Product Manager Resume: A Complete Guide Plus 2023 Examples

Crafting the perfect product manager resume is much like creating the perfect product pitch – you have to really sell it. In this case, the “it” is you. When you walk into an interview for a Product Manager position, it’s important that you are able to effectively communicate exactly why you’re the best person for the job. A winning resume will help you accomplish that.

In this guide, you will learn an easy-to-follow framework you can use to make resume creation simpler, study Product Manager resume examples that will help you land your dream PM job, and read about best practices. 

Product Manager Resume Basic Framework

It’s always challenging to put all of your professional information on one or two pages. To make the process easier here’s a basic Product Manager resume framework that will give you a clear picture of what stands out to PM hiring managers:

1. Tailor Your Product Manager Resume

If you think you’ve got a great Product Manager resume on your hands, it can be tempting to distribute it to every company that you know is hiring. This is your first mistake.

Each company has a different reason behind hiring a PM. A PM could be needed for his or her in-depth industry knowledge, technical skill, or leadership skill. It’s possible that a PM might be taken on to help prioritize tasks and meet deadlines when launching a product. Whatever a company’s “Why” is for hiring a PM, it is your part to answer it by highlighting the right qualifications.  

Study the job opening carefully. In most cases, companies put in a well-defined description of Product Manager roles and responsibilities within their organization. Take notes if needed.

2. Write the First Draft

It’s time to write down as much information as you can. This will serve as a guide that will allow you a bird’s-eye-view of the particulars you might want to put in. You can include your past work experience, education, certification, activities, skills  – anything that relates to your professional curriculum.

Then, you can put together your first draft. It’ll be like a prototype of your product. This version is meant to work through the mess so you can have a better version for a public trial.

You can edit your first draft as though you were editing your final resume. Again, you can include everything on your first draft as it is not meant to be submitted to a hiring manager.

3. Communicate What You Bring to the Table

From your first draft, you can sort the information you would want to put on your final resume. Before you do your sorting, make sure you remember that the information has to communicate what you bring to the table. 

It’s time to expound on the information you chose to include. Here are a few useful tips that will help you do this:

• Talk numbers: When communicating your value, you’ll want to be as specific as possible to really grab the attention of a hiring manager. Each bullet point that you list on your resume should have at least one metric that proves the impact you had on an organization.
• Communicate your impact: Your resume should quickly tell the reader how you brought value to an organization, and how it changed things. Whether your impact was internal or external, list it down if it made a difference. Hiring managers want to see results from their employees, and communicating your impact will show them that you’re the person who can bring that.

Google recruiters say that using the Lazlo [X], [Y], [Z] formula is a surefire way to improve your odds of getting hired: “Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]”

Here are a couple of examples:

• Improved portfolio performance by 12% ($1.2M) over one year by refining cost of capital calculations for information-poor markets and re-weighting portfolio based on resulting valuations.
• Won second place out of 50 teams in a hackathon at NJ Tech by working with two colleagues to develop an app that synchronizes mobile calendars.

4. Format

The format of your resume is almost as important as the content. You want it to be easy to understand, appealing to look at, and quickly tell what the reader needs to know – and FAST.

In fact, let’s say that the hiring manager has one minute to read your resume. How will you communicate everything that you need to say in 60-seconds? You can do this by focusing on the following:

• Prioritize experiences
• Keep your accomplishments to only the most impressive
• Clearly provide metrics
• Use concise sentences

Then, you can choose how you want to format your resume to give structure to all the information you’ve listed in your first draft.

Chronological Resume Format

The Chronological resume format lists your work history starting with the most recent and ending with the oldest. This format highlights your experience and professional accomplishments. The chronological resume is the most common format used.

Functional Resume Format

Unlike the Chronological format, the functional resume format highlights a candidate’s skills over their experience. It draws attention to transferable abilities which is why it’s sometimes referred to as the skill-based resume format. 

Typically, the functional resume format is used when a candidate has very little work experience. It’s also used when a professional is switching careers.

5. Add the Finishing Touches

There’s just one more thing to do: add a few finishing touches.

There are many ways to make a resume aesthetically pleasing. You’ll need to tap into your design skills a bit to make some decisions about things like:

• Font
• Spacing
• Placement
• Sizing

Make sure you don’t hand in a resume that looks like you’ve been practicing your graphic design skills. A clean design that’s easy to read and pleasing to the eye grants you more chances of getting hired than a design that looks packed but cluttered.

If you want to add some flair, you could consider using thin and simple lines to separate the sections, a modern font, and even spacing throughout the document.

Not a One-Size-Fits-All Framework

It’s important to remember that this framework is not one-size-fits-all. If you have your own process of making your resume, go ahead and stick to it. The main idea is to show how and why you’re qualified for the Product Manager role you’re applying for.

The suggested framework, however, will make your succeeding resume creation easier as you can just copy and paste the parts that are applicable to your other resumes that you will tailor to the job description.

Best Practices for Making a Product Manager Resume

Now that you know how to present relevant information on your PM resume based on the skill and experience you have, let’s take a look at best practices for the specific sections on your Product Manager resume:

Product Manager Resume Header: Your First Impression

Resume headers are the first things that hiring managers are going to look at. Think of them as your first impression. Your header should include the following:

• Your Name
• Title (be more specific)
• Contact number
• Email address
• City and state/province 

You don’t have to include your full address just yet for security purposes. It’s completely acceptable for you to list down just your city and state.

It’s also a good idea to put in the link to your Linkedin profile. It’s an extra step but it will give the hiring manager a better context of who you are, personally and professionally. If you have a website, go ahead and include it as well.

As for your summary or resume objective, try to keep everything in one paragraph. Your paragraph should sound eager and enthusiastic, not boring and copy-pasted.

