VP Operations Resume Example

After reading this article, you'll be ready to create a VP operations resume that reflects your expertise, experience and leadership in your chosen profession. The article will equip you with tips for highlighting your long-term vision and demonstrating how your leadership has produced successful outcomes for organizations. There are also plenty of tips for presenting your resume in a way that makes a strong impact with decision makers. Continue reading to discover everything you'll need to create an impressive and impactful VP operations resume.

Key sections for a VP operations resume

Most resumes contain similar key sections, with a Vice President of Operations resume being no different.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Resume Header

In your VP operations resume header, list your name, email address, phone number and address or location. You can also add your LinkedIn, if you have one, to help employers better understand your work history and skills. While in some countries, you might include additional personal information or a photo, these aren't necessary. Make your resume header clear, concise and as brief and compact as possible. Consider different layouts that spread the information horizontally across the page rather than using a different line for each piece of information.

Make sure your email address appears as professional as possible, and doesn't include anything like nicknames, inappropriate language or personal information. If it does, set up a new email account with an address based on your name or initials, and use that for your job applications. Always double-check your contact details are up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Summary

In your resume summary, write a short paragraph that highlights two or three of your key achievements and skills for VP operations roles. You could also call this section 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. A resume summary covers your career experience to date, while a resume objective focuses more on your ambitions for the future. Always make sure your summary reflects the job description and highlights some of the key skills required for VP operations roles.

Alternatively, you could use this section to reference your objectives and ambitions, and how this role would fit into your career journey.

A strong resume summary focuses on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for VP operations roles in a clear, quantifiable way. It also gives an insight into your personal qualities, to help the reader understand why you're a suitable candidate. Take a look at some strong examples of how to approach a VP operations resume summary in the graphic below.

On the other hand, an unsuccessful resume summary is one that mentions irrelevant skills, qualities and achievements and fails to differentiate you from other candidates. The visual above includes some examples of what not to do with your VP operations resume summary

Work Experience

In your work experience section, list any previous relevant roles you've worked in, as well as your key achievements as a VP operations. Include any relevant jobs you've held in reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent roles and work back through previous roles. For each job, list your title, the name of the company, its location and the dates you worked there.

Add some bullet points under each job entry, explaining your achievements in the role, so the reader can see how you contributed towards success for the company. Provide evidence of your impact and make sure each point addresses a requirement listed in the job description.

For a VP operations resume, you might wish to include a longer work experience, owing to the role's senior status. To be under consideration for a role like this, you'll need to build up plenty of relevant work experience, so you may require more space in your resume to showcase this. While experts often state that 10 to 15 years is the furthest back you'll want your resume work experience section to go, if you're applying for a senior position, you might wish to go back further. This should enable you to show that you have the required expertise and standing in your industry to qualify for a senior leadership role.

An effective resume work experience section is one that constantly echoes the skills and experience listed in the job description, and shows how you used your skills to positive effect in each job. Each bullet point should be carefully crafted to showcase a particular skill or achievement relevant to VP operations jobs, with evidence to show the value you added. Take a look at the examples below for some guidance on what works best for your work experience section.

See above for some of the pitfalls to avoid with your resume work experience section. A poor resume work experience section would typically use vague descriptions of activities in previous jobs, while focusing too much on responsibilities rather than achievements. Failing to focus on the skills and experience that match the job description is likely to harm your chances of success.

Education and Qualifications

Your resume's education section provides space for you to list your highest and most relevant qualifications for VP operations roles.

To work as a VP operations, employers tend to require candidates to have a specialist degree, such as a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). If you have this degree, focus on it in your education section, while also mentioning any educational achievements that show your lean manufacturing principles or financial performance analysis.

List your relevant qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Add the name and level of the award, the institution, its location (if this isn't obvious from the name) and your dates of study. You can also add some bullet points outlining any high grades, awards you won or specialist subjects you studied. Adding this information will show the employer your dedication to learning and your areas of specialist knowledge.

If you took part in any volunteering or you were a leader or member of any university societies, you could also mention these in your education section.

Hard and Soft Skills

Adding a list of your key skills provides a quick reference for the reader of what you can bring to a VP operations role. Skills such as strategic planning expertise or leadership and management are particularly useful for VP operations jobs. Again, include any skills that match those listed in the job description. Focus particularly on technical skills required for VP operations jobs and transferable skills that show your qualities as a VP operations.

