project management phrases for resume

Build my resume

• Build a better resume in minutes
• Resume examples
• 2,000+ examples that work in 2024
• Resume templates
• Free templates for all levels
• Cover letters
• Cover letter generator
• It's like magic, we promise
• Cover letter examples
• Free downloads in Word & Docs

32 Project Manager Resume Examples & Expert Guide for 2024

• Project Manager Resumes by Experience
• Project Manager Resumes by Role

Writing Your Project Manager Resume

As a project manager, you’re the center that holds everything together: initiating ideas, fine-tuning processes, keeping teams together, tracking goals, and managing time and resources. In your closet of skills, you’re a team player, leader, problem solver, and someone who thinks on your feet.

To fit the bill, you must craft a project management resume that impresses hiring managers, gets interviews, and scores your dream job.

At BeamJobs, we give you a head start with the latest industry trends, insider tips, and the dos that will get you easily noticed by recruiters.

In this expert-inspired guide, we have for you:

• ↪ Plus, a simple way to write a cover letter that seals the job for you

Assistant Project Manager Resume Example

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• You’re telling the hiring manager not to ignore your assistant project manager resume . Although your experience isn’t much, you have what it takes to thrive in the advertised role.

Entry-Level Project Manager Resume

• Your entry-level project manager resume may not rank highly in terms of experience. However, fitting it into the advertised role gives you a competitive advantage and nobody will be thinking of you as an entrant into the world of project management. It’s a subtle way of proving that you’re destined for big things running projects from the start to the end successfully.

Associate Project Manager Resume

• Including a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), for example, on your associate project manager resume will immediately tell recruiters you know the principles and best practices required.

Project Management Intern Resume

• For instance, in project planning, you must’ve picked up on leadership, time management, and technical expertise—all transferrable to project management.

Junior Project Marketing Manager Resume

• Some good examples you can use in your junior project manager resume are PCDM and PCM. Entry-level certificates are also welcome here.
• You also want to ensure that your project manager cover letter is up to snuff, and that is where our free AI cover letter generator comes in handy.

Experienced Project Manager Resume

• Go above and beyond the average project manager resume examples. Leave the “on-time project completion” for past roles. Write how you’ve made significant impacts like expediting KPI report generation, eliminating project failures, and managing internal disputes in your latest job to prove your worth as a team leader.

Senior Project Manager Resume

• Spare some time to check your resume for typos, missed punctuation, and odd phrases. These small mistakes can reveal your lack of attention to detail to the hiring team, something that’s not welcome at a senior project management level.

Senior DevOps Project Manager Resume

• Say, you’ve worked extensively as a product manager in finance and insurance. Including this info in your resume for project manager makes you a notably more eligible prospect for another organization in a similar industry.

Telecom Project Manager Resume

• For our repository of resume templates , you’ll find designs that will amplify your qualifications for a job in telecommunication project management. Go with a format that allows you room to add your impactful experiences without overwhelming recruiters with details that don’t add any value to your suitability for the job.

Implementation Project Manager Resume

• For instance, in his project management resume, Jacob leaps right into the work history section with his outstanding accomplishments as an implementation project manager at Cognizant. You’ve probably noticed he strategically sprinkles in powerful action words like spearheaded and led, painting the image of a team captain who gets the job done.

Salesforce Project Manager Resume

• For a compelling salesforce project manager resume that strikes the right chord, let the skills section be the spotlight for your expertise in programs or tools specific to the role. Worthy mentions include Salesforce Chatter, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce Agile Accelerator, Smartsheet, and Jira.

Real Estate Project Manager Resume

• In each work history section, add four bullet lists encapsulating your most impressive feats in the real estate industry, all tailored to the job ad and prospective employer’s needs. Optimizing asset management strategies and increasing portfolio by $3.2M makes for an excellent example of a customization level likely to blow away recruiters.

Software Project Manager Resume

• A software project manager resume with proof of operating below budgets and optimizing savings will be a favorite among hiring managers. Therefore, including achievements such as saving an estimated $51.2k annually would get you closer to winning the job.

Project Management Professional Resume

• Your soft and hard skills have a place here to set you apart from other average project manager resume examples. Go on a full display mode to highlight your competencies in RiskWatch, Zapier, Harvest, and so on, and show how you’ve used them to optimize project budgets and timelines.

