Office manager jobs will need to present their talents, skills and abilities perfectly on their resume to be in with a shot of getting the interview.
In order to show the hiring managers that you've got what it takes to be a great office manager, you'll need a well-written office manager resume.
We've written this article specifically for those that want to make their office manager resume stand out and get the applicant a job in office proceedings.
While it is true that jobs are becoming scarce in many different industries, there will always be a need for administrative professionals that know how to handle office equipment and daily tasks.
The average annual salary for a mid level office manager is upwards of $46,000, while some senior level managerial positions offer up to $65,000 - $70,000 per year (Glassdoor).
As an applicant who's searching for employment as a manager in an office setting, you'll most likely encounter a large amount of competition. There are going to be a lot of job seekers who've sent their applications to the same jobs as you.
To get ahead of the competition and other candidates, you'll need to write a good office manager resume.
We've got good news, we've provided a step by step guide for writing the best managerial resume to help you in your job search!
How to make an Office Manager Resume
Any effective resume needs to start somewhere. As a rule of thumb, it's always best to go into a project with a plan in mind. We recommend establishing a few essential design choices and ideas for your application before starting to write your office manager resume.
A great resume will always have a good design and look. The text will make sense, and the content itself will look interesting to the hiring manager.
In order to ensure that the hiring manager likes your sample resume is by resume, give it a proper layout and structure.
These two factors are very important to get right, as they will determine how the content appears on your office manager resume.
The layout of the Office Manager Resume
The first step to determining how your resume will look is by giving the application a proper resume layout.
An office manager's resume template determines the layout of the application. The layout is basically going to be the design of the application page itself. A layout defines how the content appears in the resume template.
A great way to implement a proper layout into the resume that the hiring manager is going to understand is by sectioning out the content of the application.
Sections will make the text have more of an impact. Each section will have relevant text inside of it. For instance, the academic section will talk about your academic background.
Here's the list of sections that will help you write a professional office manager resume:
- The Contact Information
- The Professional Summary or Resume Objective
- The Job Description (Work Experience Section)
- The Education Section
- The Skills Section
- Awards, Interests, Certificates, and other additional Information
The structure of the Office Manager Resume
The second step for establishing a solid foundation for your office manager application is giving the resume an effective content structure.
A proper structure is vital for the success of your managerial application.
Here are a couple of key points to keep in mind to get a great resume structure:
The resume format: Make sure to arrange the text in a way that makes sense to the reader. Giving the application text solid formatting is essential. It is most common for the format to be reverse chronological.The reverse chronological format simply means that you'll write your information from newest to oldest. Start each section with the newest piece of relevant information.
Bullet points: List all of the information in bullet points. Make sure to use them for each item of relevant information. It may be necessary to include a few bullet points in your work experience section to describe your responsibilities in an office setting. Font style & size: The office manager resume should be no more than one page in length, and the text size must be adjusted accordingly. With sizes 10 to 12, Times New Roman and Arial are the most common font styles.For more examples and tips for how to write an office manager resume, check out our resume builder by following this link!
Start with the contact information of the Office Manager Resume
A professional resume has to start somewhere. Before you start writing about your experiences working with administrative staff, performing office functions, or dealing with office expenditures, you'll need to show the employer who the application is written about.
In order to successfully showcase your contact details to the reader, you'll have to start your resume with the contact information section.
The contact info section allows you to give the reader vital information with which he or she will be able to contact you.
Afterward, follow up by providing your job title, physical address, email address, work phone number, and LinkedIn profile (any other relevant work website can work too).
Example of a good header & a bad header for Office Manager
Office Manager
Weatherford, TX
CarlAWoods@gmail.com817-594-6862
The contact information needs to be written in a specific way. Your name needs to appear clearly at the top of this section.
Carl A. Woods
Office Manager
7696 Green Lane Boulevard
Weatherford, TX
CarlAWoods@jourrapide.com817-594-6862
https://qamario.com/
Is a photo required in the Office Manager Resume?
