Project Management Skills In Resume

How To List Project Management Skills On Your Resume

When I brainstormed a list of project management skills to put on my resume , it was a long list.

If youâre putting together an application for a job, youâve probably found the same. How do you list the project management skills required without it turning into a giant list of buzzwords?

Hereâs how.

• What skills are needed for project management?

Why Develop Your Project Management Skills Resume

Project management is a fast-growing field that offers opportunities in almost every industry. Whether youre looking to begin your career as a project manager or just want to make sure your resume stands out, developing a project manager skills resume will give you an edge when applying for new jobs or advancing your career.

Indeed, if we think about project management tips in general, one of the key things to look for is who has what hard and soft skills. In order to get a project management workflow humming along, acquired PM skills are a must.

Lastly Use Keywords From The Job Posting

When writing about your project management skills on your cover letter, be sure to include several keywords that have been listed as the job qualifications for the position you are applying for. This will show the employer that you not only have the skills needed but that you were paying attention when reading about the job.

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Project Manager Resume Examples Of 2022

• Resume Tips from Experts

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of jobs available in the management occupations is expected to grow by 7% between 2018 and 2028, creating nearly 707,000 new jobs. Projected job growth is even higher for specific jobs within the management category, as is the case with construction management, a type of project management that focuses on the construction industry. The BLS reports that construction management jobs are expected to increase by 10% between 2018 and 2028.

Even though the number of project management opportunities is expected to increase in the near future, that doesnt mean you wont have any competition for jobs. Youll need to find a way to highlight your knowledge and skills in your resume. Below, youll find downloadable resume examples for entry-level and experienced project managers, along with tips for aligning your resume with the job description and writing a stronger resume overall.

Demonstrate Examples Of How You Apply These Skills

Mention specific instances of your past work experience that reflect how you use your project management skills. Provide measurable examples of applying your skills and use numbers to quantify the results, wherever applicable. For example, instead of saying you have excellent leadership skills, you can mention that you managed a large project with 50 team members.

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Project Manager Resume Tips

The best project managers have the ability to wear numerous hats. They are usually team players who are exceptionally organized, highly strategic, adaptable, and great at communicating with a variety of people. When youre applying for a project management role, use your resume to show that you have the right skill set and personality for the job.With that in mind, here are some tips for creating a project manager resume that will help you stand out from the crowd.

Be specific about your accomplishments.

On any resume, you should specify what youve accomplished in your previous work. However, when youre applying to become a project manager, your accomplishments should include specific projects youve worked on at past jobs.While you want to keep your resume fairly succinct, dont be afraid to go into a bit of detail about what projects you did, what your role was, how you ensured the projects success, and what the end results were.

Showcase relevant skills for project management.

Create an ATS-friendly resume.

Use strong, measurable achievements.

Our last word of advice is to include strong, measurable achievements in your resume — talk about what you accomplished, not simply what you were responsible for at your old jobs. And, of course, make sure that your LinkedIn and other social media profiles are up-to-date to leave the best possible impression on the recruiter.

Key Takeaways On Project Manager Skills And Competencies

While there are many different ways to become a project manager, you’ll need a few project management competencies to succeed as a project manager. These skills range from technical ones like project management software skills, budgeting, and planning techniques, to soft skills like communication, collaboration, adaptability, and leadership.

The skills you need are different for every project manager, but its important to take the time to identify the skills that are most important to you. Once you know what skills you need to improve, you can start working towards improving yourself and your career as a project manager.

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If This Is Your First Project Manager Job

If youre an entry-level employee on the hunt for your first job or an experienced professional looking to make a career pivot into project management, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Tell your story in the summary. Resume summaries can bridge the gap between your existing experience and what youd like to do next, so its well worth taking a couple of lines to explain who you are and where youre going next. You might say something like: Organized, methodical, and process-oriented recent graduate with experience managing projects, including a campus-wide election, from ideation to completion. Looking to blend hands-on experience and familiarity with project management methodologies in a coordinator-level role.
• Consider leading with your technical skills. If you dont have loads of directly transferable experience to speak of, but you do have a relevant certification or familiarity with project management software or methodologies, feature your technical know-how at the top of your resumebefore your experience. This can help you get off on the right foot with hiring managers.
• Spotlight the projects you have managedeven if you werent technically a project manager. Did you help to roll out a new expense processing software? Coordinate an office move? Collaborate on a new product launch? Highlight that in your experience section! And be specific. Did you manage budgets? Create timelines? Interact with vendors? Make sure you include those details.