SAP Project Manager Resume

• Numbers matter in project manager resumes, so quantify all past project achievements, success rates, etc. Have a habit of submitting work before deadlines are even close? Mention it. Clearly state how many SAP projects you’ve delivered on time. Adding a project management certificate such as CSM has also never harmed any candidate.

HR Project Manager Resume

• Make sure your HR project manager resume consists of tools like these in the skills section . Further, write down any instances of you helping a company retain or acquire the top talent for a position while lowering extra costs such as overtime wages.

Project Manager Scrum Master Resume

• Accordingly, align your entire project manager Scrum Master resume around the description and mention how you’ve tackled mishaps, boosted efficiency, and improved a team’s overall productivity. Throwing in a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certificate will greatly help if you’re still an intermediate in this field.

Digital Project Manager Resume

• Therefore, your digital project manager resume must embed metrics in every client satisfaction rating, early delivery time, cost reduction, and proper team management strategies.

Clinical Project Manager Resume

• In your clinical project manager resume, you should therefore highlight your project management metrics, including and not limited to cost reduction, timely completions, team collaborations, and resource prioritization to meet preset goals.

Risk Management Project Manager Resume

• For this advanced role, you’ll likely (but not strictly) need a master’s degree in project management. On your risk management project manager resume, be sure to use bullet points from your job experience to highlight specific and successful stories.

Agile Project Manager Resume

• Even if you lack direct work experience, you can emphasize other relevant achievements or projects that align with you’re desired role. For example, a candidate with experience in Scrum and finance will be well-equipped to tackle the challenges of an Agile project manager position at Goldman Sachs.

Healthcare Project Manager Resume

• If you don’t have adequate paid experience to add to your healthcare project manager resume , a globally recognized certificate like the Project Management Professional (PMP) can help prove you’re a leader and have the relevant expertise to be successful.

Creative Project Manager Resume

• For example, the responsibilities of a project manager at a magazine will share many similarities with that of a creative project manager at an advertising agency. Try to think of similar projects you can use to highlight your competency to come across as a well-rounded candidate.

Marketing Project Manager Resume

• Highlight your proficiency in reviewing marketing research reports and developing actionable plans. Show yourself at the center of leading teams, mitigating risks, reducing budgets, meeting deadlines, and increasing successful project rates, and hiring managers will be coming for you.

Engineering Project Manager Resume

• For example, you can really boost your chances of being hired by including your knowledge in management tools like Trello and Confluence, not to mention expertise in engineering software like AutoCAD and ANSYS.

Technical Project Manager Resume

• Some job-specific skills that can effectively prove your worth to a potential employer include Agile development and A/B testing experimentations, accompanied by impressive results. Otherwise, there’s no other way of demonstrating your technical prowess in successfully implementing complex projects from start to finish.

IT Project Manager Resume

• Your technical skills should align with the project manager job description . IT niche keywords paired with your impressive record in project management and Scrum methodologies will strategically position you as a favorable candidate. You’re perfectly aligning yourself with what the hiring manager is looking for.

Integrated Project Manager Resume

• From there, add relevant certifications such as CIPM to solidify your authority in the field. Remember to include achievements in boosting efficiency, cutting costs, and enhancing quality assurance to prove further you cannot be ignored because you bring a lot of value and are ready to hit the ground running.

Architectural Project Manager Resume

• The secret lies in lining up your skills section with a cocktail of technical and management keywords such as architectural design, Revit, quality assurance, and milestones tracking. Nothing would better describe your suitability for the role.

Electrical Project Manager Resume

• Pay attention to your  resume’s formatting , and start by nailing your technical abilities as an electrical engineer. We recommend making each work experience bullet point focused on a different skill. And for the icing on the cake, don’t forget your certification, such as Licensed Professional Engineer.

ERP Project Manager Resume

• Let tools like Asana, Microsoft Azure, SAP ERP, MuleSoft, and Slack steal the spotlight in your EPR project manager resume’s skills section. But don’t just list them—take it up a notch by illustrating how you’ve used these tools to move the needle at work; trust us, recruiters will be more than impressed.

ServiceNow Project Manager Resume

• You can count on phrases such as “Led eight stakeholder meetings and project briefings, securing buy-in worth $600K” and “Tracked project budgets and resource allocations using Pipedrive, slashing project expenses by 9%, equating to $64k in savings” to save the day here.

