Sample General Manager Resumes

The position can be quite demanding, but we know you’ve got what it takes to impress the hiring manager. But how can you show off your expertise to the recruiter?

A great way for candidates to be successful in their job search is by mastering the art of writing effective general manager resumes that will help you land the interview.

In this article, we've compiled all the necessary information to help you write a great general manager resume.

With the rise of technology, many companies and organizations are going digital. Sales stores are leaving their brick-and-mortar shops and transforming their businesses into websites.

However, that doesn't mean that these businesses won't need strong general management, and that's where you come in.

A study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows professionals in the general manager position make around $123,000 on average per year (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Indeed, the salaries are healthy, but this also means that the general manager role is well sought after. You'll encounter a lot of other candidates aiming for the same job you'll be applying for.

A great way to handle the competition as a job seeker is by writing a strong general manager resume sample!

How to make a General Manager Resume

When it comes to writing a professional resume, the applicant needs to consider several important factors before beginning the writing process.

Laying down a foundation for a general manager's resume is essential for the application's chances of success.

You should keep two important factors in mind. You'll have to establish an effective resume structure and layout before putting down text and content into your cover letter.

The layout of the General Manager Resume

Before you begin writing about your professional experience and skills, you'll have to impress the potential employer another way.

The first step we'll be taking in the resume writing process is establishing a strong, impactful resume layout. Imagine that we're designing our working environment.

As you will see in our manager resume example, the layout determines how the content will be shown in the application.

Instead of simply writing about your professional history as a general manager, you'll be able to get more interviews if your resume content is separated and displayed logically.

Here's the list of all the essential sections you'll need to include in your GM resume:

• The Contact Information
• The Professional Summary or Resume Objective
• The Job Description (Work Experience Section)
• The Education Section
• The Skills Section
• Certificates, Honors and Awards, and Other Additional Information

The structure of the General Manager Resume

Just like establishing effective cost control and vendor sourcing in your retail stores, so should your resume need to deliver effective communication to the reader.

Effective communication is established once the content of the GM resume is written properly. This means that the text of your resume has to be structured appropriately and in a logical, comprehensive way.

There are a couple of ways to structure your resume content and text.

The first essential factor in structuring text is to apply a resume format to the application. The most widely accepted resume format is the chronological format order.

A proper resume structure will get you a GM position and your dream job in no time!

Start with the Header of the General Manager Resume

When you're applying for a general manager job, it is imperative that the potential employer knows who's sending the application.

Potential new employees and candidates often make the mistake of underestimating the importance of a proper contact information section.

In order for your general manager resume to have a solid contact info section, you'll need to do the following:

Start by writing your name at the very top of the resume. Your name should be a font size 14 - 16 and bold limited. Write your name as the title of your resume at the very top of the page.

Afterward, write your job title, physical address, email address, and telephone number. Don't forget to include your LinkedIn or any other relevant professional website link.

Example of a header / Example of a bad header for General Managers

CORRECT

Eric M. Walling

Manager

Jackson, MS

EricMWalling@gmail.com

662-617-2929

INCORRECT

Eric M. Walling

Manager

4355 Mulberry Street

Jackson, MS

EricTheDude@gmail.com

662-617-2929

https://leedshvac.com/

Is a photo required in the General Manager Resume?

There's always been a debate as to whether or not it's beneficial to include a photo in your professional resume. A recent study showed most US employers will not accept applications if it includes a photo so we recommend you do not include a photo.

Many general manager resume templates won't have a professional photo included in the layout of the application because most employers traditionally don’t expect one.

Professional Summary for General Managers

It is a well-known fact that most hiring managers and recruiters don't spend a lot of time reading through candidate resumes that their company receives. This is due to the fact that the human resources department can't physically read through the high volume of applications that they receive every day.

So you might be wondering what to do if the hiring managers are only going to skim through your resume?

A great way of catching the reader's attention in a General Manager application is by including a short section that briefly talks about your skills, goals, and professional experiences.

This type of short section can be written in two ways:

A summary statement is a short paragraph designed to showcase your top skills, achievements, and work experience. The summary is better suited to more experienced general manager resumes.

The objective statement, on the other hand, is the better choice for entry level position managers. You'll be discussing your career goals, top relevant skills, and ways you can benefit the company. Because you won't have a lot of practical experience, try to focus on building value in your abilities.

Summary Example

CORRECT

Summary

Ambitious and motivated manager with more than 5 years of experience delivering strategic approaches to drive profitability and sales and a successful track record in operations, customer care, revenue growth, and vendor sourcing. Driven to improve profit margins and control costs through process optimization. Dedicated to training and developing colleagues in highly competitive fields while motivating others to maximize profits.

Objective Example

CORRECT

Objective

Determined and energetic assistant manager with exceptional sales, inventory management and marketing skills. Poised and confident. Proven ability to promote customer satisfaction. Seeking position with a progressive company.

Work Experience in the General Manager Resume

Whether you've been in restaurant management at a struggling restaurant or a hotel manager, you need to make sure that you include these work experiences in your general manager resume.

Being able to successfully display your work history to the employer will more often than not, guarantee you success at the job opening you've applied for.

The best way to showcase your work experience is by writing a solid, appropriately structured work experience section.

You need to make sure that each job description you'll be including is fleshed out and logical. After all, this section will be the biggest and most important part of your general manager application.

Describe your professional experiences on your General Manager Resume

It is essential that the work experience section is written correctly; it can be the difference between getting the callback of a job interview. You'll be able to beat the competition and get the job interview by following a few expert tips.

