Product Owner Resume Examples to Help You Build Yours
In software development, a product owner helps a team understand what they need to create. How can you show off your product owner skills in a resume?
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Product Owner Resume Example
A product owner learns what customers want from software, then communicates that information to development teams. If you’re looking to become a product owner in a company, here is a product owner resume example to help.
Build my resumeWhat to Highlight in a Product Owner Resume
Product owners need to emphasize their ability to connect with customers, understand their needs, then convey those needs to the engineering teams that are working on the new product. That means you should be generally emphasizing your teamwork abilities as well as your ability to tap into the perfect user experience.
Structure of a Product Owner Resume
Your resume structure will look a little different depending on the resume format you decide to use. Because a product owner usually requires some experience, the chronological format will probably best fit your needs. However, you may also benefit from the functional or hybrid formats, especially if you want to emphasize skills over work experience (or lack thereof). Use whichever format will best present your qualifications. From there, you can move on to the actual sections of the resume.
Contact information
The resume header is where you include information about yourself, including your contact information. Be sure to add your correct phone number, email address, and your professional links, such as your LinkedIn profile, so the recruiter can connect with you.
Resume summary
The first section of a perfect resume is your resume summary or resume objective. This is a 2-3 sentence paragraph that goes at the very top of the resume. In the resume summary, highlight your most significant skills and achievements from previous product owner roles you’ve held, with the emphasis on technical skills. If you have little to no work experience, a resume objective would be a better choice, as it focuses on your skills and career goals.
Skills
Here’s some skills associated with product ownership that you should consider:
- General project management
- Create a product roadmap for coworkers and stakeholders
- Create release plans
- Product development
- Gathering user stories
- Understanding user lifecycle
- Creating cross-functional teams
- Working through a product backlog
- General agile development and enhancement
- Business analysis
- Management software products (Jira, Rally, VersionOne)
- Problem-solving
- Clear product vision
- Ability to work with team members as a team lead
- Analytical skills
- Understanding business requirements
- Communication
- Working toward a strong customer experience
- Leadership
- Showcasing product features
- Software as a service (SaaS)
This skills section needs to include both soft skills and hard skills for the best results. With both types of skills, you can show that you have a great skill base to build upon.
Work history
In your work history section, include relevant previous work experience. This experience may come from many different areas, and an agile product owner resume may include a background in many different industries. The important point to emphasize jobs (and achievements in each job) that are relevant to the job you want. For each job you want to include the company name, the job title you held, and the dates you worked there. Include 2-4 bullet points indicating your most significant achievements while in each position. By doing this, you will provide the recruiter with succinct information about your skills and achievements.
Education
A product owner will typically need at least a bachelor’s degree, ideally in a degree similar to computer science. You can also feature your certifications here, such as an industry-standard Certified Scrum Master (CSM) certification.
Build my resumeDo’s and Don’ts for a Product Owner Resume
- Rather than listing everyday tasks, focus on specific accomplishments that show you’re right for this job. This may include previous product owner experiences or team leadership experiences in other positions.
- Have and demonstrate an in-depth understanding of both scrum and agile methodology.
- Look into specific certifications that product owners in your industry typically use. Different industries may prefer different certifications, and it’s best to align your certifications with your peers (and for what the specific job requires).
- Speak negatively about any teams you’ve previously been part of. This can make the hiring manager concerned about how you might speak about them after you leave.
- Share any confidential information about previous product owner jobs. These may be protected under NDAs.
- Be vague about how your product owner skills have helped previous clients. You want to use specific metrics that showcase your impact (e.g., “Implemented processes that increased production by 15% over past year”).
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FAQ: Product Owner Resume Examples
Have questions? We’re here to help.
Do I need to include a cover letter for a product owner application?
Yes. Cover letters are important for all sorts of applications. No matter what job you’re applying to, cover letters allow you to communicate directly to the hiring manager about your top skills and qualifications, ask for the job interview directly and showcase how important this job is for you. If you need help writing the cover letter, you can use the ResumeHelp cover letter builder to do so.
Can I write a product owner resume without a lot of experience?
You usually need a few years of experience to be a product owner, as well as at least a bachelor’s degree. However, if you’re on the low end of that experience spectrum, especially if this is your first product owner job, you can concentrate on your certifications and skills, as well as extracurricular activities, internships or volunteer jobs that show you’re ready to lead teams.
How do I change my product owner resume to apply to different jobs?
The best way for you to personalize a resume is to use resume keywords. These are phrases that the hiring manager uses in the job description (e.g., specific skills and qualifications) to spell out the major requirements for the job. If you can align your resume with the specific keywords that a recruiter utilizes in the job posting, you’re more likely to be able to appeal to hiring managers.
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