Looking for a job can be daunting. And product management is a particularly competitive job market. This area is becoming more and more popular as it attracts more and more peopleentrepreneurial naturerole and a wide range of workproduct managerstruggle with. If you are looking for a new position in product management, you want your resume to stand out and tell a compelling story about you and your work experience. This starts with your CV.
Your resume is more than just a list of job titles. This is the first glimpse a potential employer has of your potential to make a positive impact on their organization. It should give a clear picture of your experiences, significant achievements and career aspirations. Whether you're an experienced product manager or someone looking to break in, an effective resume will help recruiters quickly see how your skills fit into a product management role at their company.
And remember that recruiters spend on average7.4 secondsread each resume. In this case, the first impression counts. Here's how to create a compelling and structured resume that not only convinces your audience, but also shows them why you're a good candidate.
Are you ready to dive?Continue with the templates.
How do I start creating a product manager resume?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a resume. You don't need to list all the responsibilities for every job you do - consider how you might fit your experience into the specific role you're applying for.
As you conduct your research, ask yourself the following questions:
Why am I now motivated to pursue my career or change my career?
What's exciting about this new role?
What experience do I have that is directly related to the job requirements?
What successes and key figures can I cite as proof?
What skills make my qualifications stand out?
The way you answer these questions will serve as a guide to what to include in your resume. The best candidates then tailor their resumes to the specific company and position they are looking for. Learn more about the company, product team, and recruiting manager, and use that information to make your resume relevant.
Related:How can I learn to become a product manager?
What should be in a product manager resume?
A strong resume is concise, easy to read, and captures the essence of who you are. It describes what you have achieved and what you are striving for. Subsections, image labels, and specific examples make it easy for the recruiter to review and evaluate.
Add the following to an outstanding product manager resume:
review
Start by summarizing your expertise and career highlights, including strengths and skills that are relevant to the position. Identify the key results you have achieved to help the recruiter understand what you can bring to their organization.
Resume Tips:
To avoidTechnical jargon or cliches(like Ninja or Guru) that don't add value.
Be specific and use data to quantify your impact. You want to stand out from other candidates - generic is not memorable.
Appropriate work and skills
This section details your career and your areas of focus. Specify the areas of responsibility that are closest to the position you are applying for.
Resume Tips:
Emphasize hard skills like "User experience design"I"Strategic planning."
Be frugal with soft skills such as 'detail oriented' or 'imagination'. They are hard to quantify on a resume and are of little importance to hiring managers. Think of it as "show vs. tell" - your descriptions of what you've achieved are a better representation of your soft skills than simply listing them.
achievements
To containkey indicatorsto demonstrate the measurable impact you've had in previous roles. Specific metrics — such as the number of people managed, the frequency of feature delivery, or the amount of money saved — turn work items into achievements that tell a more meaningful story.
Resume Tips:
Setting goals, tracking progress, and reporting results are critical to your role as a product manager. Use your CV as an example that you have mastered all three points. Share itgoals or initiativesWere you successful, how did you work to achieve these goals, and what was the end result for clients and the company.
Other metrics you can use to describe your success include:delivered value, increasing sales, saving internal time, improving customer satisfaction, customer retention and increasing the number of new customers.
Education and certifications
List higher education, continuing education, etctakingsIn this section. Product management is constantly evolving - continuous learning shows that you are keeping up with the progress in this field.
Resume Tips:
For entry-level positions, consider including university courses related to product management, such as design, engineering, statistics, and business administration. Once you've gained work experience, you can remove those details and focus your resume on your professional achievements.
Link to the relevant document
Showcase your best achievements so employers can get to know your skills better. Add links to your LinkedIn profile, website, or other relevant work samples - inclproduct launchesYou worked or directed.
Resume Tips:
Be sure to update these resources. You want to present your latest and greatest work.
Consider getting recommendations to add to your LinkedIn profile. These notes add context to your resume and help recruiters get an idea of what it would be like to work with you.
