You’ve got a million things to do already. You’re constantly following projects through and are now tasked with finding your next job.
It can feel dismal staring down a blank page. Should you use ChatGPT to write a resume? And what about writing your program manager cover letter?
Here, we’ll dive into creating an effective resume, where we’ve compiled some of the best program manager example resumes that have helped candidates get jobs at great companies like Stripe and Facebook.
Why this resume works
- The goal with your program manager resume is to quickly and convincingly make the case to the hiring manager that you deserve an interview. The best way to make that case is through demonstrating your impact (in numbers) in your past roles as a program manager.
- You can talk about the effect the programs you’ve managed have had on revenue, how many users you impacted, your impact on retention, your cost savings, anything to demonstrate your work tangibly. It’s okay to use estimates for these impacts. Your resume format should contribute to that goal.
- Strive to keep your resume to one page, so only include a resume objective if it adds new, relevant information to your resume or if you’re an entry-level candidate.
Why this resume works
- When you’re applying for a senior-level program manager role, you must demonstrate progressively increased responsibility throughout your career. It’s also important that you mention how many people you’ve managed in your past positions in your senior program manager resume.
- Since there’s no limit to the types of projects a program manager can work on, it’s best to demonstrate your areas of expertise. If you’re fortunate enough to have a hefty amount of experience, consider providing a relevant snapshot of your overall expertise in a resume summary.
Why this resume works
- Having started as a junior analyst, this resume stands as a great example to make the most of your past experiences.
- Capitalizing on your previous roles gives recruiters a look into a candidate’s growth. Also, notice how this management and program analyst resume doesn’t let their education in a different field hold them back! Instead, highlight your accomplishments the way Jackson’s resume leverages working with top companies such as IBM.
Why this resume works
- An exceptional career objective, a diverse range of skill sets, and powerful metrics are the three most valuable facets of this Google program manager resume.
- When crafting your resume, start out by getting to know the role through the job description. From there on, list out your achievements and skills (and a possible career objective too) to create a winning resume before moving on to a cover letter generator to put a bow on your application.
Why this resume works
- To keep the cogs running smoothly in a machine as massive as Amazon, you need to have experience managing projects within similarly-sized corporations. Show the process improvements you’ve made at comparable enterprises to enhance the chances of your Amazon program manager resume landing in the right hands.
- Showcasing how you’ve streamlined project workflows at major organizations like Expedia is one way to prove you’re up to the task at Amazon.
Why this resume works
- Managing highly technical programs like aerospace engineering requires an additional level of expertise to stay a step ahead of potential bottlenecks.
- Be sure to incorporate your prestigious engineering degree into your aerospace program manager resume as evidence that you know your way around the systems you’re overseeing.
Why this resume works
- As a technical program manager, you need to demonstrate you can manage the software development life cycle from end to end. One way to do this is to talk about a specific program you’ve worked on and how you took that from the idea stage to implementation.
- Be sure to quantify the impact of that project on your technical program manager resume.
- If you’re applying to a company that operates as a subscription business, demonstrate you understand that business model by discussing the metrics that matter to those businesses.
- Your resume skills section should be comprehensive but not overwhelming. It’s a red flag to the hiring manager when you include too many skills on your resume.
Why this resume works
- When you’re applying for a more specialized program manager role, like an acquisition program manager, it’s best for the title on your resume to match the job title for which you’re applying.
- It won’t come as a surprise that when you’re building your acquisition program manager resume, you should talk about your experience acquiring customers.
- This can be through your work with sales teams, marketing teams, or working directly with prospective customers.
- Acquisition program managers need to have the ability to combine data and customer feedback to close new business. Your resume should show how you’ve combined those two pieces of information to increase new business for your employers tangibly.
Why this resume works
- When you’re building your agile program manager resume, it’s best to lead with any relevant certifications you have. For example, you should list your Agile-Certified Practitioner (AGP) or Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications right at the top of your resume.
- Talk about how you applied agile methodology in practice to achieve tangible business outcomes. Don’t get lost in the weeds on your agile program manager resume; remember that the most important metrics you can include will reflect the performance of the business.
Related resume guides
Writing Your Program Manager Resume
Entering a new career or changing jobs can be overwhelming, so be sure to provide prospective employers with a well-written resume that highlights your work experience and why you would be a good hire. Also, you should properly format your program manager resume to make it logical and readable by anyone. With the right format, you can be confident your resume won’t be discarded immediately by an ATS.
- How to Format Your Program Manager Resume
- Writing Your Program Manager Resume
- Secure Your Dream Job
Reverse-chronological format, functional format, and combination/hybrid format
These three formats are the most popular ones you can use when writing your program manager resume in 2024.
