With no shortage of new products entering the market in any given year, product managers are in high demand for a growing variety of industries who are targeting a wide range of consumers. Younger generations are rapidly gaining buying power, requiring companies to have the ability to rapidly adapt to new audiences with fresh, well-marketed products.
Product managers are responsible for overseeing the lifecycle of products, including successfully identifying both the product’s assets and the consumers who would be most interested in buying it. This makes creativity high on the list of traits that companies are looking for, as well as having the technical skills to understand and incorporate data and create meaningful graphical renderings to convey the product’s worth internally and externally.
Along with being able to assess a product’s value to consumers and to companies, product managers need to have excellent people skills due to the different types of personalities they’ll be managing and working with. The fusion of creativity, communication skills, and organizational ability is ideal for those interested in being a first-rate product manager.
From 2017 to 2020, the number of openings for product managers more than doubled. With an average salary of $110,916 and a high rate of job satisfaction, it’s clear that competition in the field is fierce.
Having the ability to skillfully determine the value proposition of products and coordinate your team members isn’t enough to secure a product manager job - you’ll also need to have a resume that clearly communicates your prowess. This guide will cover best practices on what your product manager resume should focus on, section by section, including what should be emphasized to make your pitch truly pop.
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The product manager is someone who oversees several aspects of a company's product design, production, and end-customer implementation. As a product manager, you will be responsible for the creation and planning of making new products or adding new product features. You will also oversee the production cycle from beginning to end, ensuring everything is going to plan. Product managers work closely with marketing, sales, and engineering to ensure the product is safe and effective, but also sellable.
To become a product manager, you will need at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field such as business administration or business management. You will also need prior experience in product marketing or product development. An ideal product manager is dynamic, able to communicate with various departments, with strong project management abilities.
Product managers are responsible for conducting market research to formulate a proof of product, which signifies a product design or feature is feasible and desired by consumers. As such, any experience you have conducting market research, pulling together focus groups, or creating a proof of concept should be included in your resume.
Obtaining certifications in product management and/or project management will help you land this role. Because product managers oversee so many aspects of each initiative, having a project management certification will show hiring managers you are skilled at effectively managing large projects.
This resume is well-organized and effective at conveying the successes of product managers who have had some experience in the field. Snippets of past positions, skills, education, and awards form a comprehensive picture of a well-grounded product manager who has worked their way up to a solid position and is looking to grow more with a new company.
The opening is well-worded and succinct with no fluff, and key words such as “conversion optimization” are present. Not only is past experience suitably covered within the first few words, but it goes on to detail the size of teams this product manager has handled and the fields they worked in.
Product managers should have the ability to guide their viewers to what they need to see, along with a knowledge about what should be showcased in limited space. Having small, organized sections helps break down the most important points that hiring managers need to know - and imparts your ability to get your point across succinctly.
As a Senior Product Manager, you'll play a crucial role in guiding product development and ensuring its success in the market. Given the constant changes in technology and consumer preferences, it's important to stay on top of industry trends and have a strong understanding of your target audience. When crafting your resume, highlight your experience in managing product lifecycles and collaborating with cross-functional teams to bring innovative products to life.
In this competitive job market, showcasing your ability to drive results and make data-driven decisions is essential. Dive into your previous projects and highlight key metrics that demonstrate your ability to successfully lead product development. Remember, a well-tailored resume is your chance to showcase your unique skills and experiences that make you a top contender for Senior Product Manager roles.
As a Senior Product Manager, you'll often work with diverse teams to bring products to life. On your resume, emphasize your ability to collaborate with engineers, designers, and other stakeholders, showcasing the results of these collaborations.
Show your prospective employer that you can make informed decisions about product development by providing examples of data analysis you've done in previous roles. Highlight how your insights led to successful product releases or improvements to existing products.
Companies seeking experienced product managers will be looking for demonstrations of effective leadership, and this resume works for that purpose. If your past accomplishments speak for themselves, this format will help you illustrate that you have navigated the field for a while - and that you are prepared for and willing to take on even greater challenges.
The 10-year experience of this product manager is the main thing that this resume focuses on, and with the results it outlines, it should be. The jobs that are detailed demonstrate responsibilities and productivity that scale appropriately with the applicant’s increased knowledge, indicating that they can bring even better results to their next company.
Having a solid list of bullet-pointed technical skills at the bottom of the page gives the sensation that this product manager has mastered a range of relevant, data-centric abilities that have enabled them to succeed thus far (and will enable them to handle any future assignments).