And of course, you should also include your full contact details (e.g. name, email address and phone number) at the top of your CV.
Related: What does a product manager do on a daily basis?
Resume formats for product managers
How you organize the information in your CV is up to you. The most popular option is reverse chronology. In this format, you list your work experience, starting with your most recent position. This makes it easy for recruiters and hiring managers to view your recent accomplishments, the job they're likely to be most interested in. Reverse chronological order is also the optimal format for candidate tracking systems (ATS).
Some candidates choose a functional resume format - organizing their experience by skill rather than role. Functional resumes are ideal for people who have gaps in their work experience or want to change careers. However, keep in mind that most recruiters are familiar with chronological resumes and may feel more comfortable with them.
Review this formatting best practice checklist before submitting your resume. This is an area where details matter - you don't want small mistakes to distract recruiters from the skills and achievements listed on your resume.
Use a font that is professional and easy to read.
Try to stick to one side if you're relatively early in your career. If you are older, you can extend the scope to two pages to describe your experiences.
Check your entire resume for typos, misspellings, formatting inconsistencies, and other errors.
Save your resume as a PDF file. This preserves the formatting and ensures that anyone can open and read the file.
Get started with product manager resume templates
The following product manager resume templates are designed to highlight different aspects of your experience. Each one is also designed to be ATS compatible. Choose the template that you think best reflects your expertise and helps you stand out from other candidates. Download each template for free and customize it to your needs.
Standard product manager resume
Functional product manager resume
Mid-level product manager resume
Entry level product manager resume
Standard product manager resume
This product manager resume format is the most common and is equally appropriate for someone who is just starting their career and for someone who is aspiring to a higher position. Lists your work experience in reverse chronological order (most recent first) and allows you to list your responsibilities and achievements for each role you hold.
Functional product manager resume
A functional product manager resume highlights your range of skills by dividing key responsibilities into topics – such as:Filemanagement,customer research, IIdea management.
Mid-level product manager resume
This product manager resume highlights the depth of your work experience. This is an excellent opportunity for mid-level product managers who want to apply for senior positionsProduct management positionsput in context all the promotions, educational qualifications and leadership skills you have acquired.
Entry level product manager resume
This product manager resume starter is ideal for recent graduates looking to enter the field of product management. The format focuses on apprenticeships such as product related courses, projects and awards.
Carefully review and thoroughly check your application for accuracy and consistency. After submitting the application, it's time to prepare for the next step - the interview. Check out this listInterview questions for product managers, then download the free interview template from Aha! notebook. You can save your answers to frequently asked questions by product managers and consider what questions to ask your interviewer.
Get started with an interview template at Aha! notebooks -Free trial.
Product Managers Really Love Our Software -Find out why.
FAQs
What is the most accepted resume format 2022? ›
1. Reverse-Chronological Resumes. The most widely used resume format among job seekers today, reverse-chronological resumes are also probably the easiest for recruiters and hiring managers to understand at a glance—which is itself an advantage.
Are free resume templates really free? ›Yes, there are! You can explore a list of free resume templates designed by Zety's Career Experts, which are available for download in different formats. When looking for free templates online, keep this in mind: They may not necessarily be as versatile as the paid ones.
What does a strong resume look like 2022? ›The reverse-chronological work history format is the most common and is especially ideal for anyone who's on a traditional career trajectory. It lists your work history in reverse chronological order, starting with your current engagement and ending with your first job.
How do I make my product manager resume stand out? ›- Optimize it with product management keywords and a skills chart.
- Keep the format simple so it can be read properly by the ATS.
- Highlight BOTH hard skills and soft skills in your work history bullet points.
- Make sure your resume is two pages long.
For the majority of job-seekers, the best resume format in 2023 is the reverse-chronological resume format. This resume format involves listing your resume information (e.g. your work experience and your education) starting with the most recent one and going backward through relevant jobs, degrees, or qualifications.