Related resume guides

• Account Manager
• Business Analyst
• Product Manager
• Construction Project Manager

Regarding the “skills” section, it can be tough to find the right balance between listing too many  skills on your resume  and including all areas of strength. It’s a push-and-pull for two reasons:

• You need to include enough relevant skills to get past automated filters companies use (called an ATS) that grade resumes based on keyword matching.
• The person reviewing your resume, either an HR professional or a project manager themselves, will be wary if you list more than 10 skills on your resume.

To strike the right balance, ask yourself if you’d be comfortable answering questions about a given skill in an interview.

For example, if you list “reporting” as one of your skills, you should be able to immediately answer the question “How do you know if a project is on track?” by pointing to specific metrics or reports on your resume or cover letter.

Another good litmus test to determine whether or not you should include a skill is if you can discuss using that skill in one of the projects you list on your resume. This accomplishes two things:

• Reinforces that you’re only including strong skills.
• Provides more context regarding how you deployed your skills in project management (making your resume and candidacy even better).

After all, what would be more convincing to you: a candidate listing a skill or discussing how they used it to achieve a specific outcome? When in doubt, put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes and ask yourself what they would like to see on a project manager resume.

So, what are some common skills you should include on your project manager resume? Look no further than our project management resume bullet points list!

Skills to include on your project manager resume:

Hard skills.

• Project Management Software (Jira, Trello)
• Microsoft Office/ Google suite (Excel/Google Sheets, PowerPoint/Slides)
• Project Management Frameworks and Methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban)
• Programming Languages and Frameworks (JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Django)
• Data Analysis
• CRM Experience (HubSpot, Salesforce)
• Digital Marketing

Soft skills

• Public Speaking and Communication
• Problem-solving
• Prioritization
• Conflict Resolution

If you’re in a more senior role and have many of these skills, you should focus on the skills mentioned in the job description.

Yes, customizing your senior project manager resume like this means more work. However, it’s worth it—our data suggests that this practice alone increases your chance of getting an interview by 11 percent.

As a practical example, look at this sample project manager job description. Look at the underlined skills—they’re what you might want to include if you applied for this position. Try to match the language in the job description as best you can.

Sample project management job description and skills:

• Be accountable for the entire project lifecycle: develop scopes of work and associated project plans and own the day-to-day operations to ensure that projects remain on track and within budget
• Lead internal and external status meetings: capture notes, assign action items to team members and own all necessary follow-up
• Relay clear and specific expectations, timelines, priorities, challenges, and new developments in detail to key internal and external team members/parties
• Own daily project plan components, including task estimation, resource allocations, and new work requests
• Coordinate internal reviews and implementation-related quality assurance efforts
• Come from a place of perpetual learning, always seeking to improve and optimize processes, develop new ones, and participate in the overall growth of the department and agency
• Work with Jira, Smartsheet, or other project management tools
• Eliminate scope creep by ensuring that projects remain within parameters identified in the scope of work
• Communicate issues, bug reports, and change orders to leadership

Project manager resume summary or objective

Before we dive into the topic of resume objectives and summaries, let’s first set the stage with some definitions:

• Resume summary: A short summary of your work history and accomplishments as a project manager. Recommended for professionals with 10+ years of experience in the industry.
• Resume objective: A short statement expressing a few of your skills and what you’re looking for in your next project manager role. Recommended for entry-level candidates.

Although they might sound drastically different, they’re pretty similar in reality, so don’t get too hung up on specific definitions. The key is that you should only include a  resume objective  or summary if it adds real value to your resume.

Resume real estate is valuable since you’re limited to one page, so you can’t waste words. Hiring managers spend, on average, six seconds reviewing a given resume. Don’t divert attention from your work experience and skills if your objective or summary doesn’t provide anything of value.

If you’re in a senior role, you might consider using project manager  resume summary  since it’s a high-level highlight reel showcasing your most significant accomplishments or goals in two to three sentences.

WRONG – generic resume summary

“Experienced project manager with a history of working across departments to achieve goals and positive outcomes on the projects I manage.”

RIGHT – specific project manager resume summary

“PMP certified project manager with 5+ years of experience owning all stages of the project lifecycle from inception through monitoring and closing to deliver projects that exceed expectations on time and under budget.”

The second resume summary works well because it leads with this PM’s certifications (we’ll touch on this more below) while also showcasing their experience delivering projects on time and within the allotted budget. The first example will take up space on the page.

On the other hand, an objective should be used by more junior project managers to talk about your skill set and what you’re looking for in your next role. It can also be used by PMs who are undergoing a career change or looking for something specific in their next role.