An entry-level product manager is an exciting role for people starting their careers in product management. This position is about developing a deep understanding of customer needs and working closely with cross-functional teams to create products that users will love. Recent trends in the industry include a strong emphasis on data-driven decision-making and collaboration with agile development teams. When you're writing your resume for an entry-level product manager role, it's essential to showcase your understanding of the industry and your ability to take on responsibilities like product planning and execution.
In this role, companies usually look for candidates who have the potential to grow into effective product managers. Thus, your resume should demonstrate your ability to learn quickly, your passion for the industry, and any relevant experience or skills that make you stand out from other applicants. Remember, hiring managers want to see that you're a perfect fit for this particular role, so your resume should highlight your unique strengths and abilities related to product management.
As an entry-level applicant, your resume should emphasize any relevant experiences that demonstrate your ability to work on product development and management. Make sure to highlight any internships, projects, or coursework related to product management that show your understanding of the process, tools, and industry trends.
Entry-level product managers need to be able to identify customer needs and work through complex problems to find solutions. Your resume should highlight your problem-solving and analytical skills through examples of projects or challenges you've faced, and the results you achieved in those situations.
Product managers who have less experience but sufficient education can remain in the running if they can incorporate their affinity for product manager skills in their resume. If you have similarly taken on related responsibilities (such as management of civic projects), or have relevant skills (which could lend well to international companies), make sure to include these in your resume.
Applicants who can show that they have a capacity for worldliness may rise to the top through their affinity and ability to work with people from international backgrounds. This resume not only includes additional educational training in London, it also references the applicant’s fluency in other languages - a great asset for global companies.
As a Technical Product Manager, you're at the intersection of technology and business objectives, which makes your resume especially crucial for showcasing your unique skill set. The tech industry is constantly evolving, so it's important to stay up-to-date on industry trends and emphasize your continuous learning efforts in your resume. When crafting your resume, remember that hiring managers will be looking for your ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, drive product features, and align technical solutions with overall business goals.
In recent years, Technical Product Managers have increasingly focused on data-driven decision-making and agile methodologies. Your resume should reflect your ability to work in a fast-paced, iterative environment, and your understanding of how to use data to inform your product decisions. Specific examples of successes in these areas will be crucial in setting you apart from other applicants.
As a Technical Product Manager, your technical skills are vital for the role. Make sure to showcase your expertise in programming languages, tools, and platforms relevant to the job. Include any certifications, training, or relevant projects you've completed.
Your ability to deliver successful products is key, so focus on tangible results you've achieved in previous roles. Include metrics like increased user engagement, product adoption rates, or revenue growth, and describe your involvement in bringing these positive outcomes to fruition.
If your background is in technical skills, IT work, and working with data, you can relate this using a similar format that emphasizes your ability to put technical skills to use for a range of purposes. The clear use of organizational ability and numerical affinity are present in this resume, highlighting a data-based background.
Product managers who have a technical-based skill set and background should employ a focus on numerical results to best indicate what they are capable of. With data clearly driving this product manager’s work, the hiring company can expect measurable quantitative results.
While the resume contains a lot of relevant content, the product manager breaks it down into digestible pieces by using bullet points and sub-levels. This prevents the hiring manager from being overwhelmed and enables each valuable section to stand out on its own.
If you’re business savvy yet also creative, a job as a product marketing manager could be a good fit for you. The product marketing manager, creates, plans, and executes marketing strategies for a company’s product line. This role will work closely with the product development and sales departments to craft messages that resonate and persuade key customer groups to buy. The product marketing manager is responsible for creating messaging, creating customer personas, conducting market research, utilizing marketing tools, tracking data, and more.
To become a product marketing manager, you’ll need at minimum a bachelor’s degree in marketing. A master’s degree in marketing or business may help you stand out. Hiring managers will be looking for a candidate with several years of experience in the marketing world. Previous experience as an SEO specialist, head of content, or brand manager will be desirable. The ideal product marketing manager candidate is creative, dynamic, and a skilled multi-tasker.
Product marketing managers are responsible for monitoring and analyzing the data from marketing campaigns they are running. As such, it’s important to show you are able to use data to improve your marketing strategy. Showcasing examples where you’ve done so in the past on your resume is wise.
It’s important that candidates for this role are able to use online marketing tools, such as Google Adwords, to implement and monitor effective online campaigns. As such, you should highlight any experience you have working with popular digital marketing tools. You can also get certified in Google Adwords and a variety of other marketing tools.
The product marketing manager is responsible for creating a voice for the product outside the company. This means they implement different techniques to increase the product’s visibility. A company can have a great product, but if they don’t know how to make it visible to its target audience it might lead to financial failure, and it’ll never get to solve its customers’ problem. That’s when a product marketing manager can be helpful.