What is the best resume format for 10 years experience? ›Most resumes hiring managers to see are in the Reverse Chronological Resume Format. That's because it is suitable for pretty much every job position. This format is mostly career-oriented – it lists your work history in order, as the most recent position would be at the top.
Are there any 100% free resume builders? ›The Resume.com resume builder stands out from the rest, but not only because we're the only truly free resume builder out there. We also offer: Access to dozens of professional and creative resume templates. Editing tools you can use directly on our platform.
Is there a truly free resume builder? ›With Canva's free resume builder, applying for your dream job is easy and fast. Choose from hundreds of free, designer-made templates and customize them within a few clicks. Forget spending hours formatting your resume, or choosing complimentary fonts for your cover letter.
How far back should a resume go? ›Generally, experts recommend keeping about 10-15 years of work experience on your resume, but that guidance changes depending on your professional history. Your resume is one of the first things a potential employer sees about you.
What should you not put on a resume for 2022? ›Don't include lots of information that's irrelevant to the job you're applying for. “Sure, you've got hobbies, interests, languages, favorite bands, and ambitions,” Cenedella says. “But keep the information that doesn't address your ability to be responsible, accountable, and a hard worker to a reasonable level.”
What makes a weak resume? ›
A bad resume lacks both measurable and individualized outcomes. Instead of listing the tasks you perform or talking about your company's accomplishments, explain how you used your skills to create measurable results for your employer.
What does a weak resume look like? ›While not all bad resumes look alike, some common qualities of bad resume examples are being messy, disorganized layout, being too long, using an unprofessional font, or simply having uninspired content.
What must a product manager resume have? ›- Product strategy.
- Business strategy.
- Product development.
- Account management.
- Customer service.
- Digital marketing.
- Business development.
- Product design.
These abilities are vital to your product manager resume since your resume needs metrics to really stand out. Metrics revenue, customer adoption, growth, and customer satisfaction are ideal for product manager resumes.
Should I list 20 years of experience on resume? ›Don't go back more than 10 to 15 years
The majority of experts agree that a resume should only include the last 10 to 15 years of employment, and there are several good reasons for this.
- An objective statement. ...
- A photo of yourself. ...
- Irrelevant work experience. ...
- Personal information. ...
- Non-technical skills. ...
- Lengthy paragraphs. ...
- List of tasks and duties. ...
- More than three bullet points.
- Include key words. ...
- Add hyperlinks. ...
- Be creative. ...
- Tell a story. ...
- Keep your resume short. ...
- Only list the past 10 years of experience. ...
- Include your accomplishments. ...
- List between three and five bullet points for each job position.
For most people, the reverse-chronological resume format is the best option. This means listing your work experience and education in reverse-chronological order, i.e. starting with the most recent position and working backwards through previous jobs or degrees.
How long should a resume be for 20 years experience? ›Customize your resume for the job you're applying for and include only relevant experience. If you've done everything right, you shouldn't get past one page. If you have 10-15+ years of experience, it's okay to write a 2-page resume as long as all the information presented is relevant to the job.
Should you put 30 years of experience on a resume? ›Listing 20 or 30 years of experience can clutter your resume and make it much too long. Unless you are a senior executive, the ideal resume length is one to two pages. The key to a winning resume is providing relevant details on your work history—not every detail.
How many bullets should you have on a resume? ›
Aim for 4-6 bullet points per role. You can get away with listing up to 8 bullet points for your most recent role. Older positions may only need 1-2 bullet points. If you held a job more than 10-15 years ago, omit the bullet points or leave it off your resume entirely.
Where can I download free resume templates? ›With the Zety free plan, you can create and download as many free resumes with customized content for your job or industry as you like. All you need to do is log in to the Zety builder, pick any of our free resume templates, and let the wizard autofill your resume.
How do I get my free resume on resume genius? ›Yes, Resume Genius is free to try. You can use our online resume builder to make a resume and then download it as a text file without paying anything. Additionally, Resume Genius offers 240+ free downloadable resume templates for Microsoft Word and Google Docs that you can fill out manually.
