Program managers are the head of overseeing numerous projects at once, working with several project managers as a senior leadership position. They excel at coordination, efficiently handling multiple projects, and are responsible for spearheading enterprise-wide efforts in order to make informed, strategic decisions to scale the business while staying within specified budgets. Planning, delegation, and achieving clearly defined deliverables are all within the realm of a program manager.

The job outlook of program managers is dependent on your industry. There is an expected 15% rise in financial manager roles up to 800,000 jobs, while there is an expected 10% for computer and information systems managers up to 500,000. The top is general and operational managers with over 2.5 million jobs on its own. All together, the anticipated forecast of program managers roles will be well over 6 millions positions in the United States by 2029.

Since a program manager role is typically the next step in the career ladder from a project manager, it is a highly competitive field that requires an impressive resume that demonstrates the relevant skills and quantifiable deliverables to stand out from the rest of the crowd.

With that being said, what do successful resumes for a program manager look like in 2021? Let’s dive in with some resume templates, specific skills to make sure to include on your resume, and action verbs to leave that strong, first impression on the recruiter.

Program Manager Resume Templates

Program Manager Resume Sample

As a seasoned project manager, you need to show off your achievements in your previous roles and connect your current skill set to this position. Your work history should detail your experience of implementing and streamlining processes, successful completion of projects with team collaboration, and effective time management. Catering to the role you’re applying to by highlighting any relevant program management experience you have is also important!

A program manager resume template with bullet points for experience, numeric examples, and relevant information for the role.

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Recruiter Insight: Why this resume works in 2021

All sections of the resume are relevant to a Program Manager

It’s important to ensure that each section of your resume showcases why you’re the perfect candidate for the job. This resume has a concise summary, related experience in clear bullet points, applicable hard skills for the job, relevant certification, and the “Other” section highlights volunteer and additional experience that demonstrates your passion for your career.

Marketing Program Manager Resume Sample

Every business needs marketing. The field has flourished over the last decade with the explosive growth of social media and endless channels to reach your target audience. A marketing program manager will work closely with the marketing team and cross-department communication is a must. This resume template will demonstrate your previous experience in marketing and communication.

A marketing program manager resume template that is specifically tailored to the marketing field with relevant experience and transferable, hard skills.

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Recruiter Insight: Why this resume works in 2021

Tailored to the Marketing Program Manager role you’re applying for

The positions in the work history are all marketing related and detail relevant, prior experience to both marketing and program management. This specialized resume is an excellent fit for the marketing program manager role, and you would not want to use this resume for a technical program manager role in comparison.

Also see: Tailor Your Resume to a Job Description

Entry-Level Program Manager Resume Sample

The barrier to entering a new industry can be difficult, but you shouldn’t let that deter you from what you want to do and any windows of opportunities! After all, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. This entry level program manager resume capitalizes on your education, followed by your work experience and other applicable activities that make you a promising candidate to get your foot in the door.

An entry level program manager resume template with a strong focus on education, academic activities, and volunteering that showcase relevancy to the position.

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Recruiter Insight: Why this resume works in 2021

Highlights related education and extracurricular activities to a Program Manager

Not having real world work experiences won’t disqualify you from an entry-level job in 2021. Relevant academic success and internships will help you stand out from other fresh graduates who may be lacking applicable experience. The added bonus of event management and being a member of the committee further shows your dedication to program management in this resume template.

Also see: How to List Your Education on a Resume

Emphasis on transferable business and leadership skills

A program manager must be savvy in the realm of business management and collaboration, given the responsibilities of the role. By using keywords such as “data analyst,” “standardized reporting,” and “managed international stakeholders,” this entry level resume template shines amongst the pool of applicants to the recruiter.

Also see: How to Include Soft Skills on Your Resume

Senior Program Manager Resume Sample

So, you have experience in this role and you’re looking for something new. This isn’t your first rodeo and you’re familiar with the world of program management -- if this sounds familiar, this senior program manager resume template is for you! This resume is heavily concentrated on your impressive work experience and transferable skills.