WRONG – vague resume objective

“I’m looking for an opportunity to work as a project manager at a growing organization where I can utilize my unique abilities to plan, scope, and deliver projects.”

RIGHT – resume objective tied to experience

“Project manager with experience building web apps as a software engineer and leading projects that have a meaningful impact on the company’s bottom line. I’m looking for a role where I can utilize my ability to communicate effectively with developers and executives alike.”

The second resume objective is a great way to call attention to the fact that this project manager has experience as both a software engineer and a project manager, which can manifest itself in more effective communication between those two groups.

Projects and work experience

When it comes time to talk about your work experience on your project manager resume, you must tell the story of the projects on which you worked. You’ll have more room to dive into this in your  project manager cover letter , so how do you keep it short and sweet in your resume? 

Rather than talking about one-off tasks you completed, focus on one to two of the biggest projects you led. The beauty of being a project manager is that the experience you should discuss is right in your job title.

Here are some questions you might want to answer about the projects you worked on when talking about them on your resume:

• What was the scope or goal of the project?
• How big was the budget, and what was the timeline? Was it a year-long project, or was it a short-term one?
• How large was the team involved, and with what departments did you collaborate?
• What kind of reporting or metrics did you use to determine success?
• Did you encounter any major roadblocks? How did you remove them?
• What kind of collaboration did you have with the executive team? Did you give a presentation upon project completion?
• You can and should use quantifiable metrics here!

Remember that you should also mention some of the skills listed in your official “skills” section. For example, did you use Trello to ensure the project was on time? Did you build reporting to measure project success?

Let’s describe a specific example of how all of this might work when describing your work experience as a project manager.

WRONG – non-specific work experience

Feedzai August 2016 – May 2018, New York NY Project Manager

• Managed several projects in collaboration with the executive team from inception through to closing
• Regularly removed roadblocks to ensure projects were delivered on time
• Presented the results of each project in a clear and efficient manner
• Worked collaboratively with the engineering, product, marketing, and customer success teams

RIGHT – work experience detailing a specific project

• Led the development of content prediction engine, which grew to $1.5M in annual revenue
• Analyzed the scope of the project based on competitive analysis, interviews with customers, and customer feature requests
• Set deadlines for incremental goals, allocated budget, and worked across software, marketing, and executive teams to ensure all teams were properly resourced
• Communicated progress and roadblocks to stakeholders, including executive management, and made proactive recommendations to remove roadblocks leading to the on-time and on-budget delivery of the project

Specialization and industry experience

Since project managers are in such high demand, they can work in various industries and have a wide range of specializations.

So, if you’re looking for a more specialized PM role, you must highlight your experience in that specialization on your resume. If you’re looking for an I.T. project manager or technical project manager role, you should focus on your experience shepherding projects related to software.

Conversely, if you’re applying for a construction project manager role, your field experience will be more valuable. Focus your resume on the position you’re applying for and pay particular attention to the  project manager job description .

Best action verbs for project management resumes

You need the right action verbs to discuss your achievements and impact on your PM resume.

To achieve the best results in your project management resume bullet points highlighting your experience, pair your action verbs with quantified results. As exemplified on our project manager resume samples, here’s a list of must-have action verbs on your project management resume:

• Facilitated

Education and certifications

No matter what you went to school for, you should include your highest level of education on your resume. If you’re creating an entry level project manager resume, you should include relevant classes you took in school that will convince the hiring manager you’ll make for an effective PM.

If it’s a senior project manager resume, you should avoid listing relevant classes because you want the focus of your resume to be your work experience. Since you want to keep it to one page, you can’t afford to use that space for classes.

No matter where you are on the career ladder, certifications can help your candidacy as a project manager.

Top program manager certifications:

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
• Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
• Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
• Kanban Management Professional (KMP)

If you have one of these certifications, you should include it in your education section and your resume objective or summary, should you include one.

Finalizing your project manager resume

Don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “great.” Building a project manager resume can be daunting, but the hardest part is getting started. Don’t worry about perfection just yet; instead, focus on making your resume great. No one-size-fits-all “perfect” resume exists because each person has different experiences and skills. Just do the best you can!

If you need a launching point, feel free to use our  free resume templates  or choose a  Google Docs resume template . Or you can try our resume outline  to give you a relatively blank slate to build on. Add on to include your experience, skills, education, and contact information until it’s complete. Then, and only then, do you need to worry about the details (in which case, go back and reread this guide to make sure you’re hitting all the right notes). 