How To Improve Project Management Skills In Yourself Or In A Team

There are always opportunities for growth. Even the most experienced professionals can benefit from a regular challenge to keep their skills sharp.

But whats the best path to learn how to develop project management skills?

Luckily, there are many different ways to learn project management skills that you havent had the chance to learn before.

If youre interested in improving your project management skills, here are some steps you can take:

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Use Our Tried & Tested Templates

As a project manager, youre great at time management.

So, you probably arent too excited about spending hours on pointless tasks like formatting your project manager resume.

And especially so when you could be focusing on more important things instead, such as perfecting the contents of your project manager resume.

What if we told you theres a quick and easy shortcut?

Instead of wasting your time on designing your resume, just pick one of our professional resume templates and dive straight into filling in the contents of your project manager resume!

Besides, our resume templates are far more visually appealing than basic text-editor resumes.

Check it out for yourself:

What Are 3 Critical Skills Of A Project Manager

The three critical skills of a project manager are planning, leadership, and communication skills. Good PMs use their planning skills to keep projects on schedule and within budget. Project managers must be leaders who will boost confidence, inspire, and motivate. Communicating effectively with diverse stakeholders is also key.

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Proven Ability To Fight Scope Creep

Resources are tight, project complexity is on the rise, and speed of execution is more important than ever. Project managers who can keep projects on track and successfully fight unnecessary scope creep are increasingly valuable to their organizations. Highlight on your resume any projects where you wrote a detailed scope statement and stuck to it.

Project managers should also be aware of the difference between gold plating and scope creep, as sometimes the project team works past the point of diminishing returns.

Project Manager Resume Example

Like the look of Jennifers IT Project Management resume? Create your own modern project management resume in minutes with these easy-to-complete resume templates.

Quite impressive, right?

These are the elements that make this project manager resume an example to follow:

We’ve also got more resume examples that you might want to check out:

• Office Manager Resume

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It Project Manager Resume

About this project manager

• Five years of experience as a project manager and one year of experience as a software engineer
• Highly specialized in I.T. and programming
• B.S. in Computer Science

• Looking for a first full-time role as a project manager
• Has both an MBA and a B.S. in Computer Science
• Experience starting an individual project and two relevant internships

What Are The Core Skills Of A Project Manager

Skills like knowing how to set up the right workflows in Asana and understanding the agile principles are important aspects of project management. However, some of the core project management skills include making your project team feel valued, motivated, and trusted to do the job.

These are called soft skills, and they are project manager essentials.

Project managers must be able to get the best out of people, create harmonious relationships between team members, and design a positive working environment.

But there are other skills needed to be a project manager, of course. In addition to soft skills, some of the technical skills required to excel include budgeting, risk management, and planning and forecasting skills.

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Choose From 10+ Customizable Project Manager Resume Templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Project Manager templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Project Manager resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

It Outlines Your Skills And Experience

Potential employers need to see if you have the skills required to get the job done. However, simply having the skills isnt always enough.

If you are applying for a position above entry-level, the company will want to see your experience relevant to the job. They want to know how youve performed in the past and achievements youve had as a result.

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Risk And Cost Management Skills

Risk management and cost management are important to show on your resume because they provide evidence of how you approach planning for risks like missing deadlines or going over budget, and these skills can also highlight your ability to analyze project costs to help each process stay within budget.

Dos And Donts Of Writing A Project Management Resume

• Sum up your resume in one-liners and use bullet pointers.
• Avoid scripting long paragraphs in your work experience section. We want to make your resume as simple and precise as possible. Long paragraphs will only make it look bulky. Check out some project manager resume examples online to get a clear idea of what to add to your CV.
• Highlight and group your ideas to make your one-liners more planned. It helps the employer get a brief of your professional experience and skills quickly.
• Create your resume in a doc format, but save it in a PDF format as it preserves the layout of your project managers CV.

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How To Write A Professional Experience Summary

Work experience is another critical section of your résumé because it connects the dots between your prior projects and the role youre pursuing, supports your leadership brand, and brings your résumés story to life. It also gives the reviewer an idea of how you approach projects, overcome problems and who you worked with.

Under a brief description of each position, describe two to three key projects using about five to seven bullets and the PAR scheme:

• What was the problem?
• What action did you take?
• What was the result?

Heres an example:

Project Manager, ABC Company 10/2011 01/2022

Managed 75+ contracted resources for a $20M portfolio of projects. Oversaw large-scale technical integrations and information systems projects for VA medical centers across the nation. Responsible for budget and contract deliverables.

