Production Manager Resume: Examples and Guide [10+ Tips]

You can put out a million proverbial fires, slash lead times, cut inventory, and get buy-in from 500+ employees. But how do you write a production manager resume that proves all that so you get hired?

All you’ll need to do is fill the template below with the right high points from your management work history that prove your skills are in the loop.

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• Job Resume Examples for All Professions

Sample Production Manager Resume Template

Here’s how to write your own job-earning production manager resume:

1. Format Your Production Manager Resume Correctly

Prove you can make things happen with a well-formatted production manager resume. If you get the layout, margins, font-choice, and line-spacing right, they’ll know you pay attention to details. They’ll also know your computer skills and communications skills will help build operational excellence.

A perfect resume may not exist, but use the best resume format to outshine your competition:

• Choose the best of the three resume types. That’s the chronological resume layout in almost every case.
• Cut your lead time on this job by starting with a clean resume template and filling it with a trophy-case of your past wins.
• There are several great fonts for resumes, including Arial and Didot. Choose one that’s easy on the eyes so the hiring team doesn’t miss your unique selling proposition.
• Make your resume margins one inch, but not just on the left and right. Set 1-inch margins on the top and bottom, too.
• How many pages should a resume be for a production manager? Generally, a two-page resume or longer, packed with accomplishments, is best.
• Name your resume file like this:“Name - Job Title - Resume.pdf”

Read more: Parts of a Resume

2. Turn Heads With a Production Manager Resume Summary

The company’s leadership will miss too much of your resume if you don’t start with an elevator pitch. That’s just a quick, one-paragraph resume introduction that covers all the best points of your resume in brief.

Write a resume professional summary. The goal? Make the BoD see you’ve pushed the envelope in the past to GSD. Add your job title, years of experience, and what you hope to do for the organization. Also share your biggest (and maybe second biggest) win so far.

Read more: How To Make Your Resume Stand Out

3. Customize Your Production Manager Resume Job Description

Hiring teams believe you can do what you’ve done in the past. If you want to prove you’re a great production manager, your production manager resume must show Toyota-level accomplishments. Don’t just show the basics of your past work history. Show the wave crests.

Here’s how to write the best resume job descriptions on the floor:

• List your job title, the name of the company you worked for most recently, and their location. Also add the month and year you started and finished.
• Custom fit your resume to this particular job. First learn the exact and most important skills they want. Then stack the deck with resume achievements in your bullet points.
• Speaking of bullets, the right words to use in a resume are words like sourced, inspired, and collaborated (NOT handled or responsible for!)

Read more: How Far Back Should You Go in a Resume

4. Write a Value-Added Production Manager Resume Education Section 

You don’t need to show a lot of educational qualification in a resume for a product manager job. For you, experience will be your #1 qualification. That said, your education section has to be there, and a degree will certainly help. But don’t just list the school name and your BS or MS. Add an achievement or two.

• Include a couple of bullet points, then fill them with the most eye-opening moments you remember from your time in school.
• If that’s your GPA, you can list it in a resume.
• If you won scholarships, fellowships, or were the president of a student group or club, list those instead.

Pro Tip: If you only have an associate degree, don’t worry. The list of business leaders without degrees is long and packed with leaders like Bill Gates and Elon Musk.

5. Prove the Right Production Manager Skills

Most production managers have about 5,000 skills. Your resume would look like War and Peace if you listed them all. How many should you add, and which ones should you choose? The key point here is that the BoD and CEO have a short and exact list of production manager skills in mind.

Here's how to show your production manager skills are in the Valero zone.

• Take the time to learn the 10 or 12 skills the company really wants. Scour their job posting or do some informational interviews to find out.
• Make a key skills list in your resume by finding where the company’s wish list of skills meets with your own production manager skills.
• Make your list from both hard skills and soft skills, but go heavier on the hard skills.
• Then prove your ownership of those skills by showing you used them to reach the achievements in your bullet points.

Production Manager Resume Skills

• Budgeting
• Kaizen
• Product Lifecycle Management
• Financial Management
• Business Strategy
• Supply Chain Management
• Performance Tracking
• Time Management Skills
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Conceptual Skills
• Teamwork Skills
• Technical Skills 
• Problem Solving Skills
• Leadership Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Organizational Skills
• Verbal and Written Communication Skills
• Decision Making Skills

Pro Tip: List plenty of resume keywords to write an ATS-compliant resume. The secret? Those are just the top skills you identified in this section—but put each one in different places, like your skills list and your work history bullet points.

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6. Add “Extra” Sections to Your Production Manager Resume

You won’t get hired based on your work history alone. You must show you’ve got the bandwidth to achieve in your career, and the passion to do more. 

• You can add a list of certifications and licenses to show your skills are deep-rooted.
• Show volunteering on a resume if it proves key management skills like leadership or organizational ability.
• It helps to add a professional association like APICS. You can also include awards you helped win, publications, and media appearances.

Read more: The Sections of a Resume

7. Write a Cover Letter for Your Production Manager Resume

How important are cover letters for production manager jobs? Extremely. Skipping the vital cover letter step makes you look uncaring. An uncaring production manager can crash a company’s output fast. Start with an example cover letter so you don’t waste time. Then add the right cover letter parts:

• Use a professional modern cover letter template as a guide.
• Avoid writing a generic "Dear Hiring Manager" cover letter. Instead, do the legwork to learn who’ll read your letter, and use their name.
• In your cover letter introduction, mention the production manager job title. Then quickly segue to a key fact about your resume they’ll love.
• Use the second paragraph to sell a couple shining moments from your production manager resume.
• When ending a cover letter, mention the thing that most makes you want to work at this facility. Then offer to meet with them to discuss how you can help.

How long can a cover letter be? In your shoes, you can stretch it to two pages, but you’re always better off to stick with one. This isn’t an interview—it’s a teaser.

Read more: Killer Cover Letter Example

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

That’s it!

That’s everything you need to write an outstanding production manager resume!

Thanks for reading! Do you have another question on how to make an on-the-radar production manager resume? Give us a shout in the comments section!

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Sources

• https://www.apics.org/about/overview/apics-news-detail/2011/11/09/apics-the-association-for-operations-management-joins-new-supply-chain-and-logistics-certification-network