Is Zety a free resume builder? ›While this tool is free, you'll need to make an online account. To use Zety for free, click "Download" on the left toolbar once you reach the final step of the builder — instead of selecting "Save and next." Then, choose "Plain Text (.txt)" to download your resume for free.
What is the best free resume builder? ›Tool/Service Name | Versions |
---|---|
myPerfectresume | Free |
resume.com | Free |
LiveCareer | Free, Premium |
Indeed | Free |
Zety's resume builder is free to use. This means anyone can create a resume using our online resume builder with ready-to-use content suggestions and the application wizard and open it in a preview to see what it looks like. The only paid feature of Zety's resume builder is downloading the document.
What is the 30 second rule for resume? ›Did you know in a competitive labor market, your resume must get you on the interview pile within 30 seconds? If not, you will end up in the reject pile and never get a shot to sell yourself in person. 30 seconds is longer than the average recruiter takes.
What is the 2 page resume rule? ›You can use a two-page resume if you have an extensive work history of over 10-15 years or if you're applying for an executive position. If you're a student or entry-level applicant, your best bet is to use a one-page resume.
How many jobs on a resume is too many? ›Hiring managers won't usually pay attention to what you did beyond that. How many jobs on a resume is too many? More than five jobs on a resume is too many. Typically a good rule of thumb is to include just two to four jobs on a resume, or enough to cover the past 15 years of your work experience.
What are four common resume mistakes? ›- Typos and Grammatical Errors. ...
- Lack of Specifics. ...
- Attempting the "One–Size–Fits–All" Approach. ...
- Highlighting Duties Instead of Accomplishments. ...
- Going on Too Long or Cutting Things Too Short. ...
- Bad Summary. ...
- No Action Verbs. ...
- Leaving Off Important Information.
What should never be done in a resume? ›
- Too much information. ...
- A solid wall of text. ...
- Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. ...
- Inaccuracies about your qualifications or experience. ...
- Unnecessary personal information. ...
- Your age. ...
- Negative comments about a former employer. ...
- Too many details about your hobbies and interests.
Personal details. There's no need to include personal information on a resume such as your social security number, marital status, nationality, sexual orientation, or spiritual beliefs. In fact, it is illegal for employers to ask for these personal details.
What are the top 5 resume mistakes? ›- Grammar and punctuation errors. Think about the underlying message communicated with typos, and with errors in grammar and punctuation. ...
- Poor formatting. Can't fit your resume to one page? ...
- Failure to communicate knowledge and skills. ...
- Job descriptions that aren't descriptive. ...
- Using pronouns and articles.
Putting the wrong contact information
Making mistakes about your contact details is a common mistake that can be detrimental to your job search. “You can often have an applicant who looks like a great fit on paper, but you can't reach them to discuss the position,” explained Martin.
After years of reviewing resumes, I have compiled a short list of weak verbs and phrases to stay away from: Worked with, Responsible for, Experienced, Tried, Does, Made, Watched. There are also verbs that are perfectly fine but overused: Assisted, Led, Oversaw, Utilized.
What would be considered a hard skill on your resume? ›If you are listing hard skills on a resume, include any technical skills you have acquired and any foreign languages. List hard skills relevant to the position for which you are applying. These are typically spelled out in job postings.
What makes you stand out as a product manager? ›The easy answer to this question — “What makes a great product manager?” — would be a list of skills. A long list that would include: subject matter expertise, outstanding communication skills, market knowledge, leadership ability, innovativeness, strong researching skills, the ability to think strategically, etc.
What are the three main skills a great product manager must possess? ›- Noting Technical Requirements and Specs. Developing product optimizations and new product ideas are integral to a product manager's role. ...
- Conducting Market Research. ...
- Strategic Thinking. ...
- Excellent Oratory and Communication Skills. ...
- Excellent Negotiation Skills.
- Understanding and representing user needs.
- Monitoring the market and developing competitive analyses.