Feel free to edit any of the project management resume examples above in our resume builder or download the project manager resumes as PDFs. Then as you write, follow the rules in this guide. You’ll be well on your way toward landing your next (or first) role as a project manager!

Here’s a quick summary of our project management  resume tips :

• Only include skills you’d be comfortable being interviewed on in your resume. Include these keywords both in your skills section and in your work experience bullet points.
• Make sure your resume objective or resume summary adds value to your candidacy. Avoid vague or generic statements.
• When discussing your work experience, highlight the details of one to two major projects you worked on instead of focusing on one-off tasks you completed.
• Be sure to include your highest level of education and any certifications you have in your resume objective or summary.

And that’s it! We wish you the best of luck in whatever role you hope to land!

Project Manager Resume FAQs

The primary role of a project manager is to steer projects from inception to completion. They ensure everyone, including team members and clients, is aligned with the projects’ goals. To do this, they must anticipate and resolve conflicts, communicate effectively, and stay within budgets and timeline limits.

A winning project management resume should precisely align with the job description and the role you’re applying for. When your application meets the requirements listed in the job description, you can expect a call for an interview. To do this right, highlight skills such as risk management, problem-solving, quality management, proficiency in Smartsheet, and more to prove to recruiters you’re up to date with the industry’s trends.

Yes. For entry-level project managers, including relevant classes such as Cost Estimation, Budgeting, and Strategic Planning, can change the tide in your favor. The recruiter can see your potential and be willing to trust you with the open PM position.

Capitalize on past similar roles, your impact, and what sets you apart from other potential candidates. Your skills (cue: data visualization, sprint planning, and developing Gantt charts, etc.) and impressive track record should do the bidding for you. For instance, if you were a project team lead or an assistant project manager, you should incorporate the most outstanding achievements from those roles in your resume for project manager.

Show that you’re versatile and you can work in different industries. At the center of your success, underscore your unmatched success in overseeing projects, tracking budgets, collaborating with teams, meeting timelines, and surpassing quality expectations. Our project manager resume samples are great examples you can emulate.

Project managers earn an annual median salary of $ 98, 580 ; thus, getting hired is highly competitive. The latest U.S. labor data tabulates the national and state average salary for project management as follows:

21 Must-Have Keywords For a Project Manager’s Resume

If you are looking for keywords for a project manager’s resume, then you have landed on the right page. I have mentioned 9 keywords that you must include in your resume.

As we progress through 2023, the job market undergoes constant changes, and so do the expectations surrounding project manager resumes. Crafting a standout resume becomes pivotal to securing your dream project management position .

To achieve this, incorporating “relevant project manager resume keywords ” is key. This blog will explore crucial keywords that can elevate your project manager’s resume , boost its searchability during job applications , and increase your chances of an interview.

Reading Lists

9 Must-Have project management resume keywords

• Project Management Skills : Showcase specific skills like budgeting, risk management, and stakeholder communication to exhibit your expertise in handling successful projects.
• Leadership : Employers seek candidates with the ability to lead and motivate teams effectively. Highlight your leadership prowess to demonstrate your potential as a project manager.
• Strategic Planning : Emphasize your capacity to develop and execute comprehensive project plans aligned with organizational objectives.
• Team Collaboration : Collaboration plays a crucial role in project management. Highlight your ability to work with cross-functional teams to drive project success.
• Agile Methodology : As Agile gains prominence, mentioning your proficiency in Agile project management can be advantageous.
• Scrum : Agile project management techniques like Scrum are widely employed in the software industry and other sectors.
• Problem Solving : Projects inevitably encounter challenges. Demonstrate your problem-solving skills to showcase your ability to navigate obstacles adeptly.
• Data Analysis : In a data-driven world, employers value project managers who can analyze data to make informed decisions.
• Change Management : Highlight your ability to manage change and adapt projects to evolving requirements.

21 project management resume keywords (Bonus)

Increase resume shortlisting opportunities for project managers.

Tailor your resume to match specific job descriptions to catch the recruiter’s attention. Incorporate relevant keywords from the job posting to demonstrate that you possess the desired qualifications. This simple act can significantly increase your chances of getting shortlisted.

Write ATS-friendly resume

As hiring processes increasingly involve applicant tracking systems ( ATS ), resume searchability becomes crucial. ATS scans resumes for keywords , making it essential to include industry-specific phrases and skills.

