How to showcase management skills on your resume

Why management skills matter

A resume represents your first opportunity to make an impression on the hiring team and differentiate yourself from other applicants. If you are applying for a leadership or supervisory role, they expect to see management skills for resumes strategically included in your application documents. 

Strong management skills are crucial because they help your team meet deadlines consistently. Employers value candidates who can manage their time effectively and ensure projects are completed on schedule. Good management skills also allow you to handle heavy workloads by prioritizing tasks and focusing on what’s most important. 

Additionally, these skills contribute to a healthy work-life balance. When you can manage tasks efficiently, you reduce stress and avoid burnout. Your entire team will be less stressed as well, meaning they can focus on being more productive. 

As a manager, you are responsible for guiding your team and nurturing their talents. By fostering a collaborative atmosphere through strong, consistent leadership, you set the stage for their success.

Key management skills to highlight

Management skills for resumes can be broken down into three broad categories — leadership skills, hard skills, and soft skills. Leadership skills directly impact your ability to motivate and guide your team. They include things like empathy, active listening, and conflict resolution.

Hard skills are job-specific abilities. For instance, if you work in marketing, campaign planning and content creation may be some of the specific talents you possess. Having hard skills pertinent to your managerial role ensures you can pitch in and help out your team if they are running behind or facing a time crunch. 

Lastly are soft skills, which are not job-specific. Communication and problem-solving are some general skills that can apply to just about any position. 

When listing your leadership abilities, it's important to tie them back to hard and soft skills relevant to the job you are applying for. With that in mind, the key skills for manager resumes include some common examples. 

Prioritization

You should be able to prioritize tasks effectively and ensure your team focuses on the most time-sensitive projects first. This means identifying key deadlines and accurately estimating how long it will take to complete each task. Effective prioritization can lead to long-term cost savings for your business while also avoiding missed deadlines.

Scheduling

Strong scheduling allows you to create realistic timelines for projects and ensure tasks are completed in a timely manner. 

From a workforce planning standpoint, scheduling skills ensure shifts have enough employees present to meet customer needs and achieve strategic business goals. You should use relevant historical data to plan shifts and allocate your workforce based on demand fluctuations. 

Blocking

Time blocking involves dedicating specific slots of the day or week for different activities or tasks. This technique can enhance productivity by minimizing distractions and ensuring focused work periods. Breaking your day up into blocks can also prevent monotony. 

Multitasking

One of the most important management skills for resumes is multitasking. You must wear many different hats as a leader. Hiring teams want to see real-world examples that showcase your ability to multitask and transition between various responsibilities. 

Delegation

Delegation is one of the most important office skills for managers. You can’t do everything yourself. Instead, you must divide up responsibilities across your team based on each person’s proficiencies. By putting employees in a position to thrive, you can boost their confidence and help unlock their full potential. 

Communication

Strong communication skills are essential for conveying information clearly and effectively. Whether it’s giving instructions or providing feedback, good communication ensures everyone is on the same page. 

Admittedly, this can be one of the tougher skills to showcase on a resume. That’s why real-world examples are an essential part of any resume and cover letter. 

Empathy 

Leadership doesn’t simply involve telling others what to do. You must also be able to put yourself in others' shoes. Empathy allows you to understand and relate to your team members’ feelings and perspectives. The better you are at this, the easier it will be for you to build strong relationships and resolve conflicts. 

Now that you know what skills you should be showcasing, it’s important to choose a resume format that structures your achievements and abilities in a logical way. Your resume needs a smooth flow so that hiring teams can easily read and interpret them. 

Incorporating management skills in resume (with examples)

Management skills for resumes should go in the “skills” section, right? Absolutely, but that’s not the only place you should showcase your many talents. You can also highlight your talents and abilities in other segments of your application, including the “projects” section. 

Don’t just rattle off a list of achievements or abilities. Use quantifiable data and action verbs to support your claims. Here’s a quick example of what your “skills” section might look like:

Skills:

• Time management
• Prioritization
• Team scheduling
• Effective delegation
• Clear communication
• Strong emotional intelligence

You can also highlight your skills in the “professional experience” section of your resume. It might look something like this:

If you include a dedicated section for projects, detail your role and how you managed the endeavor to success. Here’s an example:

These are just a few ideas for backing up your claims. Check out our resume examples for more ideas about where and how to work your skills into your resume. 

Tailor management skills for different applications 

Never rely on generic applications. Tailor your resume and cover letter to match the job description and set of skills hiring teams are looking for. This extra effort shows employers that you have read and understood the job description. 

Start by carefully reviewing the talents listed on the job posting. Identify key management skills required for the role and emphasize them on your resume. Ensure they are prominently displayed in the skills, projects, and work experience sections. 

For example, let’s say you are applying for a role that requires strong scheduling and delegation skills. Highlight your proficiency in these areas and provide specific examples of how you’ve assigned tasks and created schedules. 

On the other hand, if a job emphasizes communication and empathy, focus on instances where you successfully led team meetings and resolved conflicts. Highlight your ability to communicate with and relate to your team. 

Our resume articles can provide some additional insights about how to tailor your management skills for various positions and companies. 

Showcasing projects and achievements related to management

A “projects” section provides a prime opportunity to showcase your achievements and include real-world examples of your abilities. Focus on the scope of each project and your role. Whenever possible, provide detailed data about the outcomes you achieved and link that back to your management skills. 

Your list of projects needs to flow with the rest of the document. It can’t be included as an afterthought. Check out our resume and cover letter examples for ideas about how to frame your achievements related to management.

“When listing your leadership abilities, it's important to tie them back to hard and soft skills relevant to the job you are applying for.”

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