We do not recommend you include a photo on your resume. Employers would prefer to focus on your skills and abilities rather than your appearance. Laws in the U.S. prevent employers from discriminating against applicants because of the way they look so we recommend you don’t include a photo.
Professional summary / objective for Office Manager
In today's job market, hiring managers and potential employers receive a high number of applications every day. Because of such a high volume of resumes, the recruiters will often skim through the applications.
You might be wondering how to gain the reader's interest in such a short time and still manage to impress them?
The answer is quite simple. You'll have to write an introductory section in your office manager's resume that's going to condense all of the information on the resume into a few sentences.
An introductory section can be written in two ways:
- A more experienced office manager would benefit from the resume summary. Let's take a look at your past work experiences, top achievements, skills, and abilities if you have a number of years of translation experience. The reader needs to see how you can benefit the company.
- The office manager resume objective is going to be the better option for the entry level manager or an administrator. A good idea if you do not have much professional work experience is to discuss your top skills, abilities, and education. Give the reader an explanation of why you're applying and mention your career goals.
Summary Example
Dependable Professional Office Manager with team leadership abilities. Proven experience managing office operations, including accounts payable, invoicing, and dispatching. Excellent skills in database management and negotiating with vendors and contractors. Received commendation for ensuring customer satisfaction.
Objective Example
Talented Office Administrator with excellent communication, problem-solving skills and ability of handling daily. Strong track record of establishing and maintaining positive relationships with all team members. Seeking a company where I can implement my skills and grow professionally.
Work Experience in the Office Manager Resume
Now that you've successfully introduced yourself to the reader through the contact information and resume summary / objective sections, it is time to start discussing your manager career in more detail.
The most effective way to show the reader your past professional experience is through the experience section. This is where you'll be writing about your past work history, describing your past work duties and achievements.
A proper work experience section is vital for any good application. An interested hiring manager can get a lot of information about your abilities through this section.
Here, you can go in-depth about your duties during daily operations, daily responsibilities, achievements and office standardizing ordering procedures. This can all be done through each job description you'll be writing for every job you've held previously.
Describe your professional experiences on your Office Manager Resume
It is vitally important that you write the experience section appropriately since there are many aspects to your professional background.
There are a couple of essential points you'll need to consider when writing the experience section of your office manager application. Here are a few ideas to help you write this section of the resume:
- Job Description: Starting with the last position you held, start writing job descriptions for each relevant job you've had. In a job description, the title should always be listed first. Afterward, you should mention your employer's name and how long you worked for them.
- Bullet Points: The use of bullet points is a highly recommended method for presenting your job duties, key achievements, and relevant information. Taking this approach will allow you to highlight your experiences clearly and concisely.
- Effective wording: Creating a balance between industry-specific words and regular words is quite important. As a result, the reader will be able to understand your responsibilities.
- Metrics: Incorporate metrics in your job description in order to enhance the information you'll be providing. Metrics make for a more deep and informative job description.
Example of a professional job description for the Office Manager resume
The Office Company
03/2016 - Present
- Oversaw daily operations of a real estate office and ensured services provided by staff were beyond reproach.
- Implemented automation to track records, disseminate data, and handle client correspondence to improve office operations.
- Provided strategies to improve office productivity, managed accounts, coordinated itinerary planning, and scheduled meetings between clients and management.
- Assisted in identifying ineffective processes and developing solutions that cut costs, increased productivity, and improved staff performance by reducing labor hours.
Education in the Office Manager Resume
Most office manager and administrator positions nowadays require candidates to have a college degree or another form of higher education. Indeed, successful cover letters all contain information about the applicant's academic background.
Even if you're a recent graduate, having a properly written education section will set your office manager resume miles ahead of the competition.
An academic section provides the reader with additional information about your expertise and skill as a professional.
Should you start with education or work experience for an Office Manager Resume?