For example, terms like planning, budgeting, PMP certifications, “project lifecycle managemen t” and “ risk assessment “ are ATS-friendly keywords that can enhance your resume’s visibility and boost the likelihood of getting an interview call.

How to Use Keywords for Project Manager Resume

• To identify the most relevant keywords for project manager resume, research industry trends, job postings, and specific company requirements . Pay attention to frequently used terms and incorporate them thoughtfully in your resume.
• Leveraging the power of keywords in your 2023 project manager resume is a must.
• By strategically importing essential keywords like project management skills, leadership, and problem-solving, tailoring your resume for each job application, and ensuring searchability with ATS-friendly terms, you can boost your chances of securing your desired project management role.
• Stand out from the competition and take the first step toward a successful project management career.

How to Prepare for a Project Manager Interview

Now, it’s time to prepare and confidently showcase your project management expertise during the interview . This is your chance to shine and demonstrate that you are the perfect fit for the role. Here’s how you can ace the interview and effectively use your resume keywords:

• Review Your Resume : Before the interview, thoroughly go through your resume and pay special attention to the keywords you included. Familiarize yourself with the specific skills and experiences you highlighted.
• Use Real-life Scenarios : Be ready to provide concrete examples of how you have applied the skills mentioned in your resume keywords in actual project situations. Utilize the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to structure your responses, showcasing your achievements clearly.
• Emphasize Leadership and Collaboration : Highlight your leadership abilities and how you have effectively collaborated with teams in past projects. Employers value project managers who can lead and inspire their teams to achieve outstanding results.
• Demonstrate Problem-Solving Skills : Showcase your problem-solving abilities by discussing how you have overcome challenges and obstacles in previous projects. Illustrate how you analyzed data and made informed decisions to drive project success.
• Show Adaptability : Emphasize your ability to manage change and adapt projects to meet evolving requirements. Employers seek project managers who can navigate uncertainties and deliver results in dynamic environments.
• Ask Thoughtful Questions : Prepare relevant questions about the company’s projects, culture, and future goals. Demonstrating your interest and curiosity showcases your dedication to the role and organization.
• Express Passion for Project Management : Convey your passion for project management during the interview. Enthusiasm and genuine interest in the field can make a lasting impression on the interviewer.
• Practice Interview Etiquette : Exhibit professionalism and proper interview etiquette throughout the conversation. Maintain eye contact, offer a firm handshake, and express gratitude for the opportunity to interview.
• Follow-Up After the Interview : Send a personalized thank-you email to the interviewer after the interview, reiterating your interest in the role and your appreciation for the opportunity. This gesture shows your attentiveness and professionalism.

Remember, your resume keywords have already captured the interviewer’s attention, but it’s your ability to articulate your experiences and skills that will set you apart from other candidates.

Be confident, authentic, and enthusiastic, and use your resume keywords strategically to showcase your project management expertise.

As you prepare for the interview, envision yourself thriving in the role of a project manager, making a positive impact on projects and teams. With the right preparation and the power of your resume keywords behind you, you’re well on your way to securing that dream project management position.

Share the love Share this content

• Opens in a new window WhatsApp
• Opens in a new window LinkedIn
• Opens in a new window Reddit
• Opens in a new window Facebook
• Opens in a new window X
• Opens in a new window Pinterest

You Might Also Like

Crafting a Winning Resume: A Guide for Freshers

What does an employment background checks show

Write An Incredible Resume [With Examples]

A resume showcasing a woman’s 13-year experience as a homemaker Goes Viral

Why is it worth paying for a resume builder?

Veeva Careers, Salaries, Work Culture: All About Veeva Systems

Leave a reply cancel reply.

• Resume Template
• Cover Letters
• Interview Questions

Privacy Overview

• Call 714.845.7104 to speak to a certified executive career coach
• View services

The Best Project Manager Resume Skills and Keywords (Updated for 2024)

If you’re not sure which keywords to add to your project manager resume, scroll down for a list of project management resume skills and keywords. I will also show you how to place these correctly in your resume so you’re showing these skills off, too.

The Project Management Institute predicted a higher demand for Project Management jobs than all other occupations between 2017-2027. This is because according to their Pulse of the Profession: The High Cost of Low Performance , only 56% of strategic initiatives meet their original goals and business intent.

