For anyone seeking an operations manager position, a good first step is to create a resume that highlights your business prowess, credentials, and accomplishments. Showcasing your ability to manage teams and projects, stay within a budget, and implement processes that improve productivity can demonstrate your value to prospective employers. Follow the tips below and get ideas from the resume sample included to craft a compelling resume for yourself.
Operations managers are vital for managing the everyday activities of an organization to ensure that projects are completed and goals are met. Your resume should reflect your ability to manage others and optimize workflow as well as your leadership and teamwork skills.
Break down your resume into the following sections to help create a narrative that tells your professional story:
Including the most up-to-date contact information is important so that hiring managers can easily reach you to set up an interview. Start your resume with a heading that has your full name, phone number, email address, city/state location, and a link to your online professional profile and/or website.
Your Name
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
City, State Abbreviation Zip Code
LinkedIn | Portfolio
Your resume should provide a quick-read summary that highlights your qualifications and key achievements before launching into your job history. In two to three sentences, mention your most relevant skills and accomplishments, such as project management or strategic planning, as well as any professional certifications that have prepared you for the role.
An accomplished operations manager with extensive experience at major consulting firms such as Accenture and Deloitte, offering proficiency in strategic planning, team management, and operational efficiency. Academic foundation includes a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Stanford University, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Master’s in Project Management from Northwestern University.
Holder of Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP,) and Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) credentials, with a proven track record in executing cross-functional projects, boosting team productivity, and elevating operational efficiency.
Operations managers rely on a variety of skill sets, including hard skills involving business activities like budgeting, inventory, or forecasting, or soft skills needed to work with and manage others. Sharing a quick list of your key skills on your resume can make it easy for the recruiter to identify you as a potential candidate and also help it pass through Applicant Tracking System software looking for specific keywords.
See our table below for some examples of skills you might include.
| Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
|---|---|
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems | Communication |
| Inventory control | Leadership |
| Project management | Team development |
| Risk mitigation | Time management |
| Strategic planning | Troubleshooting |
The professional experience section of your resume should engage the reader and bring your past accomplishments to life. Choosing impactful action verbs can help showcase your talents and achievements, rather than just presenting a list of past job duties. Some examples of action verbs you might use on an operations manager resume include:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Delegated | Expedited |
| Forecasted | Implemented |
| Led | Leveraged |
| Optimized | Overhauled |
| Spearheaded | Streamlined |
When looking at professional resume examples, the work history section is typically the biggest section. Working backward from your most current role, describe each position you’ve held, including the employer’s name, location, and dates of employment. Then, share bullet points to highlight your most important contributions to the organizations. If there are opportunities to quantify the value you’ve brought, such as improving operational efficiency, increasing productivity, or reducing employee turnover, go ahead and provide metrics and data.
Operations Manager, Deloitte, Boston, MA
June 2019 – present
Senior Project Coordinator, Accenture, Chicago, IL
December 2015 – May 2019
Hiring managers want to know what candidates have to offer their organizations. In business roles, they especially want to know how you can impact the bottom line. Sharing evidence of your achievements using data and statistics can help connect the dots between your work and the company’s success.
Here’s an example of how it could look on your resume:
Even with a bright outlook for operations manager positions, employers will be looking for strong candidate matches. One way to improve your odds of getting noticed is to tweak your resume so that it mentions some of the specific skills included in the job posting. For instance, if the job listing is looking for someone who has experience working with remote contractors and you’ve done that, then go ahead and list it somewhere.
If you’re seeking your first role as an operations manager, your resume should describe all of the things you’ve done up until this point to prepare you for the position. You can include past jobs, internships, or volunteer projects in which you stepped up to act as a team leader or found a creative solution to an operational challenge.
In addition to your work experience, educational credentials can help solidify that you have the foundational knowledge and expertise to succeed as an operations manager. List each school you attended, along with the degree attained and the completion date. In addition, if you’ve completed any professional certifications, such as one offered by the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), those should be included.
Master of Science in Project Management, September 2014 – December 2015
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Bachelor of Science in Business Management, September 2008 – May 2012
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Certifications
Your Name
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
City, State Abbreviation zip code
LinkedIn | Portfolio
An accomplished operations manager with extensive experience at major consulting firms such as Accenture and Deloitte, offering proficiency in strategic planning, team management, and operational efficiency. Academic foundation includes a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Stanford University, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Master’s in Project Management from Northwestern University.
Holder of Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), and Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) credentials, with a proven track record in executing cross-functional projects, boosting team productivity, and elevating operational efficiency.
Operations Manager, Deloitte, Boston, MA
June 2019 – present
Senior Project Coordinator, Accenture, Chicago, IL
December 2015 – May 2019
Master of Business Administration (MBA),January 2016 – June 2017
Harvard Business School, Boston, MA
Master of Science in Project Management,September 2014 – December 2015
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Bachelor of Science in Business Management, September 2008 – May 2012
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach
Andrew Stoner is an executive career coach and resume writer with 17 years of experience as a hiring manager and operations leader at two Fortune 500 Financial Services companies, and as the career services director at two major university business schools.
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