How do you write a resume for a manager position?

To write a resume for a manager position, you should include three to six sections that utilize applicant tracking system (ATS) friendly formatting and verbiage that illuminate the totality of your expertise and experience for the role. Employers use ATS software to pre-screen candidate applications.

Section 1: Header

To write a resume for a manager position, start at the top with a header. Your resume header should be prominent and sophisticated, with little to no visual embellishments like WordArt and other distracting graphics.

The header section of your manager resume should include your:

• Name: This should be your full legal first and last name. Middle name is optional but not required. Do not include nicknames, as this can appear unprofessional.

• Address: You may include your full physical address, though it is also acceptable to simply include your city and state. Including your city and state has a clean, streamlined look and should not work against you in the application process.

• Phone Number: Include your full ten-digit telephone number. If applying internationally, then you should include the country code.

• Email: It goes without saying your email should be professional and include your full name, if possible. Depending on the role and your age, you may also want to exclude an email address that includes your birth year.

There are different options for formatting the header section of your manager's resume. Whatever you choose, it should be simple, and your name should have its own line and larger/bolder font than the other information.

Optional Sections: Professional Objective and/or Summary

You may choose to include a professional objective and/or a qualifications summary section for your manager's resume. More and more, these sections are being discarded as they often result in redundancy. However, it can be a great opportunity to include some of those ATS keywords.

Section 2: Education

Managers oversee an organization's functions, from broad strategic planning to day-to-day oversight. Manager positions typically require, at a minimum, a college degree. Roughly 80% of all managers have at least an associate's degree, with just under 50% having at least a bachelor's.

When crafting your resume, the education section just might be the most important gateway section when it comes to your advancement in the application process.

If you do not have the required educational background, it is likely an ATS software will automatically exclude you, and your resume might never make it to a hiring manager's desk.

Section 3: Experience

This is the section where you list your previously held professional, volunteer, or internship roles, which are hopefully relevant to the manager position for which you are applying.

Some applicants prefer to separate professional work experience from collegiate or volunteer work experience. If your relevant paid work experience is minimal, it might benefit you more to lump them all together.

Some of the soft skills employers might be looking for in candidates for manager positions include, but are not limited to the following:

• Leadership and delegation

• Interpersonal

• Critical thinking and problem solving

When applying for a manager position, you need to effectively highlight these technical and soft skills on your resume to land a job. To accomplish this, you will need to include discrete details and quantifiable accomplishments related to the work that you have done in your previous roles.

A job posting for a manager position will likely include supervisory and budgeting experience as a required or preferred qualification. Do not simply state that you balanced a budget and managed a team of staff. Specificity is king here.

To write a resume for a manager position, specifically state that you balanced x-dollar amount budget and supervised a staff of x-number of employees.

If you saw your organization's spending budget decrease or its profits increase during your tenure, include that as an accomplishment you personally or your team under your supervision achieved. And include the specific number amount.

The key to ATS-friendly verbiage is researching the position and industry-specific keywords this software is likely to scan for.

If the manager position requires supervisory experience, your resume should definitely include the word supervisory. If it does not, your resume might never be seen by an actual hiring manager.

For overall ATS-friendly formatting, keep it simple. There is no need for embellished borders and colorful graphics here. Also, consider sticking to the docx and pdf file extensions.

Optional Section: References

You may choose to include or exclude a references section on your manager's resume. The job market is divided on the necessity of this section, as employers typically request this information later on in the hiring process. It should not hurt your chances to include it, however.