A senior program manager resume with an impressive, detailed work experience. Education is listed as well as transferable technical skills.

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Recruiter Insight: Why this resume works in 2021

Longevity of previous roles in work experience

Hopping between jobs is generally discouraged, though sometimes life gets in the way with uncontrollable events like COVID-19 in 2021. However, multiple jobs with six months or less on a resume is a red flag to recruiters. In comparison, this resume has several positions with at least two years minimum at each which shows investment to your employer, and retention is very valuable to companies.

Also see: How To Write Your Resume's Work Experience Section

Shows professional development with a promotion

In this program manager resume template, the first bullet point under Third Company details a promotion as a reward for excellent performance -- one year quicker than anticipated. The promotion shows that your previous employer saw value in what you offered and gave you more responsibilities as well as compensation based on your accomplishments, which is attractive to companies.

Also see: How to Show Promotions on Your Resume

Technical Program Manager Resume Sample

The technical industry has wildly grown over the last several years, with many developer and engineer roles in high demand by startups and tech giants alike. As a result, technical program managers in 2021 are highly desirable and this resume template will show you how to stand out against the competition with powerful words and relevant examples.

A technical program manager resume template with quantifiable achievements, simple bullet points and sub bullet points, technical skills and relevant certifications.

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Recruiter Insight: Why this resume works in 2021

Strong action verbs related to a Technical Program Manager

The use of actionable verbs on your resume are vital. They evoke strong imagery to your reader, and this resume does an excellent job by using words such as “spearheaded,” “managed,” and “drove.” These words will help you to put your achievements in perspective, in conjunction with measurable results.

Also see: Effective Action Verbs for your Resume

Specific examples of finished projects

A program manager is responsible for high-level projects. Recruiters want to see what you’ve completed in previous roles -- such as the Operations Improvement Project and new iPhone app launch highlighted in this resume. The numbers make your experience real, rather than a vague “oversaw several teams for a project.” What did you do specifically? Inquiring minds want to know!

Also see: How to List Projects on a Resume

Operations Program Manager Resume Sample

If you're in operations, make sure to focus your resume on how you improved general operations at your company, whether that's process improvement or creating systems.

An operations program manager resume template with specific examples of process improvement and operations.

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Recruiter Insight: Why this resume works in 2021

Skills For Program Manager Resumes

When crafting your program manager resume, make sure to carefully read the job description, responsibilities, and the requirements of the role that you’re applying for. Each one may be slightly or drastically different in terms of the specific department. Using the same keywords in the job listing will help get your resume past the company’s applicant tracking system (ATS), so a real human will read it and see your amazing accomplishments!

To give you an idea of what recruiters would be looking for, here is a list of keywords and hard skills that are relevant to a program manager role. It’s important to use hard skills that you have under your belt -- make sure you actually are familiar with them if they’re on your resume, and use examples to support them. Creating specialized, targeted resumes are also helpful to cater to the position to increase your chances of landing an interview.

Program Management
Cross-functional Team Leadership
Integration
Program Development
Agile Methodologies
Software Project Management
Business Process Improvement
Vendor Management
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Requirements Analysis
Agile Project Management
Nonprofit Organizations
Project Planning
Product Management
U.S. Department of Defense
Business Analysis
Community Outreach
Project Management
Strategy
Change Management

Program Manager Resume Tips

Program managers are known for their diverse abilities in business, leadership, communication, and project management -- just to name a few. Collaboration with others, delegating tasks, adapting to change, and making informed, strategic decisions based on data analysis are a must. Your resume should encompass a majority (if not all) of these skills as a demonstrated and experienced leader in the field.

That being said, here are some important tips when writing your program manager resume in order to catch the recruiter’s eye:

Use specific, quantifiable achievements from past projects.

We discussed this earlier, but this is an absolute must. Program managers not only juggle several projects at once, they oversee many different project managers and teams while communicating progress and results with relevant stakeholders. The completion of the project is also incredibly important to be a successful program manager.

In order to showcase your accomplishments as a program manager, it’s necessary to speak to measured data such as “improved efficiency of five teams by 25% with the implementation of a new communication platform.” The use of a strong action verb alongside specific numbers shows the recruiter your results, rather than tell.