Showcasing hard skills on your VP operations resume

In your hard skills list, include any specific abilities related to the role you're applying for. These could be technical skills or industry knowledge that showcases your expertise in your chosen profession. Furthermore, an extensive list of hard skills helps to make a compelling case for your VP operations job applications, as they show employers your understanding of the VP operations role. If possible, add four or five hard skills that reflect the requirements of the job description. These will boost your chances of success in your applications.

The best resume hard skills sections focus on specific technical skills necessary for the job, showcasing skills that you have particular expertise in. There are some examples of valuable hard skills for a VP operations resume below.

Soft skills on your VP operations resume

In your list of soft skills, add any personal strengths, qualities or transferable skills that make you a good fit for the job. Soft skills are often less specific to different industries, but that doesn't make them any less important. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions.

In this section, add four of five transferable skills that match the job description. Your VP operations job application should focus on soft and transferable skills that showcase your credentials as a leader.

A good soft skills section would include skills that match the job description, and also reflect your key strengths and qualities. See the graphic below for an indication of what to include in a strong soft skills section for a VP operations resume.

Certifications

Under this section, list any relevant certifications or licenses that are relevant to VP operations jobs. You could list accreditations for certain professional roles or licenses for certain activities that help to make you a strong candidate. Therefore, list any official licenses and certifications, along with their dates, so employers can assess whether you've got the necessary qualifications to work as a VP operations.

Review the list below for some suitable certifications for a VP operations resume:

Optional Sections

In addition to the core sections of a Vice President of Operations resume, there are several optional sections you could include to enhance your chances. Take a look at the sections below and add any that help you show how and why you're right for the job.

Hobbies and Interests

Adding your hobbies and interests is a legitimate way of showing off your skills and personal qualities. These are particularly useful for your resume if you're short of work experience and need to showcase a particular skill or experience. Just make sure any hobbies and interests you include in your resume add genuine insight into your personality, in ways other sections of the resume can't.

Volunteering

Listing volunteer work is another useful way to prove your relevant experience for VP operations roles. Add your volunteer job title or role, the name of the organization, its location and the dates you were involved.

References

Although it's rare to include references on a VP operations resume, some employers may ask for it. Don't add references unless they're specifically mentioned by the employer in the job advert. Before adding any referees to your resume, ask them for their assistance and prepare them for contact by the employer.

Best words to use in a VP operations resume

Action words can help illustrate to the hiring manager the difference you made in each of your previous jobs. Add strong verbs from the list below to create a greater impact with your work experience section.

If you're an experienced VP operations, your resume may be longer than the standard one to two pages. Resumes for such senior positions need space to showcase achievements, experience and relevant activities that indicate your senior standing, so a resume length of two pages or longer is generally more acceptable. Jobseeker's resume templates were created by careers experts to help you produce a professional resume in minutes. You can also find cover letter templates to complete an eye-catching job application that gets you noticed.

Example of a VP operations resume

Using each of the sections above, we've created this example VP operations resume, to help guide you when creating your own:

How to make an ATS-friendly resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) help recruiters and employers to streamline their hiring process. They can store and process data, including applications and applicant data, quickly and efficiently. One of the jobs ATS applications are increasingly responsible for is initial candidate screening. The systems can quickly scan and rank resumes based on how closely they match the job description. There are several things you can do when writing your VP operations resume, to give yourself the strongest chance of ranking highly in the ATS stage and progressing through the recruitment process.

Follow these simple rules when writing your resume, to make sure it's ATS compliant:

• Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
• Add keywords that match the job description throughout your resume, as ATS applications scan for these and well-placed, considered use can help your resume rank more highly.
• Include clear headings in each section that match the traditional resume structure and format. This will make it easier for the ATS software to scan your resume.
• Adopt a clean, unfussy design that gives your content enough white space to breathe. Use professional, readable fonts and subtle use of color and other design elements.
• Use concise language to keep the length of your resume to between one and two pages. This will make it easier to scan for ATS applications.

Takeaways for your VP operations resume

The best resumes focus on your skills and the value you've added to previous roles, rather than focusing on your duties and responsibilities. Use a suitable resume format and tailor your resume for every application you submit.

Jobseeker has a wealth of resume tools, including resume templates and examples, to help you create a winning job application. Sign up today to get started. Whatever job you're applying for, a professional cover letter can make all the difference to your chances. Use Jobseeker's HR-approved tools and cover letter examples to inspire your applications.

Sources:

(1) Tips for Writing a Federal Resume, U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs/tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume

(2) Resume Tips, Duke University: https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/resume-tips/