Here are the keywords and skills that appear most frequently on recent Project Management Associate job postings. In other words, these are the most sought after skills by recruiters and hiring managers. Go to Sample Templates ↓ below to see how to include them on your resume.
Remember that every job is different. Instead of including all keywords on your resume, identify those that are most relevant to the job you're applying to. Use the free Targeted Resume tool to help with this.
Does your resume contain all the right skills? Paste in your resume in the AI Resume Scan ↓ section below and get an instant score.
Paste your resume below and our AI will identify which keywords are missing from your resume from the list above (and what you need to include). Including the right keywords will help you get past Applicant Tracking Systems (i.e. resume screeners) which may scan your resume for keywords to see if you're a match for the job.
The following word cloud highlights the most popular keywords that appear on Project Management Associate job descriptions. The bigger the word, the more frequently it shows up on employer's job postings. If you have experience with these keywords, include them on your resume.
Here are common soft skills that appear on Project Management Associate job postings. Unlike hard skills, which refer to tools, software or techniques, soft skills focus on character traits and interpersonal skills. Instead of listing these phrases on your resume, try to show them through your bullet points like in the examples below.
Tip: Do not list these words or phrases on your resume, and instead focus on the hard skills we described above.
Here are examples of proven resumes in related jobs and industries, approved by experienced hiring managers. Use them as inspiration when you're writing your own resume. You can even download and edit the resume template in Google Docs.
At first, it might seem intimidating to apply for project manager jobs with little to no prior experience in this line of work. But if you have a strong academic history and the skills to succeed as a project manager, you can break into this field. Use your resume to highlight projects you worked on in school, extracurricular activities, and any other experiences where you had to use skills such as problem solving and organization.
On an entry-level resume, leading with your educational history can put your strengths in the forefront - especially if you excelled in school. If you had a high GPA or academic honors, it’s great to mention those here, as well as any coursework or projects you did that could be relevant for project management.
Even if you don’t have an extensive work history, you’ve likely done internships, community service, and other projects that show who you are and where your strengths lie. Extracurricular activities can also tell recruiters that you’re driven, ambitious, and actively involved in your community.
As a senior project manager, you won’t only be managing projects; you’ll likely also be managing other members of your team. To get this kind of job, you’ll need to show that you have leadership capabilities along with the experience and expertise of a senior-level professional. Your work history should highlight any management or leadership roles you’ve held in the past, in addition to any previous achievements managing projects.
If you’ve been working in project management for many years, you’ll have a lot of work history to show for it. Leading with this section places the emphasis on your experience and all that you’ve learned from it.
Being promoted shows that you achieved a high level of excellence and that you’ve been regarded as a top performer with past employers. This resume includes an example of a promotion, which demonstrates leadership and professional growth.
Technical project management jobs often require you to have a background in IT, engineering, or another tech-related field. If you’re pursuing one of these positions, you’ll want to use your resume to highlight your technical expertise as well as your project management experience. This resume template will show you how to do just that.
This resume effectively showcases prior work history with examples of both project management and technical experience. A work history like this one clearly demonstrates that you have the right blend of skills to succeed in a technical project manager role.
As much as possible, when talking about your accomplishments, you should mention the specific results that you achieved through your actions. This resume template is filled with quantifiable results (e.g. increased ROI and reduced onboarding time for new hires) that show the impact you had at your previous workplace.
Marketing project managers collaborate closely with the marketing department of a business. If you’re seeking a job as a marketing project manager, use a resume similar to this template to highlight your skills and experience in fields such as marketing, journalism, or communication.
Describing your accomplishments with strong verbs like “led”, “coached” and “designed” shows that you have taken an active role in your success - something any potential employer will be glad to see.
In this resume template, the skills and education sections complement the work experience. Mentioning personal projects and achievements outside of work can also help you come across as a well-rounded individual.
Operations associates can learn about business operations as they work to support the day-to-day functioning of a company. While you do need to be organized and conscientious for this type of role, you don’t need management experience for this entry-level role -- so use your resume to underscore your education and internship history, as shown in this resume.
As an entry-level applicant, you won’t have a lot of work history to discuss -- so start your resume off with what you have accomplished in school and internship experience. If you’ve done coursework in relevant areas such as data analytics or operating systems, it’s great to mention that up-front.
This resume points out accomplishments at internships that directly relate to being an operations associate. The bullet points show that even though you’re early in your career, you’ve already made an impact with your work.
A retail sales associate, typically a sales associate working specifically in a brick-and-mortar store, must have excellent interpersonal skills and the emotional intelligence to interact with a variety of different customers daily. When crafting your retail sales associate resume, make sure to emphasize the relevant skills and experience you have developed in your past retail roles.
Retail sales involves extensive face-to-face interaction with customers on a daily basis, and hiring managers are looking for candidates who can effectively handle the unique challenges that come up in this environment. Make sure to include as much relevant experience you have for the role -- even outside of just retail. For example, if you worked as a receptionist, you were often working face-to-face with an office’s clients. If you think outside the box like this, you can probably come up with more relevant experiences than you realize!
Focus on including retail-oriented skills in your skills section. Showing hiring managers that you have applicable experience in working a cash register, improving operations, or troubleshooting credit card issues can be the difference between landing a job or getting passed over. In addition, make sure you read through the job posting to see what skills they list, and emphasize the skills they’ve highlighted throughout your resume.
The most common skills and keywords we found on Project Management Associate resumes and job postings were Microsoft Project, Agile Project Management, Project Management, Project Management Office (PMO), Jira, Project Planning, SharePoint and Scrum.
Skills like Data Analysis, Business Process Improvement, Vendor Management, Project Coordination and Adobe InDesign also appeared on related job postings.
While the keywords above are a good indication of what skills you need on your resume, you should try to find additional keywords that are specific to the job. To do this, use the free Targeted Resume tool. It analyzes the job you are applying to and finds the most important keywords you need on your resume.
It is personalized to your resume, and is the best way to ensure your resume will pass the automated resume filters.
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.