Specialize your resume to the specific kind of program manager role that you’re applying for.

As you’ve seen with the variety of program manager resume templates we’ve shown, there are several different types of program managers out there. It’s important that if you apply for a technical or marketing program manager position that you hyperfocus on the relevant experience and skills that you bring to the table. Marketing skills are valuable when in the field of marketing, but not so much for a technical program manager that will be overseeing projects related to app development.

Having a few different versions of your resume ready to go either using the same or different positions will help frame the perspective of the recruiter. You may have been a project manager previously who significantly increased website traffic by 50% over the course of six months while also managing a project of four developers to launch an app within three months. However, specifically emphasizing on the marketing side will be most beneficial for a marketing program manager role and vice versa for a technical program manager.

Write an ATS-friendly resume.

You want to make sure that you don’t automatically disqualify yourself from the pool of candidates by being filtered out by the ATS software. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are often used by companies to easily filter out resumes that don’t align with what they’re looking for based on the job description, skills, and other keywords. Companies don’t always use them, but it’s best to assume that they do; you can also sometimes tell depending on their career page, such as if they use Lever or Greenhouse for their job listings.

Refrain from using photos and other media, as well as non-traditional fonts (you also want to make sure that the recruiter can read your resume once they get it!). The job posting is going to be your best friend here -- it will act as a helpful guide and give you ideas for relevant keywords for a program manager in 2021 if you’re not sure where to start. Some example keywords might be strategic planning, management, task delegation, communication with stakeholders, data analysis, and more. Just be sure not to stuff your resume full with them to an unnatural level, or you might deter the recruiter once they finally receive it.

Demonstrate and highlight your leadership abilities.

The program manager role has a great deal of responsibility for managing several projects at any given time, which also means being a leader. It is important to share how you’ve been a leader in your previous positions, as well as how you’ve managed your teams. After all, if you’re hired, you will be leading a team that’s new to you and not everyone is fond of external management. If you’ve been in this position before, show how you’ve worked with your teams and your accomplishments leading or managing a team. This is not necessarily just about discussing promotion, but how you fostered strong, professional relationships with your colleagues to be successful. Rome was not built in a day and it was most certainly not built by only one person.

Action Verbs For Program Manager Resumes

Action verbs are powerful tools at your disposal to demonstrate the significant impacts you had at your previous roles. Your program manager resume should utilize strong action verbs to support and emphasize your accomplishments. Here is a list of action verbs used in excellent program manager resumes.

It is important to make sure not to repeat the same action verb more than twice if you can help it on your resume. The more that you use it, the less impact that the verb has on the reader since you’re just describing the same skill set. For example, if you saw “Researched market shares to increase effectiveness by 15% over one year” and “Researched strategic methods to facilitate meetings, boosting productivity by 60%” on the same resume, it sounds less impressive the second time.

Being creative with your action verbs while keeping them relevant to your program manager resume is key.

Spearheaded
Counseled
Directed
Performed
Overhauled
Authored
Overcame
Accelerated
Achieved
Improved
Revitalized
Pioneered
Strengthened
Resolved
Expanded
Upgraded
Mastered
Eliminated
Discovered
Completed

For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.

Resume Bullet Points From Program Manager Resumes

You should use bullet points to describe your achievements in your Program Manager resume. Here are sample bullet points to help you get started:

Led multi-disciplinary 7 person team to design, develop, and launch online e-commerce store; prioritized and resolved 45+ new features and bug fixes

Developed an Excel macro and standardized reporting templates, resulting in efficient data collection and a 35% reduction in turnaround time

Reduced new user acquisition costs by 20% through implementing social sharing features and streamlining user adoption; shortened development cycles by 25% and increased release date accuracy by 20%

Managed international stakeholders in India, United Kingdom and Hong Kong by hosting daily standups and coordinating weekly status reports

Created knowledge base of 80 internal resources, improving employee onboarding and reducing time spent per project on administrative tasks by 40%

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.