Project Manager Resume Guide & Tips

What to Put on a Project Manager Resume

Project Managers must have a lot of skills. And many of the attributes that make a great Project Manager are hard to capture on a resume. However, your Project Manager resume will be your calling card, and it needs to fully communicate your experience and skills, especially your Soft Skills. 

Here are a few basic guidelines for a strong Project Manager resume: 

• A Project Manager's resume should be highly organized since solid organization and planning skills are critical for a Project Manager. Use your resume as an opportunity to demonstrate your attention to detail. 
• Your spelling and grammar should be impeccable: strong Project Managers are also good written communicators. You may ask someone to proofread your Project Manager's resume to ensure it is error-free. 
• Include concrete examples of your project achievements: Try to use quantifiable results instead of vague statements.
• It should be a maximum of two pages and easy for potential employers or clients to skim. You’ll need to choose a layout that is both easy to read and capable of including detailed information. 
• A Project Manager's resume should have a summary section that quickly encapsulates your experience and strengths. The summary is the most critical part of your resume since it is the section that potential employers or clients are most likely to read first. 
• Use action-based language throughout your Project Manager resume to create a strong impression of your leadership skills and accomplishments. 

Work Experience

The most important part of a Project Manager's resume is including details about your work experience. You may consider formatting this section by company or project and then including concrete details in a bulleted list. 

A Project Manager's resume should include specific details in this section. Do not include statements such as “increased productivity” or “saved money” unless you also include details about how much. For example, “...completed the project 20% under budget” or “Increased team productivity by 33%.” You can also include details about the type of project you led, such as the number of team members or budget allocations. 

If your employer or client is a lesser-known company, you might want to include information about the company and industry. For example, “led the development of a new software application for a boutique digital marketing firm.” 

Hard Skills 

Your Project Manager resume is a vehicle for showing off your soft skills, such as solid communication and attention to detail. You’ll need to describe your Project Management hard skills more directly. 

Hard Skills is the section in which you include any technical skills particular to your industry. For example, if you’re a Construction Project Manager, you might include skills like AutoCAD here. Or, if you’re an IT Project Manager, you will want to include any coding languages or network security training you have. 

You’ll also want to include any project management methodologies or tools you have experience with, such as managing remote teams using Trello, Zoom, and Slack. 

Soft Skills

Soft Skills are interpersonal skills, such as communication style, personality, motivation, and manners. Your Hard Skills are those technical skills most directly connected to the objectives of the jobs. Soft skills are more challenging to demonstrate but are essential for a successful Project Manager. 

Some of a Project Manager's most essential soft skills include communication, leadership, work ethic, and teamwork. You should look for ways to include mentions of these soft skills without having to dedicate a section of your limited space to them. One method is to sprinkle soft skills across your Project Manager's resume, such as empathy, collaboration, honesty, enthusiasm, delegation, process improvement, motivation, conflict resolution, results-oriented, time management, and diversity awareness. 

Education 

The Education section of your Project Manager resume must include any degrees, certificates, or certifications you have earned. You will also want to include any relevant courses or professional development training you have completed. 

If you include degrees on your project management resume, you don’t need to include many details beyond your major, college, and graduation date. Only include details about your degree if it is directly relevant to the Project Manager position. For example, space on your Project Manager resume is limited, so including your GPA is less important than your real-world project achievements. 

Certificates and certifications are essential in project management. You will want to include any PMI certifications or PMBOK training. For example, Noble Desktop offers a Certificate of Completion for graduates of their Project Management Bootcamp. Anything demonstrating your project management education is the most critical part of this section. 

Achievements 

An essential part of a Project Manager's resume is including your project management achievements. You may consider dedicating a section of your Project Manager resume to your achievements, or you could look for ways to include them within other sections. 

If you’d like to highlight your accomplishments, dedicate a section to them. You can include a mix of concrete accomplishments, soft skills, hard skills, and even some education. If you decide to include an achievements section, you might consider putting it near the top of your Project Management resume to make it stand out. 

5 Project Manager Resume Tips

Tip #1 Space Is Limited

Project Managers are the ultimate multitaskers, and they need to have a lot of skills. A Project Manager's resume should be no longer than two pages, although one is ideal. To make everything fit, you’ll need to be very organized.

It will also be necessary to prioritize what you include to make sure potential employers or clients see your most important qualities. Don’t hesitate to be creative in using as much space as possible to include more details. 

Tip #2 Display Your Organizational Skills 

Organizational skills are important for Project Managers. You will need to be able to stay organized in order to manage projects. Use your Project Manager resume as a chance to display these skills. Instead of saying you’re very organized, show it by creating a highly organized resume. 

Project Managers need to have impeccable written communication skills. Plan to do a lot of editing, rewriting, and proofreading. It is critical that your resume has excellent grammar, no errors, and a vibrant writing style. Seek assistance with these if you need: another pair of eyes is a great way to ensure that your resume is error-free.

Tip #3 Focus on Quantifiable Results 

A Project Manager resume needs to include a lot of numbers. You want to avoid vague language and focus on quantifiable results. Find specific results from previous projects to include to demonstrate your skills. For example, if you completed a project under budget, include the amount. 

You’ll also want to include a number about the scope of the projects that you have managed. For example, don’t just say you managed a team but how large of a time. If you have experience managing high-budget, complex projects, then be sure to include numbers that illustrate the scope of the project.

Tip #4 Experience over Education

Resumes often focus on education over experience. While you will want to include any degrees that you have earned, a Project Manager resume highlights experience over education. Keep the details of your education short to leave more room for project accomplishments. You don’t need to include details like GPA or Dean’s List. 

Focus the education section of your Project Manager resume on project management education instead of traditional degree programs if you have taken project management courses and certifications. 

Tip #5 Sprinkle in Soft Skills 

Project management requires a lot of soft skills. These can be more difficult to demonstrate on a resume, especially when your overall focus should be concrete accomplishments. One way to do this is to sprinkle in soft skill words across your Project Manager resume. This provides the opportunity to communicate your soft skills without a dedicated section.