Operations Manager Resume: Examples, Top Tips & Templates

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An operations manager works behind the scenes for an organization to ensure all its essential moving parts are well-oiled for maximum productivity. 

But before switching jobs or applying to start your career, you’ll need to whip your operations manager resume into top shape and land an interview with your preferred employer. 

This guide will take you through the nitty-gritty of:

• Writing an effective operations manager resume that’s better than the competition’s 
• Deciding the best format for showcasing your achievements and operations manager skills
• Refining your qualifications to create an attention-grabbing resume summary or objective
• Describing your work and educational history with the help of examples
• Taking advantage of extra sections that can make your resume stand out

Dive in by starting with this operations manager resume template example you can adapt to your taste. 

Find more guides and examples like this in our library of stunning, professional, free resume templates.

resume Example

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[John Aberdeen]

[Operations Manager]

[Santa Fe, NM 07051 | 123-456-7890 | JohnAber@gmail.com]

Objective

Highly motivated Business Management graduate eager to join Landal Group as an Operations Manager. Bringing fresh perspectives, experienced in coordinating a team of eight, implementing and tracking strategies. Formulated solutions to increase productivity by 43%. High proficiency in project management software and foreign languages.

Experience

Assistant Operations Manager

Cagle Manufacturing | Sante Fe, NM

January 2020 – January 2023

• Developed and oversaw the implementation of strategies that exceeded gross profit goal by 12% in 2022.
• Reduced expenditure by 20% by analyzing budgets and negotiating vendor agreements where necessary.
• Collaborated with key departments to ensure day-to-day goals were met on time.

Intern, Operations Management 

Korinder | Santa Fe, NM

August 2020 – December 2020

• Increased productivity by identifying, reporting, and suggesting solutions to 8 potential friction points to Operations Manager.
• Spearheaded the research team for developing updated policies and strategies to increase overall productivity.
• Gathered data from relevant departments at stipulated times and ensured Operations Manager had the essential numbers needed for faster decision-making.

Education

B.Sc Business Management

Kensington University | Albuquerque, NM

2016 – 2020

• Relevant Coursework: Accounting, Introduction to Business Analytics, Microeconomics, Statistics
• Assistant Team Lead, Basketball Team

Skills

• Soft Skills: Leadership, Decision-making, Communication, Problem-solving
• Hard Skills: Jira, Excel, Data Entry and Processing, Production Automation

Certifications

• Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) (2020)
• Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

Courses

• Project Management for Beginners 
• Advanced Operations Management

The ideal resume format for operations manager jobs should include:

• Heading (name & contact information)
• Summary or Objective
• Experience
• Education
• Skills
• Additional sections (courses, certifications, volunteering, etc.)

Your format, like other aspects of your resume, should be determined by your level of experience and how that ties to what the organization is searching for.  

A poorly formatted resume is one of the most familiar resume mistakes beginners make.

What Comes First In Your Resume?

To help keep your resume readable and looking its best, take some time to think about what foot you’d like to put forward first. 

There are three types of resume formats, each suited to different priorities and levels of expertise:

• Functional: emphasizes skills over experience. Is suitable for those without ample operations management experience.
• Reverse-chronological: emphasizes most recent experience first. Suitable for operations managers with more experience.
• Hybrid or combination: combines the first two types to highlight skills and experience while emphasizing the most recent experience first. 

The most common resume format for operations managers resume is the reverse-chronological format. 

After deciding how to organize your information, be sure to choose a font size that’s legible and appropriate margins to avoid cluttering your resume with too much text. 

We recommend opting for 11- or 12-point font, 1” margins, and standard line spacing (1.15 or 1.5). 

Once you’re done with your template, save your operations manager resume as a PDF to prevent formatting mishaps from the reviewer’s end. 

A resume summary or objective is the section directly under your contact information that summarizes you in an at-a-glance “sound bite.” 

• A resume objective is ideal for those who are new to or switching to the field, as it relies on sharing your skills, future aims, and what you can offer to an employer.
• On the other hand, a resume summary is best for those with experience in the field, focusing on specific and tangible achievements that help set you apart from other professionals.

But there’s one small problem. How do you know which details to focus on in a summary or objective if you don’t know what to write for the rest of your resume?

For this reason you should write your objective or summary last. This will give you a clearer picture of the candidate you’re introducing. 

Featured Content: Use grammar and punctuation checkers like Grammarly or Hemingway to ensure your entire resume is free of errors. Your resume will get tossed out quicker if you introduce yourself with a spelling or punctuation error.

Get Their Attention

An essential part of this section is capturing the hiring manager’s attention. It’s not easy, but it’s doable with some forward planning. 

• First, read the job description and the entire job ad. Get a feel of what kind of candidate they’re looking for and what type of organization they are. 
• Then try to replicate this perception in your operations manager resume summary and objective. 
• Next, write down any keywords that seem essential. You’ll need them not only for the objective but for the rest of your resume. 
• Add flair to your statements with power words to keep the reader engaged and provide a more rounded view. 
• Lastly, seal the deal with a closing statement of purpose. Include the company name and the specific position you’re applying for, and what you hope to achieve.

Operations Manager Resume Objective Example

For a more concrete explanation, let’s analyze two examples of an entry-level operations manager resume objective.