So if you’re looking for a project management job in today’s world, the odds are in your favor. But how do you convince the recruiter that you’re the best fit?

The answer is simple. You should add keywords in your project manager resume that recruiters most commonly search for. You must also include the skills that are the most relevant to the job description.

If you’d like to see a resume cheat sheet in which I break down where you need to put your best keywords and how exactly to back them up with hard, tangible accomplishments, download my resume cheat sheet below:

The resume that is based on was used by a manager to double their initial offer — just by visually showing she brought results.

Top Project Management Keywords

I studied a few project manager job descriptions carefully. After that, I have put together a list of the best project manager resume skills and keywords. Feel free to use these in your resume.

Hard keywords like the ones above are those recruiters would search for, say using the LinkedIn search bar, to find someone like you. Soft keywords are strengths they’d look for when reading between the lines of your resume — can you work well in a team? Are you a good problem solver? Can you communicate well with executives? And so on.

Below, you’ll find a list of soft skills that you should speak to on your resume:

Project Management Keywords Related to Education

Project manager certifications make great keywords. You must mention them in the skills section if you have them. I’m sharing a few of them below:

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
• Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)
• PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)
• Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)
• Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)

How to Highlight Your Project Manager Skills in Your Resume

Only adding these project management skills to your resume is not enough. You must also do the following:

• Place them correctly.
• Weave them into your experience section.
• Back up your project manager resume skills with examples. In short, prove that you have them.

One place to add project management resume skills and keywords is towards the top of the resume. That is where the reader pays the most attention.

For example, look at the project manager resume skills below. Because these are in the first few lines, they will catch the reader’s attention in the first few seconds.

Moreover, ATS categorizes how well you know something based on where it falls under your professional experience. For example, a key skill that you used more recently will be weighed higher than one used several years ago. So, it’s critical to weave these keywords into your professional experience as well:

Project Management Keyword-Based Questions to Ask Yourself

To weave the project manager resume skills into your work experience, ask yourself the following questions. These will help uncover your wins. Your answers can be used to shape your professional experience section.

Quality Control:

• What weaknesses did service reporting have when you first joined?
• What issues did service delivery have when you first joined?
• Were there any obstacles in the smooth execution of business strategy?
• Did your team ever fail to meet KPIs? What action did you take to address the gap?
• Did you ever run into cost management issues?
• How did end-to-end project management help you achieve quality project outcomes?

Management:

• Was there any part of your workflow that felt disjointed?
• How many projects did you successfully oversee?
• Was non-conformity with the company’s policies and rules ever an issue while executing planned projects?
• What problems hindered the completion of the project?
• Were you ever challenged by having to manage multiple projects at the same time? How did you live up to that challenge?
• Did you struggle with setting priorities as to which project would need more resources? If yes, how did you find a solution for that? If no, what frameworks did you use to set the priorities straight?
• Was the progress of the project not being recorded properly?
• Can you recall a time where the unfair distribution of resources affected the project’s success? What strategies did you use to effectively utilize the resources available?
• Can you recall a time where the project faced a critical IT issue and it was hard to come up with a practical solution? What did you do?
• Did you ever have a hard time managing conflicts? Were you able to provide any solutions?
• Did you help resolve any communication gaps? How?
• Was the company having a tough time getting a client on-board for a project?
• Did you ever face resistance when you introduced improvement processes?

By following the simple steps outlined above, you will notice an increase in the response rate of your job applications.

Project Management Keyword Dos and Don’ts

Before you send in your resume, make sure there are no grammatical errors. Also, your skills should be correctly capitalized.

Moreover, don’t worry about being a complete master of a skill in order to include it in your resume. However, you should only add skills that you actually can use within your first month at your new job. Also, double-check your skills for outdated software.

Here are a few more resources you might find helpful:

• How to Create the Perfect Resume – A Complete Guide
• Want us to write your resume for you?  Explore our resume writing service here .
• Schedule a consultation with us here  to learn more about how we can help you with our one-on-one resume writing service.

For more tips on creating the best resumes, subscribe to our emails and get advice from expert resume writers, interview coaches, and networking wizards:

[] 1 Step 1 Email a valid email email Get me on the list keyboard_arrow_leftPrevious Nextkeyboard_arrow_right FormCraft – WordPress form builder

Related Posts

How to Talk About Company Descriptions on Resumes

Break all resume writing rules except these 3

• Affiliations and Associations

Copyright | All Rights Reserved | Career Tuners.