The product marketing manager’s purpose is to generate conversions and retention, so they must have full ownership of the project. That’s why it is essential to focus on your impact rather than your responsibilities. Was your job able to generate leads? Were you able to engage customers? If you prioritize these achievements over your duties in your work experience section, you’ll add more value to your resume.
Research is an essential aspect of product marketing management. You need to determine your target audience and understand its habits to establish a successful campaign. Ideally, you should leverage statistics and metrics to make decisions. You can talk about previous projects in which you conducted data-driven research to create a marketing strategy.
Product marketing managers research customer needs, develop marketing strategies, and create messaging and communications around products to shape their image. To get one of these jobs, you need to be an exceptional marketer with a proven track record of driving product sales. It’s not an entry-level position, so use a resume like this one to demonstrate your success at previous jobs as well as any promotions you’ve received.
Product marketing managers are seasoned professionals with plenty of experience, and they usually also lead marketing teams. Show that you are ready for a senior-level leadership role by pointing out promotions at past jobs (e.g. the positions at Growthsi shown on this resume) -- being promoted proves that you are a strong performer and that you are professionally driven.
You need marketing expertise in order to become a product marketing manager, so your resume should highlight your history within the field. Having years of experience and achievements in related jobs such as sales analytics, business data analytics, or marketing coordination will make you a stronger candidate for the role.
The marketing and product management field is filled with job applicants who lack significant experience. This resume, by contrast, illustrates the marketing background of the product manager and does an excellent job at conveying a sense of continuous accomplishments at a variety of tasks.
Associate product managers work closely with product managers to effectively make their jobs easier. You may be tasked with doing market research or customer behavior analysis to help product managers make the right decisions. An educational background in project management or a related field will be advantageous, as well as extensive experience in product management or analysis. This resume highlights all of the above.
Show recruiters that you are a hardworking and successful employee by showing promotions in your career. It will also show recruiters your dedication to your profession. This applicant started as a product analyst and moved their way up to an associate product manager position.
Though the position is not an analyst position, an associate product manager will be doing a lot of data and project analysis to assist their product manager. Showing an analytical background will therefore show your competence for the associate product manager position.
An agile product manager creates an agile environment within which they, along with their team, can develop and implement product roadmaps. You may use Agile methodologies like Scrum and Kanban. Your resume must reflect expertise in product management and Agile leadership.
This position requires expertise in Agile philosophy and practices. So make sure you highlight all your Agile qualifications clearly. This is especially important to bypass any filters in place.
As the name suggests, this position focuses on software products. You will be in charge of the life-cycle of software products from development to the point of sale. A background in technology would be expected, so make sure to highlight this in your resume. This applicant has a bachelor’s degree in computer science.
Don't make the mistake of only including product management skills, techniques, and tools. Be sure to add software-specific tools and techniques as well. This applicant has effectively listed software development and SDLC in their skills section.
Your resume should make it obvious that you are well versed in software products and the language used by developers and their customers. Using software industry-standard languages, phrases and keywords is an easy way to achieve this.
A digital product manager is in charge of the lifecycle of a company’s digital products. You must be an expert in digital products and the digital industry as a whole. You need to know who the customers in that industry are, and how they behave and spend their money. This information will help inform which products are produced and how they are taken through their lifecycle under your guidance. An educational background in IT or a related field, and/or extensive experience dealing with digital products, will be expected. Take a look at this successful digital product manager's resume.
Different industries use different digital products and have different customer bases. Research and determine the industry and customer base of the company you are applying to and include any experience you have had either in that industry or interacting with their customer base. It’s an effective way to specialize your resume and attract potential employers.
As much as your resume might emphasize your experience with digital products, you also need it to show your recruiters your management style. This applicant, for example, does this by including Agile methodologies in their tools section. Having a balanced resume in this way is advantageous and attractive to recruiters.
An IT product manager deals with IT products. You, along with your team, will do research into what the market wants, will produce the IT products, and take them through their life cycle. You will need to have an in-depth knowledge of the IT industry and its consumer base to succeed. You will also need to have strong managerial skills to lead your team.
Take a look at this recruiter-approved resume sample.
Show the recruiter your dedication to the IT field by including any certifications you may have gained. These certifications also indicate your increased competence in the field. Both will impress recruiters.
A Data Product Manager is essentially the bridge between the data science team and business stakeholders, translating business goals into data-driven solutions. In this role, you'd be expected to keep abreast of data science developments and use your knowledge to influence product strategy. Cutting-edge tech companies and traditional businesses alike are increasingly looking for Data Product Managers who can leverage data for business growth.
