5 Tips to Write an Impressive Project Management Resume

Resume

As per the current market trends, project management jobs are expected to grow by 33%. 

In fact Project Management Institute estimates that there will be 20 million project management job opportunities within 2027.

A customized project management resume is need of the hour to highlight your professional qualification along with the complete skill palette to get yourself noticed by the top industry recruiters.

A study conducted by The Ladder has shown that recruiters make up their mind about a candidate within 7.4 seconds after reading a resume

This means a candidate only has 7.4 seconds to impress recruiters with his project manager resume

In this guide we will steer you through the five essential tips for creating an impressive project management resume, that will instantly hook the recruiter and gets you shortlisted for the next round of the interview. 

1. Make Your Resume Visually Attractive

To beat the 6 seconds rule,  follow the norm of applying proportional margins and include an ample amount of white spaces to enhance the resume appeal factor. 

When you are emphasizing on your organizational skills for the project manager role, cluttered resume sections form an unorganized and clumsy document that does not bode well with the profile. 

Below  are some formatting tips to make your resume visually attractive: 

  • Use sans-serif fonts for the entire resume to maintain uniformity. Such as Arial, Calibri, Lucida Sans, Tahoma, Verdana, Trebuchet MS, Century Gothic, etc.
  • Limit font size between 10 – 12 points to increase readability
  • Leave a 1-inch margin on all side of the resume
  • Ascertain spacing, margins, and white spaces from your end by reviewing a hard copy before sending the final draft.

2. Add Targeted Industry related Keywords

Approx 40% of companies around the globe use an Applicant Tracking System to sort and filter applications on the basis of industry set keywords, targeted skills, years of experience, educational qualifications, location, etc. 

Presence of these focused keywords ensures your resume doesn’t end up in a pile of rejected applications. 

Not just the mere presence but the location of these keywords makes a significant difference while building your perfect project manager application. 

As per the current market standards, it’s crucial for candidates to optimize resumes in accordance with the job description to pass the ATS test and boost chances to get shortlisted for the telephonic interview round. 

Here is a list of common project management resume keywords that you can you in your resume:

  • Client Management
  • Client Communication
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Modeling
  • Product Testing
  • Cross-functional Management
  • Development & Testing
  • Financial Analysis
  • Impact Analyse
  • KPIs Management
  • Process Development
  • Process Improvement
  • Project Life Cycle
  • Quality Control
  • Resource Allocation
  • Risk Management
  • Product Roadmap
  • Scheduling & Planning
  • Stakeholder Management

3.Quantify Your Resume

Stanford’s study points statistics coupled with anecdotes have a retention rate of 65-70%

To highlight major achievements, it’s mandatory for a candidate to present quantitative data in order to grab the recruiter’s attention. 

Below is a perfect example of how you can implement the above trick to showcase skills combined with relevant achievements:

“5+ Years experienced project manager with a demonstrated history in Agile development.”

Or

“Experience project manager with vast experience in Agile development.”

 Specifying your achievements while quantifying data around major roles and responsibilities is what makes your resume shine among the competition to get noticed by the hiring managers

Here’s another example for you to better understand the concept of quantifying:

“Created maintained and tracked project schedules throughout the project lifecycle to enhance process consistency by 60%.”

4. List All your Technical Skills 

Technical skills are hard skills centered around the ability to perform certain tasks using various tools, software, and methods. 

Every project manager uses certain project management tools such as Trello, Jira, ClickUp, Microsoft Office, etc., and implement various methodologies like Agile, Kanban, Scrum, etc on daily basis for the completion of projects on time. These essential tools, software, and methodologies mark the technical skills section for a project management resume. 

Every recruiter wants the applicant to possesses mainstream technical skills to get the ground going after successful hiring which makes it imperative for a candidate to keep up with the current technological trends to surpass generic applications and beat the competition to secure the vacant position.

5. Include Certifications

Additionally, any certifications on project management methodologies, such as Agile Certified Professional (PMI-ACP) or Project Management Professional(PMP) certifications, verifies a candidate’s theoretical and practical experience level 

Here’s how you can write certifications in your resume: 

  • Certified Project Management Professional | Project Management Institute | St Pauls, MN
    • Key modules: Workflow Management | Agile Management | Cost Optimization | Risk Mitigation

6. Write a resume summary instead of objective

A resume summary briefly introduces you as a working professional in front of a potential employer providing an overview of all your relevant skills and major achievements as a project manager.

A tailor-made summary statement drafted in accordance with the requirements mentioned in the description emphasizing relevant skills, strengths, and core competencies transforms your resume and adds value while drawing sizeable attention of the hiring manager.

Here’s an example of a resume summary that stands out from the crowd: 

5+ years experienced Project Manager & Certified Scrum Master adept at Agile and Scrum methodologies for efficiently managing multiple projects simultaneously. Proficient at deploying innovative processes to ensure smooth project delivery and customer satisfaction.  Highly skilled at cross-functional team management, optimizing workflow processes, and liaising with key stakeholders to deliver compelling business value to clients.”

Key Takeaways

Project management is a critical job position in any organization and recruiters act as a vigilante while reviewing your resume.

Preparing a perfect resume while implementing a huge list of best practices is indeed a challenging task in itself. But here are a few key takeaways for you to transform your resume and build an effective portfolio: 

  • Draft resumes targeted to each individual job profile
  • Adding a summary is crucial in your project management resume to emphasize major achievements and key skills
  • Keep your resume within one page if you possess a total experience of fewer than 10 years
  • Include job-related keywords in your resume to get ahead of the ATS and increase your chances to get shortlisted  

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