- Reverse-chronological format – The reverse-chronological format places a clear emphasis on your most recent work experience, making it easier for potential employers to determine if you’re a good fit for the position.
- Functional format – The functional format prominently displays the skills you have earned over the years that would help you qualify for a career as a program manager. If you have any notable gaps in your work history, you could consider this format.
- Combination/hybrid format – The combination/hybrid format combines the functional format with the reverse-chronological format by focusing on skills and employment history.
Even though you can create an effective resume with any of these formats, the reverse-chronological format is the best choice. Many recruiters within the program manager industry prefer the reverse-chronological format. Since your most recent work history is displayed first in bullet points, employers find the information easy to scan and digest.
Contact and header details
Your resume’s header and contact information should be placed towards the very top of the document. Make sure that your name has the largest font size of any other words on the page. The job position you’re applying for should be placed directly under your name in a somewhat smaller font. As for contact information, make sure to include:
- Name
- Social media links as an option
- Location (City is sufficient)
- Phone number
This bold font and classic color exude professionalism and class; Notice the size of the name in comparison to the job title beneath.
Position your contact information at the top with a more standard and traditional font style. Fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, and Cambria are favorites among recruiters and managers. If you want to use some color in your resume, consider doing so modestly for your job title and name, with the font size around 20-24 points. Any headers should be closer to 14-18 points. The information placed below headers should have a font size of 10-12 points.
ATS and resume readability
An applicant tracking system is practically essential for larger companies that receive dozens or hundreds of applications every week. Most employers sort through resumes with the use of ATS software. When a company uses ATS software, they typically place resumes through the software at the very beginning of the process. A recruiting team will then review the resumes that aren’t filtered before being looked at by the head recruiter. Lessen the chances of your program manager resume being filtered by the ATS;
Some tips and guidelines for you to consider include:
- Times New Roman, Arial, Garamond, Cambria, and Calibri are ATS-preferred fonts.
- Font sizes – While your name should have a font size of 20-24, the font size for headers should be reduced. Any bullet points or similar text should be 10-12 points.
- Margins – Margins should be half an inch or one inch on all sides.
- Header names – You want the headers on your resume to guide the ATS software, which is why you should consider using all caps and bold font.
- Logical order – The reverse-chronological format mentioned previously is easy to scan by an ATS system. Start with your most recent work experience before going backward.
- Skills – Make sure that your skills aren’t overly broad. The skills you place on your resume should be specific to the program manager position.
- One page – Your entire resume should only consist of a single page.
Using our resume builder, you can be confident that your program manager resume has been formatted for success.
Writing Your Program Manager Resume
When you first begin writing your program manager resume, you might find the task daunting because it is important to land the interview. However, you can avoid these frustrations by taking the process step by step and using our resume builder.
- Should you write a resume objective or summary?
- How to include work experience
- Most popular program manager skills to list
- Education and specialty certificates
- When is it best to include projects, interests, and hobbies?
- Fine-tune your resume to each job
- Proofread, proofread, proofread
Should you write a resume objective or summary?
Although they aren’t always needed, you can use a resume objective or summary to provide recruiters with a better understanding of who you are before they read the rest of your resume.
- Resume objective – Resumes objectives are two to three sentences that tell recruiters why you’re interested in the position and how you qualify for it. If the job is entry-level, or if you’re changing careers, an objective may enhance your program manager resume. In any other situation, you should avoid using one.
- Resume summary – This statement consists of two to three sentences that display your skills and show how your expertise has been used to produce results in previous jobs. If you’ve already had a lengthy, 10+ year career and are applying for a more senior position, a resume summary can benefit you. If you don’t have much work experience, leave a summary out altogether.
Highlight your extensive work experience with a customized summary like this one.
The following are examples of poorly written objectives and summaries for a program manager position.
Summary: Program manager with lots of experience developing programs of different shapes and sizes.
Objective: Would like to advance in my career by helping companies grow as a program manager.
You can readily see that these statements aren’t well-written because their information is vague and ultimately pointless. If a recruiter looks at the summary or objective before anything else, they might believe that there isn’t any substance to the rest of your resume.
The following are examples of well-written objectives and summaries for a program manager position.
Summary: Program manager with over 10 years of experience developing and optimizing programs via scalable processes. Throughout my career, I’ve overseen budgets of more than $30 million and have been a team member on projects that have earned over $100 million in revenue.
Objective: Aiming to secure a position as a project manager with Google. As a recent graduate with two years of intern experience in this industry, I’ve developed excellent organizational, leadership, and communication skills that translate perfectly to boosting service efficiency and delivery regarding company performance.
These statements are detailed while also providing employers with metrics to measure the value you offer as an employee.