Crafting your resume for this role, keep in mind that hiring managers will be looking for your ability to translate complex data insights into actionable strategies. Show that you understand the industry and can lead a team of data scientists to align with business objectives.
In your skills section, be sure to include relevant technical skills that are vital for a Data Product Manager. For instance, proficiency in SQL, Python, or R, experience with machine learning algorithms, and knowledge of data visualization tools like Tableau or PowerBI are all valuable.
Effectively managing a data product requires strong leadership and communication skills. Therefore, in your work experience section, provide specific examples of projects you led, how you communicated complex data findings to non-technical teams, and how your leadership led to successful outcomes.
As a hiring manager who has recruited product managers at companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, I've seen countless resumes for this role. The best ones stand out by showcasing the candidate's ability to drive product strategy, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and deliver measurable results. In this article, we'll share some tips to help you create a compelling product manager resume that catches the attention of hiring managers.
Employers want to see that you understand and can apply popular product management frameworks like Agile, Scrum, or Kanban. Showcase your expertise by mentioning specific frameworks you've used and how you applied them to deliver successful products.
When showcasing your skills as a product manager, it’s important to do it in a way that is easy to read. This is true whether the position you’re applying for is based in marketing or in technical skills as having strong organizational ability is definitely an asset.
With that in mind, your first step should be to decide on what type of layout is best suited for your personal experience. You can do that by reviewing the example resumes covered above and tailoring them to fit your work and educational history.
When it comes to crafting a product manager resume, the summary section is optional but can be a powerful tool to provide context and highlight your unique value proposition. While your resume itself should already be a concise summary of your skills and experience, a well-written summary can help you stand out from other candidates and quickly grab the attention of hiring managers.
However, it's important to avoid using an objective statement, as these are outdated and often fail to provide meaningful information. Instead, focus on creating a compelling summary that showcases your most relevant qualifications and achievements, tailored specifically to the product manager role you're targeting.
Your work experience section is the heart of your resume. It's where you highlight your most relevant and impactful professional experiences. As a product manager, your work experience should demonstrate your ability to lead cross-functional teams, develop and execute product strategies, and drive business results.
In this section, we'll break down the key elements of a strong work experience section for product managers, and provide tips and examples to help you showcase your skills and accomplishments.
The education section of your product manager resume should be concise yet impactful. It's an opportunity to showcase your relevant educational background and highlight any specialized training or certifications that make you stand out. Here are some key tips to keep in mind when writing your education section:
Every accomplishment listed (in a bullet point) should start with an action verb suited to the product manager role. As a manager, this can mean that you “led” or “coached” a team, “developed” strategic insights, or were “promoted” ahead of schedule due to your prowess. As a communicative innovator, you may have “overhauled” an aging system, “aligned” the goals of multiple departments, or “implemented” a new process. Perhaps your product assessing ability led to “reduced” development times or improvements based on the testing you “conducted”.
Emphasizing your ability to lead a team, assess a product or system, reduce costs, or improve customer adoption are all effective strategies for product managers. Always focus on your accomplishments rather than your basic duties, and hiring managers will be more likely to take notice.
For more related action verbs, visit Management Action Verbs.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
Product managers in the modern era will ideally demonstrate both hard and soft skills at first glance. Hard skills are fundamentally important as they convey experience working with data, numerical value input, technical software, and visual aids that make up the bread and butter of product and company reports. Soft skills, which can be illustrated by experience working with team members or as a manager who improved employee performance, are equally valuable to companies looking to fill a position for the long term.
To give you an idea of what skills are most desirable for product managers and the keywords employers are looking for, we’ve compiled the list on the left based on resumes in the product manager field. Try to incorporate whichever ones are appropriate to your background in your application, but don’t overly stuff them - remember, being clear and succinct are desirable traits for product managers!
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Product Manager job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
You should use bullet points to describe your achievements in your Product Manager resume. Here are sample bullet points to help you get started:
Generated insights on customer churn and renewal rates from data tables with 100M rows in SQL
Managed a 10-member cross-functional (engineering, product, sales, support) team and coordinated with five business partners towards the successful launch of an e-commerce website
Analyzed brand's pricing, advertising and distribution data and identified seasonal trends and white space by integrating consumer insights; recommended strategic changes in portfolio and marketing plan to C-suite executives, reversing sales slump (+6.5%)
Led multi-disciplinary 7 person team to design, develop, and launch online e-commerce store; prioritized and resolved 45+ new features and bug fixes
Managed international stakeholders in India, United Kingdom and Hong Kong by hosting daily standups and coordinating weekly status reports
For more sample bullet points and details on how to write effective bullet points, see our articles on resume bullet points, how to quantify your resume and resume accomplishments.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