Put your most recent position at the top of the section. The first thing you should write in each job description is your job title. After that, write the name of the company that employed you and the length of time you worked there.

Your strengths and accomplishments can be discussed after you've written the job title, company name, and dates of employment.

For a fleshed-out manager resume example, check out our resume builder by clicking here!

Examples of professional experiences for Entry Level General Managers

CORRECT

Work Experience Assistant Manager

Office Warehouse Inc.

03/2016 - Present

• Developed ways to achieve performance and profit goals in collaboration with team members.

Created innovative ways to simplify and modernize procedures to increase profitability. In response to feedback from the staff

Kept track of monthly budgets and profit and loss reports to consistently achieve the company's financial goals.

Examples of work experience for Senior General Managers

CORRECT

Work Experience Senior Manager

Office Warehouse Inc.

03/2016 - Present

• Provided and implemented various programs, including gender and cultural diversity and staff engagement.

Introduced a sound and effective reporting system to improve operational quality.

Set performance benchmarks and goals for customer service, cost control, and revenue performance.

Increased revenue by 16% due to ability to hire, train and supervise high-performing sales and support staff.

Education in the General Managers Resume

Whether you are in a specific position as a manager and all the decision making of daily operations is on your shoulders, or just a warehouse manager trying to get a new job, hiring companies will always look at a this specific part of your resume.

Nowadays, most employers in any specific industry will require some form of higher education for their managers. Therefore, a solid general manager application has to have a proper education section.

An education section is a place where you'll be able to show the reader your academic background.

Should you start with education or work experience in a general managers resume?

Should you start with the experience section first or the education section?

The answer is quite simple, and it all depends on the applicant's experience level.

If the candidate is an experienced manager with a few years of work history under their belt, then the work experience section should be the highlight of the application and written first.

If the candidate is an entry level general manager who doesn't have a lot of experience, then showing the education section first could be beneficial to the overall effectiveness of the resume.

How to properly list your education in a General Manager Resume?

After discussing the importance and effectiveness of the academic section for your general manager resume, let's increase our sales efforts by actually writing this part of your resume.

For your general manager resume, here are some tips on writing an academic section you can be proud of:

• You should start this section with the latest degree you have. For example, write about your bachelor's degree first, and mention your associate's degree second.
• Include the name of the university, the address, the year of attendance, and the degree earned.
• You should only mention your GPA if it is high enough. Only include GPAs above 3.7.
• You should list all your relevant coursework relevant to the job that you are applying for in bullet points.

Example of the education section of a General Manager Resume

CORRECT

Education

Bachelor's of Business Administration, Minor in Advertising

University of Texas, Austin, Texas

2011 - 2015

GPA 3.86

Skills to put in the General Manager Resume

You might be wondering what comes after writing so many sections and how you can list your key qualifications even further?

A great way to ensure customer satisfaction and give the employer vital information about your skills and abilities is by putting a skills section into your application.

The skills section is an excellent way to showcase your technical and soft skills, abilities, and expertise to the reader, in the case of not being able to fully describe them in other sections of your resume.

What are the main skills sought for in a General Manager Resume?

A general manager is needed in many different types of industries; that is why you always have to put relevant skills into your application.

These are a mixture of hard and soft skills we believe can be beneficial for most general manager positions:

• Budgeting and cost control strategies
• Supervision and training
• Market Growth
• Diverse Market/Industry Knowledge
• Training and Development
• Negotiation Skills
• Supply Chain Management
• Budgeting
• Data review
• Cost Reductions
• Organizational Restructure and Change
• Customer retention
• Interpersonal Skills
• Goal setting
• Computer-savvy

Additional Headings for your General Managers Resume

You'll be able to increase the effectiveness of your application by adding additional sections.

As long as the additional sections contain relevant information to the positional requirements and your professional experience, then these headings can increase the strength of your application exponentially.

Certifications in a General Managers Resume

Adding certificates to your professional resume can be a huge benefit to your application.

You are showing employers that you're certified, which can boost your candidacy by a huge amount. Recruiters will place certified professionals on a higher platform than non certified candidates.

Certificates will add further credence to your knowledge of annual budgets, marketing plans, ability to deal with third party affiliates, etc.

Interests in a General Manager Resume

Sometimes, it can be beneficial to add an interest section to your application as well.

Interests can be a window into who you are outside of your profession, which can show the employer how you can be beneficial to the company through interpersonal communication.

Languages in a General Manager Resume

Adding in a language section can be an essential factor in your application.

For example, some human resources activities will have you dealing with a local community that speaks a different language from your company. Knowing that language, or just generally being multilingual, can be extremely beneficial in this case.

Therefore, adding a language section into your application can be immensely effective.

Summary: Key Points for Writing a Perfect General Manager Resume

A general managers resume must demonstrate their abilities clearly and concisely in order to be truly effective. We have covered all the elements and sections that will help your general manager resume stand out.

Having already discussed several important points, here are a few things to remember when composing a resume for a general manager:

• Your resume should contain your name in the title.
• Describe your skills and abilities in your resume objective or summary.
• On your professional resume, you should include a section for work experience. A bullet point will make your job description easier to read.
• Your skills section should contain information about skills relevant to the job description.

Write a Cover Letter That Goes With Your General Manager Resume

Writing a cover letter is very important to your application. It shows that you have taken the time to tailor your application to the company and not just sent a generic resume to them. Do not underestimate the importance of cover letters. They can give you the opportunity to show your passion for working for the company and give you the edge over other applicants. We highly recommend you always use cover letters with every application.

Frequently Asked Questions for a General Manager Resume