Being able to manage a budget isn’t just for accountants. Budget management is an essential part of many jobs, including sales, project management, and just about anything in the finance sector.
Just like you can’t be vague when managing a budget, you shouldn’t be vague about your experience on a resume. Simply saying “I managed a budget” isn’t enough — so what is? In this guide, we’ll cover exactly how to list budget management experience on a resume, including where to put it, what skills to include, and examples of what to write in your bullet points.
First, here’s how to get started.
How to list budget experience on a resume
- Make a list of all your budget management experience. This could be anything from payroll and accounting to balancing a cash register — if it’s related to money, write it down.
- Once you’ve finished brainstorming, it’s time to narrow it down. Read through the job description and highlight any time budget management is mentioned. Try to match each of these skills to something on your own list.
- For each example that you want to put on your resume, think about exactly what it is that you did. Try to describe it in a single word, e.g. Managed, Balanced, Reduced — this will be the action verb you use to start your bullet point.
- Explicitly describe the task or project you worked on and what the result was. Try to include numbers here whenever possible — we’re talking about budgets, so you should have plenty to choose from.
- Now you’re done! As a bonus, you can get feedback on your bullet points from our free AI-powered resume scanner before you hit “submit.”
Where to put budget management on a resume
The best way to highlight budget management experience is a three-step process:
- Put concrete examples of previous budgetary experience in your Work Experience bullet points
- List budget-related hard skills in your Skills section
- Emphasize your budgeting experience in a resume title or summary
Put budget management accomplishments in your Work Experience bullets
If you have previous experience managing a budget, make sure you include concrete examples in your Work Experience section. The more specific you can be about what you achieved, the more easily potential employers will be able to picture you in the role you’re applying for.
DON’T: Include vague accomplishments like “Managed the budget for my department.”
DO: Be specific and add numbers whenever possible, e.g. “Managed cost-of-goods budgets of the portfolio totaling $85M for 25 brands.”
List hard skills in your skills section
Any hard skills — including budgeting techniques, tools and frameworks, technology skills, and financial certifications — can go directly in your Skills section. This allows you to showcase key skills at a glance and ensures they won’t be overlooked.
DON’T: List soft skills like organization or attention to detail — use your accomplishments (above) to illustrate these instead.
DO: Choose 10-15 hard skills based on your previous experience and the job description.
Highlight must-have budgeting experience with a resume title and summary
If budget management is a major part of the role you want, it may be worthwhile adding a resume title and summary. Your resume title should match the exact job title you’re applying for and your summary should feature 1-2 key skills and accomplishments that are most relevant to what you’ll be doing.
DON’T: Write a resume objective that focuses on what you’re looking for.
DO: Stick to what you can bring to the role — your skills, qualifications, and experiences.
Budget manager resume sample
Ready to put it all together? Here’s a sample resume showcasing budget management experience.
If you’re looking for more examples, you can download 50+ resume templates from our finance resume guide.
Essential budget management skills for your resume
Wondering what specific budget management skills hiring managers are looking for? Most roles that involve managing a budget will require:
- Forecasting
- Financial analysis
- Auditing
- Reporting
- Database management
- Contract negotiation
- Record keeping
- Business administration
- Organization
- Attention to detail
- Experience with budgeting software, e.g. QuickBooks, Workday, MYOB
For more suggestions, you can plug your desired industry or job title into our database of hard skills and keywords.
Synonyms for managing a budget on a resume
Tired of starting every bullet point with “Managed”? Looking for another word for “Oversee” to put on a resume? Try action verbs like:
- Supervised
- Organized
- Coordinated
- Handled
- Identified
- Analyzed
- Computed
- Modeled
- Summarized
- Predicted
- Audited
- Projected
- Calculated
- Compiled
- Received
For even more synonyms for “manage,” check out our list of resume action verbs for 2024.
Budget management resume bullet point examples
Examined and discovered opportunities to save cost, reducing 48% of company expenditures in Q1 2022.
Employers love a budget manager who can save them money. Make sure to include examples of how you directly impacted the company’s bottom line.
Managed a team of 50+ junior accounting specialists who managed payroll, accounts receivable, and billing.
If you managed other employees in addition to managing a budget, that deserves at least a line or two on your resume — especially if you’re looking to move into more senior roles.
Maintained the reporting system with a 79% accuracy for tracking and auditing.
Accuracy and attention to detail are must-have skills if you’re going to be managing a budget. These are soft skills, which means the best way to get them on your resume is with an example like this.
Supervised accounts receivable in excess of $500,000.
Managing a $10,000 student organization budget is very different to overseeing the billion-dollar budget of a Fortune 500 company, so make sure your resume reflects the scope of your accomplishments.
Balanced all transactions every 3 hours of the day with credit card machines, cash registers and check scanners.
If you’re seeking more entry-level roles, you don’t need a fancy way to say you were a cashier on your resume — stick to quantifiable accomplishments that relate to budgeting and money handling.