How to include work experience
While you must highlight your past work experience, you should only include two to four work experiences. If you’ve had seven jobs since you were 18, you don’t need to include the first three or four. If you already have extensive experience as a program manager, only include the jobs that are relevant to the specific position to which you’re applying.
Writing your bullet points
You should write your work experience bullet points to make this information easy to scan. Use active instead of passive voice to display a strong and clear tone. Avoid personal pronouns as much as possible. As for punctuation, it’s possible to place periods at the end of your bullet points or leave them out completely. However, consistency is key. Because you’re writing about previous work experience, always write in the past tense.
A few examples of poor bullet points include:
- Managed various programs
- Led development of different processes
- Improved process efficiency
These bullet points don’t tell the recruiter anything of value. They won’t understand how hiring you can benefit their bottom line.
A few examples of good bullet points include:
- Increased the lifetime value of customers from $350 to $885
- Developed project forecasts and was able to improve upon these forecasts by 10% in final results
- Implemented widespread policy changes, which reduced manual work by more than 1,000 hours each month
These bullet points are useful to recruiters because they offer quantifiable data that provides a clearer understanding of the value you could bring to their company.
Quantify your impact with metrics
Metrics are practically essential if you want your resume to garner recruiters’ interest effectively. Anyone who’s worked as a program manager or in similar positions should quantify how much impact they had in previous roles.
Try to include at least one metric for every two bullet points. Some examples of how to incorporate metrics into your work experience bullet points include:
- Efficiency improvements – Refined product development process to improve efficiency by 20%
- Ticket volume – Solved issues with ticket volume and response rate, which improved weekly ticket volume by 40%
- Generated revenue – Developed customer satisfaction program that eventually generated more than $12 million in total revenue
Most popular program manager skills to list
The skills written on your program manager resume will play a key part in whether or not you land the job to which you’re applying. When writing these skills on your resume, keep in mind that they can be categorized into hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are essential and specific to the position for which you’re applying. On the other hand, soft skills are considered universal, meaning that you could potentially include them on any resume.
To identify which skills you should include in your resume, look through the program manager job description for keywords and phrases that align with your skills. Your resume should consist of five to eight skills.
Examples of hard skills for program managers to include:
- Agile Certified Practitioner
- Root Cause Corrective Analysis
- Story Mapping
- Microsoft Excel
Some soft skills that you might place on a project manager resume include:
- Organization
- Task Management
- Problem-solving
- Public Speaking
A possible list of combined soft and hard skills might look like this, though we prefer to show hard skills first.
Education and specialty certificates
Another important section of your program manager resume is the education you’ve received and any specialty certificates you’ve been awarded over the years. If you want to qualify for a position as a program manager, you will likely need to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science, business administration, or communications.
A master’s degree in business administration or project management could assist you in earning a job as a program manager for a larger company. Helpful certifications include the PMP, CISM, CAPM, CISM, and CISSP, to name a few. As for work experience, you should have at least four to five years of experience in human resources or project management before applying.
Grab the employer’s attention with your certs!
When is it best to include projects, interests, and hobbies?
Most resumes shouldn’t incorporate information about interests, hobbies, and projects. However, you could benefit from adding these sections depending on the field and your experience level. Projects and interests are great if you’re a recent college graduate or someone applying for an entry-level position; projects and interests are great. They can help alleviate the white space issue with not having work experience. A couple of examples of interests/hobbies you could add to your project manager resume include:
- Cooking French cuisine
- Learning new programming languages
While programming languages sounds more relevant, cooking French cuisine could be suitable, too, if you’re able to explain how mastering international recipes and delicacies is similar to program management.
Maybe you’ve volunteered your time to assist the university health clinic with projects. If so, that might look something like this:
Fine-tune your resume to each job
It’s highly recommended that you fine-tune your resume for every job to which you apply. A busy recruiter will likely skim it with a yawn if you send a generalized resume that can apply to any old program manager job. To make your program manager resume shine, customize and tweak the skills, experience bullet points, and objective/summary sections.
Proofread, proofread, proofread
Proofreading can be done in several ways. For one, you should carefully read through your resume several times to search for grammatical or punctuation errors. This is the simplest part of the entire resume and is often overlooked. It’s also possible you didn’t add enough information to certain sections.
Have others look at your program manager resume, allowing you a valuable outside perspective. Take advantage of our free resume checker as well to ensure there aren’t any additional issues that you’ve missed.
Secure Your Dream Job
Formatting and writing a successful resume takes time and patience. However, this guide should give you the tools and information you need to make sure your resume is well-written and properly formatted. Your resume should pass through the ATS without issue by highlighting your most relevant work experience and listing the hard and soft skills you possess. Congratulations on completing your program manager resume and equipping yourself for the next exciting step in your career!
