General Manager Resume Examples & Job Description

What to highlight in a general manager resume

A general manager needs to have a wide variety of skills. The skills that a hiring manager is going to look for in the perfect resume will be fairly significant and will require plenty of past experience. That means, for the most part, everyone applying for this job is going to be similarly qualified. If you want to rise above other job seekers, then you can’t just list your years of experience; you need to have a great-looking professional resume to back it up. Here’s what you need to do for a better-looking resume.

Most of the time, a general manager needs overall management skills and specific skills relating to the position they’re applying to be. A store manager and an operations manager might both be listed as a “general manager” but require different skills. Your resume should highlight skills and experience that are listed in the job description, as well as any formal education that you have.

How to write a general manager resume

The exact structure of your resume will typically depend on what resume format you end up using. In general manager resumes, you’ll want to use the chronological resume format, which puts your work history front and center. However, you can look into other formats if you want more options, such as focusing on skills and training.
 

Header

 
The resume header goes at the very top of your resume and includes your full name, your basic contact information, and professional portfolio links, such as your LinkedIn.
 

Resume summary or objective

 
Next is your resume summary. What is a summary on a resume? This is a short paragraph at the top of your resume that goes over your past experience and your top skills. A  resume summary typically is best for people who have lots of work experience, while a resume objective, which focuses on skills and career goals, is best for people with less experience.
 

Skills

A great skills section is an important part of any resume, and a manager resume is no different. In a general manager job, you need both hard skills and soft skills that help you in strategic planning and managing team members. When listing job skills for a resume, here are a few related skills that you should consider for your manager resume:

• Communication
• Decision-making
• Forecasting business changes
• Problem-solving
• Cost control
• Knowledge of daily operations
• Inventory management
• Leadership
• Customer retention
• Maintaining customer satisfaction
• Managing business operations
• Time management

Work history

 
Your work experience section should include up to your last ten years of jobs. Remember to include all relevant positions, which may include work as an assistant manager, work in project management, and general work in the field you’re planning to manage for. For example, if you’re planning to work in store management, you can list positions you’ve held in a retail store.
 

Education

The last section on most resumes is the education section. Many general managers have at least a bachelor’s degree in an area relevant to management, such as business administration. You may also be able to include certifications (e.g., a project management professional (PMP) certification) in this section.