific to general management will make your resume stand out from generic applicants, and will also help make your resume ATS friendly. Plus, including such keywords will make your skill section appear tailor-made for the position (use words from the job listing if you’re looking for more to include).

Here are some popular keywords to incorporate into your general manager resume:

4. Emphasize skills that prove you work well with people

A general manager’s role isn’t simply a desk job. A big part of the work entails effective communication with the people around you, be it your team, potential or existing clients, or company executives.

You must be an excellent leader while remaining humble and approachable in the eyes of your employees.

Some of the most desirable soft skills for a general manager are:

• Communication skills
• Teamwork
• Receptive to criticism
• Creative thinking
• Time management skills
• Work ethic
• Humility
• Leadership
• Active listening
• Critical thinking
• Delegation
• Trustworthiness
• Motivation
• Managerial discipline
• Networking
• Resilience