Led the development of an enterprise strategy and end to end implementation of cloud-based information systems integrated with VA EHR , and 15+ vendors across 130 hospitals and 500 outpatient clinics.

Program achieved full integration and implementation of a SaaS product and clinical process efficiencies, reducing the $250M annual spending on sleep therapy devices.

Secured FedRAMP authorization and collaborated with internal and external departments and federal agencies to resolve program and technical risks during lifecycle projects.

Negotiated with FDA-approved durable medical equipment vendors to change product according to VA needs.

Describe Your Project Management Skills

Itâs not enough to simply give a list. You also need to give an example of what that skill looks like.

Hereâs a real example of one of the bullet points from my CV that falls into the interpersonal skills section.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills gained from speaking at conferences, delivering online and face-to-face training, and facilitating workshops in a professional setting.

You can see that I name the skill and then describe how I demonstrate it. That gives an employer something to ask about at an interview, âTell me about a time when you have had to facilitate a workshop.â

You donât want to write too much, but you do want to let hiring managers know that you can actually do the skill, and havenât just copied and pasted it off a list on the internet.

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Project Manager Resume Writing Tips

Once youve identified the most coveted project manager resume skills, writing a fabulous resume should come easy. Keep it short, simple, and follow the recipe for success with these handy resume tips.

1. Tailor your resume to each job.

Dont take the easy way out by building a one-size-fits-all resume. That path will hardly lead you anywhere. Your project management resume needs to showcase that youre cut for every aspect of the job. Thats why you want to make sure to keep it clean and only include your most relevant project management projects to date. Its also helpful to highlight the main skills that helped you carry out your responsibilities as a project manager in your previous positions.

Put in a little extra effort and customize your resume based on the position and the company youre applying for. This small action will make a huge difference and skyrocket your chances of getting an interview. By creating a resume that feels even slightly more personal, your prospective new boss will know youre serious about your search.

2. Showcase the metrics behind your most significant achievements.

Most people write their resumes the exact same way. They type in a bunch of entries and simply specify their past few positions, employment dates, and responsibilities. While this method is not wrong, you could do something different. What better way to get your prospective employers attention than flaunting the skills they might hire you for.

4. Keep your grammar spot on.

Project Manager Job Description Examples

WRONG

Notice how shallow the example above is.Although it shows some of the tasks you handle, it doesnt highlight any of the results. It also includes basic job duties that any candidate can copy from resumes online.That keeps you away from getting hired.Think about it this way:If a recruiter is willing to cut you some slack, they may think that youre lazy. Theyll assume that you didnt invest much in creating your resume.But it could be worse.The responsibilities listed above dont show achievements and skills. And that makes you look unqualified.This is not how youll get hired.Well show you a better example of how you can improve your experience section.Lets make some simple tweaks.

RIGHT

The second example shows enough details about your past work.It demonstrates more metrics and examples, which enhances trust and shows credibility. That makes you look like a professional project manager who contributed a lot to the company.Heres how you can do in your PMP resume:

• Use direct action verbs to highlight the work you achieved as a project manager.
• Feature relevant, strong project manager skills that are most required in the job application.
• Include precise numbers and business results to showcase the value you provided.

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Include Relevant Keywords In Multiple Sections Of Your Resume

Once you’ve finished your personalized keyword list, you can add the words to your resume. If you’re creating a new resume, you can add the keywords to your professional summary, employment history and skills sections. If you’re updating your current resume, consider reviewing these sections for opportunities to switch existing terms for the keywords on your list.

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Top Project Management Skills List

In the following section, well dive deeper into the top skills for project managers and discuss what each skill entails. Well pay equal attention to soft and technical skills that great project managers must possess to manage a thriving team and projects that reach the finish line on time and under budget.

Heres the best project manager skills list that covers the core competencies:

Project management soft skills

Working on projects requires much more than technical know-how soft skills are also required to achieve project success. Soft skills for project managers might often be overlooked, but they can make or break your career. These are some of the most important project manager soft skills you need to stand out from other project managers.

Communication skills

A project manager must be a good communicator as all projects require collaboration with a diverse set of stakeholders. This means listening carefully, asking relevant questions, summarizing points, and responding appropriately to group dynamics. It also means knowing when and how to use communication technologies.

Some situations are best handled in-person , while others are better suited to email, video calls, or collaboration platforms like Slack and Asana. Knowing which method to use and when can ensure messages are received clearly and reduce the risk of miscommunication.

Collaboration skills

Time management skills

Problem-solving skills

Leadership skills

Adaptability skills

Critical thinking skills

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