- Defining a vision for a product.
- Aligning stakeholders around the vision for the product.
- Prioritizing product features and capabilities.
- Communication Skills.
- Innovation.
- Detail Oriented.
- Auto Delivery.
- Problem Solving Skills.
- Translation.
- Product Management.
- Collaboration.
How long should a product manager resume be? ›
Let us clear the air: In 2021, your Product Manager resume should be two pages. Due to COVID-19, recruiters' day-to-day is much different than it was a year ago. Your Product Manager resume needs to cater to their new way of working. Here's what you need to know.
What strengths should a product manager have? ›- Great communication skills. ...
- Empathy. ...
- Data and analytical savvy. ...
- Decisiveness — and flexibility. ...
- Business smarts. ...
- The ability to drive your organization with enthusiasm.
- MRR = revenue at start of month + revenue from new customers + revenue change from upgrading customers - revenue change from downgrading customers - revenue from lost customers.
- ARPU = MRR / total number of accounts.
- CLTV = average revenue per user x average customer lifetime.
OKR is the acronym for objective and key results—more specifically, an objective is tied to key results. OKR is a strategic framework, whereas KPIs are measurements that exist within a framework. OKR is a simplistic, black-and-white approach that uses specific metrics to track the achievement of a goal.
What is the proven best resume format? ›The chronological resume (also known as the reverse-chronological format) is the most popular format and the best resume format for experienced candidates. The chronological resume emphasizes your work history section, where you list information about current and past jobs with the most recent job first.
What resume file format do employers prefer? ›Most employers want a Microsoft Word document or a PDF file of your resume. Some employers may request a plain text (. txt) version, without any fancy formatting or design. However, there are many factors to consider when selecting your resume format.
Which resume format is preferred by most employers? ›Chronological Resume
This is the most common type of resume format and is generally preferred by most hiring managers.
Don't include lots of information that's irrelevant to the job you're applying for. “Sure, you've got hobbies, interests, languages, favorite bands, and ambitions,” Cenedella says. “But keep the information that doesn't address your ability to be responsible, accountable, and a hard worker to a reasonable level.”
How far back should a resume go 2022? ›Generally, experts recommend keeping about 10-15 years of work experience on your resume, but that guidance changes depending on your professional history.
Which of the following should not be on your resume? ›Personal details. There's no need to include personal information on a resume such as your social security number, marital status, nationality, sexual orientation, or spiritual beliefs. In fact, it is illegal for employers to ask for these personal details.
What is the easiest resume format to read? ›
The easiest resume format to read is the reverse chronological format. Recruiters and hiring managers are familiar with its structure, and it's the most popular resume format in 2023 among candidates. Applicant tracking software can also scan it without any problems.
Is it better to submit resume in Word or PDF? ›The best format for your resume at the moment is a PDF. A PDF resume is readable by ATS and also keeps your formatting and illustrations in place. You can use an online resume builder like Enhancv which downloads your resume as a PDF.
Should I upload my resume in Word or PDF? ›Rule 1: Follow Any Application Directions
If a company asks for a certain file type for your resume, listen to them. They are the authority on what they're looking for, so if they ask for a PDF, give them a PDF, and if they ask for a Word doc (a.k.a., DOCX), upload a Word doc.
And most jobs on Indeed accept that basic Indeed resume version, so Indeed applies to MOST jobs with that terrible version. So, Indeed is applying to MOST jobs for you with the basic, plain text resume, and NOT your nice PDF resume.
How do I make my resume impressive? ›- Keep your resume short and direct. ...
- Create an original resume template. ...
- Highlight relevant skills and experiences. ...
- Demonstrate results with numbers and metrics. ...
- Craft a career snapshot. ...
- Optimize your text. ...
- Think beyond your job duties. ...
- Use the right language to stand out.
A one page resume is usually better. According to a survey of hiring managers by Saddleback College, 48% of employers want a 1 page resume. The exception? A two page resume works better for positions that require 10+ years of experience.