Experience, Education, and Skills Sections: Show, Not Just Tell 

Go back to the framework, to the part where you need to communicate what you bring to the table. This is where you can apply this tip. Remember to talk about the numbers and communicate your impact.

You can do something similar with your education section. Be descriptive but don’t put too many details. Focus on activities that are relevant to the position you are applying for. Include your GPA and the awards that you may have received in the span of your higher education.

The same goes when you list down your skill set. Your skills are great for personal branding. In this section of your PM resume, add in a good mix of both soft and hard skills that make a good PM.

Certifications and Others: Sprinkles of Flavor 

Definitely include the relevant certifications that you have. You should also be including an “Others” section where you can showcase your:

• Additional activities
• Conferences attended
• Publications that you may have written

Your “Others” section is still important and relevant because it shows that you’re not just punching in for work. You are also a diverse, proactive individual.

Your certifications and other activities don’t have to be the main information you put forward which is why these sections are commonly found at the bottom part of a Product Manager resume. However, they are still essential sections that the recruiter will appreciate.

Lastly, don’t forget about your References. When choosing contacts for this section of your resume, be sure to choose references who are pleasant to chat with, and can support your narrative.

If you’re looking for more tips about how to choose references, red: “PM Job Application References: Tips for Getting What You Need.”

Product Manager Resume Examples for 2023 (Plus Tips)

Technical Product Manager (TPM) Resume

Technical Product Managers generally work within larger product management teams since the size of the unit allows for greater levels of specialization. While they have specific skills and talents that distinguish them from standard product managers, their focus is still on product management rather than exclusively tech-related issues.

What does a Technical Product Manager do exactly? Read: Technical Product Manager vs. Product Manager: What’s the Difference?

When making your TPM Resume, remember that you should be highlighting the technical skills you possess. Some of the essential tech skills a TPM has includes the following:

• Agile / Scrum Methodologies
• SDLC
• UX / UI Design
• QA Testing
• SaaS Solutions

Senior Product Manager Resume

As a senior product manager, you’ll have more communication with individuals outside your department, such as key stakeholders. You’ll also have more responsibilities for problem and solution discovery. 

Moving into this position means taking on more responsibility and having more power over product direction and your team. Experience-wise, it will depend on the company hiring but typically, you would need about five to seven years of experience in the Product Management industry plus a Bachelor’s Degree.

Associate Product Manager Resume

Associate Product Managers assist Product Managers by doing market research, gathering product data, and analyzing customer research. It can differ from company to company, but the main idea is that an Associate Product Manager takes on a more supportive role.

Often, it’s a role that beginner Product Managers apply for to start their PM career.

Product Manager Resume FAQ

What if you don’t have a lot of experience as a Product Manager?

First off, it is possible to land a Product Manager position without any PM experience. However, it is very rare. Companies who are about to create and/or develop a product will seldom be willing to hire someone who they have to train themselves.

PMs are hired for their product and leadership skills, plus their in-depth knowledge of a particular industry. If you don’t have this yet, it’s best to get experience by working on side projects, hackathons, or even volunteer work. The key is to learn as much as you can so you can put something on your resume and better your chances of getting noticed.

What kind of Soft and Hard skills are recruiters looking for in a Product Manager?

There’s a slew of both hard and soft skills that recruiters are looking for in the right candidate. When we talk about soft skills, these are used to create positive and meaningful interactions with others because a PM will be working closely with several teams within a company.

You can read our post about “6 Soft Skills Every Product Manager Needs,” to understand more about what soft skills are and what kinds are needed in Product Management.

Hard skills, on the other hand, can range from strategic thinking to business skills. If you would like to know more about the essential hard skills PMs should possess, you can check out our post: “Product Manager Hard Skills to Master.“

Here are some examples to get you started:

Soft Skills	Hard Skills
Communication Leading without authority Persuasion Prioritizing Delegation Problem Solving and Creativity	Business Skills Industry Knowledge Strategic Thinking Data Mining & Statistical Analysis Economics Technical Development Principles

Please take note that the hard skills listed on the table are merely categories. We highly recommend you check out our blog post about hard skills to see more specific examples like Value versus Complexity Quadrant and Kano Model, which are both frameworks. 

What should I do next after sending my resume?

It’s not ideal to just remain idle or passive. Use the time you’re waiting for a reply to learn more. Read a book, join PM communities, or watch educational YouTube videos about Product Management.

Also, your potential interview is going to be the next thing that you should prepare for. At PM Exercises, there’s a Product Manager interview prep course that you can check out. When you sign up, you can also access our database of Product Manager interview questions plus answers given by the PMEexercises Community.

What should I do if my application was rejected?

If you’re new to the Product Management world, rejection is part of the process. As early as now, this should be a reality that you need to accept.

You probably won’t land the first job you apply for. What’s important is how you set yourself up for success after you get the rejection. Our post: “Was Your Product Manager Application Rejected?” will help you with actionable steps on what you can do after.

Key Takeaways

Crafting your Product Manager Resume doesn’t have to be a battle. You don’t need to obsess over every minute detail. You don’t need to put in every detail either. As an aspiring Product Manager, focus on:

• Major PM skills that tie into the company’s need
• Listing achievements that relate to the job description
• Emphasizing accomplishments using metrics and data
• Your “Others” section where you can show off relevant activities and projects 

We have one final note for you: if you’re still unsure of how your resume comes off, send it to a friend or a colleague. Instead, of going over your final draft, again and again, it might be better to have someone else look at your product manager resume as they might see something you don’t. Ask for notes, and then tweak it if you must. 

Otherwise, it’s time to send your resume off, then prepare for your coming Product Manager interviews.