If you're a new employee or an entry level administrator, you should start your application with the academic section. This should be the highlight of your resume, as you don't have a lot of relevant work experience.
However, if you've had a couple of years of expertise as an office manager, you should definitely begin with the experience section as experience is more valuable than education alone.
How to properly list your education in an Office Manager Resume?
It's important not to overstuff and overcomplicate the content in the academic section. It is important that this part of the application be as simple as possible.
Here is a list of information to incorporate into the academic section:
- School Name and Location
- Year of graduation
- Degree (If applicable)
- Relevant Coursework (Optional)
- Relevant ExtraCurricular Clubs and Activities (Optional)
Example of the education section of an Office Manager Resume
Bachelor of Arts
Major: Business Administration
Minor : Public Communications
Lafayette University | USA | 2016
- GPA 3.72
Skills to put in the Office Manager Resume
No matter the industry you're trying to apply to, the work of an office manager requires a lot more skills than most jobs. You'll need to possess a lot of hard skills and soft skills to fill the role effectively.
In case you're wondering how to effectively list your skills with organized office functions, then you don't need to look further. The skills section is the best way to highlight your abilities.
This is the section where you'll be able to list down and highlight all of your relevant abilities to the reader. You can include a lot of skills here, even some from your non-office manager jobs.
Include 4 - 8 skills in your application.
What are the main skills sought for in an Office Manager Resume?
Here's a list of a few common office manager skills that you can put on your job application:
- Customer relations
- People management skills
- Creative Problem Solving
- Proofreading
- Prioritization
- Customer Service
- Motivational leadership style
- Training and development
- Customer service orientation
- Process improvements
- Coordination
- Report writing
- Administrative support
- Inventory management
- MS Office suite
Additional Headings for your Office Manager Resume
If you're thinking about adding a few additional sections to the resume, we recommend only including information that stays relevant to the position you're applying for.
Additional information and headings can propel your application to the next level by offering more in-depth details about your career and professional experience.
Certifications in an Office Manager Resume
As a professional office manager, you're going to have to have a lot of abilities to perform the job effectively. A hiring manager needs to see that you've got the right skills on your application.
One way to increase the success chances of your resume by a huge margin is by adding a certificate section to your resume.
A certificate is additional proof of your manager training that any recruiter is going to notice and appreciate.
Certificates are easier to get than a degree. It usually takes up to 6 months to get certified. Therefore we recommend getting a couple of certifications to increase the strength of your application.
Languages in an Office Manager Resume
Another great addition to the resume layout can be a language section.
If you possess knowledge of several languages, try to include this information in your application.
This section is even more relevant when it comes to job postings that require the knowledge of an additional language.
Summary: Key takeaways for Writing a Perfect Office Manager Resume
Here are some key points to include in your office manager resume:
- A professional summary or resume objective should clearly identify your qualifications, job-related skills, and career goals.
- Showing your value can be achieved by highlighting your previous work achievements and accomplishments. Metrics should also be included.
- You should list your most recent employment experience first. Organize your work experiences in reverse chronological order.
- Show your skills and experience in a way that is relevant to the job.
Write a Cover Letter That Goes With Your Office Manager Resume
In case you're wondering how most successful candidates get a job, the answer is quite simple. Their application was strong enough to impress the recruiters. However, it is also highly likely that their application was accompanied by a strong cover letter.
A cover letter can be a game-changer for your professional job application. It's basically a longer version of the summary / objective section, where you'll be discussing your past relevant work history, skills, and career goals.
For more cover letter examples, follow this link!
Frequently Asked Questions for an Office Manager Resume
As an office manager, you'll be handling revenue goals, annual appraisals, inventory control as well as building management.
An office manager needs to be able to streamline office operations.
Try to fill the resume layout and sections with relevant work experiences and information. Use the office manager resume template and fill it out with content.
For more info and tips about writing an effective office manager resume, check out our career blog here!