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What does an operations manager do? Broadly speaking, a business operations manager must have a deep understanding of the work in each department, coordinate different teams, and enhance process efficiency. Furthermore, a business operations manager may be responsible for setting goals and strategies to reduce costs and generate benefits for the company.
However, if one excels in a specific area, such as IT or sales, they might become an IT operations manager or a sales operations manager, whose duties are more directly related to those specific departments. Additionally, in various industries like logistics, a logistics operations manager or a warehouse operations manager may require in-depth knowledge of inventory management.
So, how do you write an operations manager resume for such an industry-oriented position? The key is to include relevant content and maintain a clear structure, which should always be the primary principle.
There are 4 main differences between a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a resume: content, purpose, length, and design. For academic or medical purposes, it is recommended to use a CV that has longer pages and detailed information about your experience. On the other hand, if it is for general job-hunting, namely, applying for an operations manager position, creating an operations manager resume is more suitable since it is shorter (usually no more than 2 pages) and includes only relevant information.
Typically, you can choose the resume format (chronological, functional, and combination resume) depending on your current status. For example, a functional resume is more recommended for a career changer, while a hybrid resume format is more suitable for a new graduate.
💡Pro tips: If you are still uncertain about which format to use for your operations manager resume, it is suggested to adopt the most common type - chronological resume.
To gain more inspiration, you can take a look at how others write their operations manager resumes. There is a great deal of operations manager resume examples online.
Outstanding candidates always know how to tailor their resumes to each company’s specific needs. It does not make sense if a warehouse operations manager resume is the same as a bank operations manager resume.
An operations manager cover letter is to vividly tell the employer your passion and qualification for the position of operations manager. Seize the chance to demonstrate who you are and what you can contribute!
An error-free operations manager resume is one of the basic things to convince the hiring manager that you are a trustworthy and detailed-oriented person. Proofreading by yourself, and asking for your friends to double-check will be helpful.
As mentioned above, the core principle about writing a good operations manager resume is relevancy and legibility. Thus, no matter what you would like to include in your operations manager resume, consider twice whether it is useful information to the company. There are typically 8 things to put on your operations manager resume:
It will be a pity if the hiring manager would like to call you for an interview but he/she does not have your contact number or email. Therefore, your operations manager resume profile should include:
On the contrary, your operations manager resume should not include:
💡Pro tips: Do note the cultural differences when it comes to job hunting in different areas. Moreover, it is optional to add information like your LinkedIn, Cake profile, personal website such as medium, and etc.
A headline is a one-sentence description of your best selling point! Imagine there are more than two hundred operations manager resumes a hiring manager has to read, how can yours stand out? Use a resume headline!
Operations Manager Resume Headline Example
Remember to capitalize your headline and place it at the top of your operations manager resume (usually right under your name).
An operations manager profile summary is like an extension of your headline. Likewise, the purpose of this section is to indicate your core competency within 2-3 sentences (around 30 to 50 words). One useful thinking way is to imagine you have an elevator pitch, what will you want to present? Add those unique points in your operations manager resume summary!
Operations Manager Resume Summary Example
“A detail-oriented retail operations director with 5+ years of experience in cross-team collaboration. Currently seeking a position as a retail operations manager at ABC company, to optimize the process and generate sales revenue. Lead window display resetting project, which increased sales by 40% within one month.”
Some people may wonder about the differences between an objective and a resume summary. Unlike an operations manager resume summary statement which emphasizes more on professional experiences, a resume objective is about the career goals related to the position of operations manager. Nevertheless, it is not widely used nowadays unless candidates have fewer experiences (i.e. Assistant operations manager resume).
Logistics Operation Manager Resume Objective Example
“Experienced logistics operations manager who is sensitive in numbers, working with 30+ suppliers, and is eager to optimize the product supply chain to enhance the efficiency of transportation and customer satisfaction.”
There are 4 ways to list your skills. Generally, a simple bullet point list is the most common one. However, remember to demonstrate the skills you listed here in the work experience section, which will increase the credibility of your skills.
Here are some typical operations manager skills for a resume:
If you have no idea what skills to put on your operations manager resume, check for the job descriptions!
In this section, it is recommended to use the reverse chronological resume format and list 3-5 bullet points job descriptions with respect to each career period. You do not need to list all the jobs you did before. Simply list those related to the target position.
Operations Manager Job Descriptions for a Resume
Bank Operations Manager, August 2017 - Present
XYZ Bank. New York
If you are writing a senior operations manager resume, this part should be placed after your work experience. Normally, it is proper to include:
The certifications will be different depending on the industry you’re trying to get into. For instance, for a logistic operations manager resume or a warehouse operations manager resume, CILT may be a relevant one. Moreover, language proof may be important for a hotel operations manager or HR operations manager. Remember to put it on your operations manager resume if you have any!
Each company requires different job duties. Therefore, customizing each of your operations manager resumes can enhance your resume quality and uniqueness, distinguishing you from other competitors.
In the headline, summary, skills, and work experience sections, using keywords in the requirements of the job description can make your operations manager resume more applicable to that position, and is also more ATS-friendly.
Using numbers to demonstrate your achievements is always more convincing and measurable to the recruiter.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) is a system adopted by big companies to scan resumes automatically. Thus, do note that graphs like line charts, bar charts are not readable on an ATS.
Action verbs are the magic to make your operations manager resume alive! Instead of saying, “I lead a team and get a sponsorship,” it looks more powerful if you say, “Lead a 16-member team and Secured $10,000 sponsorship"
As an operations manager, one of the most crucial skills is management. However, it is an abstract ability that can not 100% be demonstrated on your operations manager resume. Thus, the endorsements from other professionals on LinkedIn can be compelling proof to the recruiter about your management skills.
Let's put what you've learned from the article into practice and start making an attractive operations manager resume with us! Cake is the best resume builder that you can find. It's totally free to download resume PDF or share it online.
Since the hiring manager read your cover letter in less than 20 seconds, an exceptional operations manager cover letter should be one-page, well-structured contents with these 5 main parts:
Highly Stress-Resistant Operations Manager Skilled in CRM & Resource Planning and Budgeting
Mobile: (626)123-4567
Address: Washington, USA
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jasminechou
Operations Manager with 5+ years of experience in strategy development and process optimization. Currently seeking a position as a Business Operations Manager at Smile Ltd., to increase customer retention rate and to develop resource distribution strategy to enhance efficiency. Collaborated with 8+ teams at Joy Corp. to redesign the purchasing process with 50% revenue growth.
Business Operations Manager, Mar 2015 - Present
Joy Corp.
Sales Operations Manager, June 2014 - Feb 2015
Happiness Corp.
2000– 2014, B.A. in Finance
The Chinese University of HK
--- Originally written by Angela Ye ---
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