Sadly, this is too vague and bland to be put in the ‘to-interview’ pile. Have a look at a stronger example next, and note the differences.

Both examples list your purpose, experience, and qualifications, but only one stands out by providing more details. 

A resume summary or objective should be concise but not so scanty that there wouldn’t be enough motivation to continue reading. That’s where the first example fails.

The second operations manager resume sample objective is what you should emulate. It shows that although you recently graduated with a business degree, you’ve been able to apply yourself and gain some essential experience. 

It also tells the hiring manager that you’ve acquired some functional technical and hard skills in your spare time. These could be useful in their organization even as an intern.

In the experience section it’s time to prove to your potential employers that you have the capabilities only experience in the industry can buy. 

What information should you include? 

• Job title
• Name of employer
• Duration position was held
• Achievements and responsibilities

The first three items are pretty straightforward, but the operations manager key achievements are where most people hit a snag.

The first step to take when brainstorming how to describe your experience is to read the job requirements thoroughly. 

Use them as a guide to select what you put on paper and what you save for the interview. 

For instance, if you’re interested in a job posting looking for someone with strong problem-solving skills and a fast-paced work style, be sure to find examples of your qualifications that showcase these points.

Show them how you managed teams, executed sales or manufacturing strategies, negotiated with clients, and helped to improve overall productivity. 

Use Action Words and Powerful Language

An easy way to do this and ensure your words stand out is by utilizing power verbs when describing your operations manager achievements. These are verbs with a positive connotation that add some extra “oomph” to your sentences.

Some examples are:

• Spearheaded
• Launched
• Initiated
• Formulated
• Determined
• Conceptualized
• Designed
• Devised
• Executed 
• Negotiated 

Use those words as opposed to low-energy phrases such as “I was responsible for,” “I worked on,” and “I was involved in.” 

Comparing descriptions that use these words, you’ll find more emphasis on the descriptions with action words. 

Operations Manager Resume Examples: Experience

Check out these examples of operations manager resume experience:

We’ll go into detail on why this is wrong, after looking at this better example…

The critical difference between both examples is the poetic, even narrative, presentation of responsibilities. 

We move from a drab and colorless job in the first example to an exciting, goal-driven, result-oriented, and dynamic occupation in the second. 

Providing context, execution, and the result of your achievements shows how valuable you will be to the company and that you’re the candidate to replicate those results.

Your education section is crucial, but it’s also one of the easiest, most straightforward pieces of your resume to put together.

You will need to include the following information:

• Highest degree designation and title
• University Name
• Years studied from start to finish

Here are some general tips for writing an education section that’s more finely-tuned, if you have less work experience to show off:

• Your GPA can make for an impressive addition, but it’s typically best to only include it if you’re a recent graduate and have received a GPA of at least 3.5. 

• If you’re someone without much professional experience (a career changer, a recent graduate, a student writing a college freshman resume, etc.), it’s a good idea to invest more space in describing extracurriculars and relevant courses.

• You don’t need to list your time in high school. The exception is if, again, you’re a student with little work experience. 

Education Section Examples: Operations Manager

Need an example of how these explanations look in practice? Here are a couple.

This weaker example lists an irrelevant degree and doesn’t include additional information that might help their application.

The better example is more convincing to the hiring manager that they’re perfect for the job. They list relevant qualifications, a good GPA, coursework related to the job requirements, and extracurriculars that show they were leaders and involved in teamwork.

Now, it’s time to highlight your skills. The first step is to go back to the job description and take note of what the company is looking for.

Compare what an employer wants with what you currently possess and find a way to connect the two. 

Furthermore, when adding skills to your resume, don’t feel limited to skills you acquired in a previous operations manager job. 

Some skills, namely soft skills, are easily transferable from one job to another. Hard skills, on the other hand, are specific to the field and often learned on-the-job. 

Let’s take a look at some examples of skills that are important within operations management:

We recommend choosing about 5-6 skills total that you think best represent your strengths as a worker.

One way to set yourself apart and create a lasting impact in the hiring manager’s mind is by adding extra sections. 

These could be relevant certifications, courses, organizational affiliations, volunteering activities, hobbies and interests, and even other languages you speak

Operations Manager Resume: Sample Extra Sections

Adding extra sections and formatting them into your operations manager resume is far from tricky. Here’s what a subpar extra section looks like:

When it comes to additional sections, try not to spiral into listing unconnected information that does nothing to improve your hiring chances. 

Here’s a better example of how to write and format additional sections into your resume.

Notice how the Personal Interest is still linked to management.

Whether you’re an operations manager switching employers, a newly minted graduate, or a career changer, you’re now equipped with the tools you need to write the best operations manager resume.

Some key points to take with you are:

• Choose a format that highlights your strengths; we recommend the reverse-chronological format, which lists your most recent experiences first.
• Write a strong headline to grab your hiring team’s attention and encourage them to read through your entire resume.
• Read the job advert carefully and take note of keywords that you can use throughout your work history, education, skills, and extra sections.
• Relevant and well-formatted additional sections help you stand out from the crowd and boost your chances of scoring an interview.

You’re now ready to start writing your resume. Take advantage of our resume builder tool to create an operations manager resume that speaks before you have to.