If you have a burning desire to help a company develop and launch its next big offering, you may want to learn how to write a product manager resume. We’ll share how to showcase your education, experience, and skills in a compelling way. Then, you’ll be able to land your ideal job in no time!
If you’re looking for a job as a product manager, start your job search on ZipRecruiter! ZipRecruiter is free for job seekers. You can also upload your resume to their resume database so that recruiters and employers can find you!
What Is Unique About A Product Manager Resume?
A product manager resume shares many elements with any other resume. However, a product manager resume is specifically created to obtain a product management position. You should customize your resume for every role you pursue for the best results.
What Should Be Included On A Product Manager Resume?
Your product manager resume should include these sections:
Header
At the top of your resume, write your name, phone number, and professional-looking email address. (ProdMgrKing@email.com likely won’t impress anyone!) That way, the reader can easily contact you to get more information or schedule an interview.
If you have a LinkedIn profile or an online portfolio of the products you've launched, you should include those links here, too.
Pro Tip: Have an advanced degree or industry-recognized certification? Add the acronym after your name to impress the reader from the get-go. For example, that could look like: John Doe, MBA.
Resume Objective Or Summary
In this next section, take three to four lines to explain why the recruiter or hiring manager should invite you to interview. If you’re a newcomer to the product management field, write a compelling resume objective statement highlighting your education and skills. But, if you’re a product management pro, write an impactful resume summary statement that showcases your career achievements.
Let’s look at an example of each:
Resume Objective
Recent graduate with a degree in marketing, skilled in market research, Microsoft Project, and collaboration. Helped a local business improve its primary product offering during an internship, which led to a 35% increase in revenue. Seeking an entry-level product manager position with ABC company to use consultation skills and technical knowledge to drive results.
Resume Summary
Senior product manager with an MBA, AIPMM certification, and 12 years of experience designing and launching new products in the consumer electronics industry. Recently oversaw a cross-functional team of 100+ people. Products launched in the previous year exceeded the firm’s revenue goal by 200%.
Work Experience
Here, you should list your professional roles in reverse chronological order, beginning with your current or most recent job. That way, your latest successes are at the top of this section.
For each job, include your title, the firm’s name, and the dates you worked there. Then, write several bullet points to share your accomplishments while in the position. Bullet points should start with an action word and feature a quantified achievement to demonstrate the kind of impact you could have on your next employer.
Your work experience entries should look something like this:
Senior Product Manager
XYZ Corporation, 2016-2021
- Developed and launched 4 new products, resulting in $8 million of revenue.
- Re-designed 2 existing products, boosting sales of each by 25%.
Join The Break Community
- Conducted market research via 5 focus groups, which generated 10 new viable product ideas.
- Hired, trained, and supervised 1 junior product manager.
If you don’t have a lot of professional experience, you can use the above example entry to showcase your contributions as a volunteer, freelancer, or intern.
Remember: Your best bet is to align your work experience section with the requirements listed in the job advertisement whenever possible.
Education
If you’ve been a product manager for years, you only need to list your degree, university, and graduation date. However, if you’re a recent graduate or changing professions, you should include a few more details to boost your candidacy.
A beefed-up education entry could look like this:
Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration
ABC University, 2021
- 4.0 GPA (leave your GPA off if it’s less than 3.5)
- Relevant coursework: Digital Marketing, Business Communication, Operations Management
- Developed and launched a fitness tracker mobile application with 100,000 downloads during an internship
- Served as secretary for the university’s Product Management Club
Pro Tip: This section is also where you should list any industry-respected certifications, like the Association of International Product Marketing and Management’s (AIPMM) Certified Product Manager credential. Include the certification name, accrediting institution, and expiration date (if there is one).
Awards
If you’ve won any awards, like Product Manager of the Year, write them here. If you haven’t, you can omit this section from your resume.
Other Information
Want to share additional details with the recruiter or hiring manager but not sure where to put them? That’s why this section exists. Under “Other Information,” you can highlight conferences you’ve spoken at, journal articles you’ve written, professional association memberships you hold, certifications and more.
What Should Be Left Off A Product Manager Resume?
Everything you put on your product manager resume should show that you’re the right person for the job. If a particular detail doesn’t do that, you should leave it off. Examples of unhelpful information include irrelevant work experience, hobbies, or interests.
That said, if you’ve never held a product manager role, it makes sense to list your previous jobs, even if they seem unrelated. Here, the trick is to showcase the transferable competencies you developed while in those positions. For example, if you were a software engineer, you’d be tech-savvy, detail-oriented, and understand the Scrum framework — all of which can help you as a product manager.
Important Job Skills For Product Manager Resumes
Check out this list of job skills you can include on your product manager resume:
Hard Skills
- Market research
- Data analysis
- Strategy development
- Product development
- Feature definition
- User experience (UX) design
- Scope management
- Project management
- Software knowledge (such as Microsoft Project or PowerPoint)
- Knowledge of the Scrum framework
- Knowledge of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Soft Skills
- Leadership
- Collaboration
- Teamwork
- Time management
- Creativity
- Innovation
- Problem-solving
- Attention to detail
- Communication
Note: This list doesn’t include every possible skill you could have as a product manager, but it should spark your thinking as you figure out how to market yourself via your resume.
The Bottom Line
By now, you should know how to write a winning product manager resume. But, if you still need a little more support, consider hiring one of our choices for the best resume writing service. Then, once you’re happy with the document, you can start applying for jobs on ZipRecruiter!
