Senior Project Manager Resume Guide: Examples & Tips

Your project managerial kung-fu has no rival. You’re great at your job and you know it. But if you’re finding difficulty landing yourself that awesome, stress-free (okay, relatively speaking stress-free) position, this guide is for you.

The truth is—your senior project manager resume is likely the key underperformer, and you need to whip it into shape. And that’s by EOD.

So, without further ado—

This guide will show you:

• A senior project manager resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a senior project manager resume that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a project manager resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for a senior project manager to get any job you want.

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See these related guides if they fit your bill better:

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Senior Project Manager Resume Sample

Now, let’s get you up to speed on how to write the perfect senior project manager resume:

1. Prepare Your Senior Project Manager Resume Using the Right Format

As senior project manager, you’re responsible for handling high-priority projects, overseeing their execution, and delivering on time. This isn’t Little League, oh no—stakes are high, and your senior project manager resume has to show your leadership and strategic planning skills are on point.

And guess what—if your resume isn’t chock-full of tangible examples of PM excellence, it’s going to be a bust.

So, just like you start by drafting up the project execution stages, deliverables, and potential roadblocks, your resume needs to start with a plan, too. Or in our words, a well-designed resume outline:

• There are a few options to choose from when considering the format of your resume. The reverse-chronological resume layout, however, is best for highlighting your biggest strengths here and now. It’s heavily recommended.
• Scrub your online profiles before applying. Just on the off-chance they will peek.
• Use a task-appropriate resume font at 11 or 12pt size. Cambria or Garamond have never failed anybody.
• Put your contact information in the resume header.
• Sending a PDF resume is advised, though sometimes, recruiters limit your options to Word files.

How many pages should a resume be for senior management roles? Well, it depends—

If you have enough experience and noteworthy achievements to fill two pages or more, go for it. Otherwise, stick to a one-page resume. 

Read more: What Does a Professional Resume Look Like? Examples & Tips

2. Summarize Your Senior Project Manager Resume

Resume introductions for entry-level positions come in the form of resume objectives.

But you’re no entry-level candidate. You’ve got an entire novella’s worth of highlights and properly managed resources, and project evaluations.

That’s why for you, the goal is to cherry-pick the crème de la crème, and squeeze it into a juicy resume summary the recruiter simply won’t be able to resist.

Here’s the ultimate formula:

• The first sentence should start with a positive adjective, like driven, motivated, results-oriented, or reliable.
• Then, add the name of your position—senior project manager.
• Add your years of experience (3+ years, over 5 years, 8 years, what have you).
• List just a couple of your best achievements, definitely save some for later.
• Use numbers—it will make you stand out while keeping the recruiter’s eyes peeled. Wins all around.

Read more: How to Start a Resume the Right Way

3. Write an Impressive Senior Project Manager Job Description

Whatever company you’re applying to, keep in mind one thing:

They want to know why you’re putting senior in front of your job title.

In other words, the job description you present should inform them about more than simple duties and mundane descriptions. You need to demonstrate remarkable achievements and results in your work experience resume section if you want to get hired.

Here are the key tips for getting it done right:

• Reverse-chronology dictates we start from the most recent (or current) position. Then, go back in time.
• Read up on how far you should actually go back in your resume before you flood them with work experience that is no longer relevant.
• Back to the present: each entry needs your professional job title, the name and location of the company, and your years spent working there.
• In up to 6 bullets, describe your most important, impressive professional achievements. Dress them up with numbers highlighting, for example, how many dollars you saved by doing X.
• Don’t just write bland descriptions, use action verbs frequently to stress you had an active role in all of it.
• Tailor your resume each time you apply to a different job. Stick to the work experience relevant to the company, and they’ll be clawing to get at you.

Read more: How to Write a Perfect Targeted Resume

4. Include Your Education on the Senior Project Manager Resume

How many years of experience do you think are enough to forego the education section?

5? 10?

Well, typically, you can become a senior PM in about 3 or 4 years, but regardless—

That was a trick question because you cannever skip the education section on your resume, no matter your experience level.

However, seniority in your field means you can focus on the simplest stuff and move on to the other sections. Just make sure you’re doing it right:

• Add your school name, graduation year, and highest obtained degree.
• Don’t mention your high school, it’s irrelevant at this point in your career.
• Include your GPA on your resume if requested in the job ad (or high enough to strut your stuff—3.5+).

Read more: How to List Your Degree on a Resume

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5. Bring up the Skills They Want to See from a Senior Project Manager

Here are some of the top skills a senior PM needs to exhibit on the daily:

Senior Project Manager Resume Skills

• Budgeting/ACWP Modeling
• APF/Agile Management
• Leadership Skills
• Business Cases
• Core Process Identification
• Timebox Strategizing
• Project Scheduling
• Staffing & Recruiting
• Project Management
• Management Skills
• Process Improvement
• Planning
• Performance Monitoring
• Attention to Detail
• Analytical Thinking
• Time Management
• Communication Skills
• Problem-Solving
• Teamwork Skills
• Innovation
• Conflict Resolution

However, just like anything else in a senior project manager resume, it’s not entirely what you present, it’s how you do it.

And stacking 25 skills on top of one another and calling it a day won’t get you very far. There is a better way:

• Draft a list of your professional skills split into categories. Soft skills, hard skills and technical skills are a good starting point.
• Look through the job ad to see what resume keywords will perform the best. These are your KPIs and they should find their way onto your resume.

Pro Tip: Don’t just write about your project management skills, actually convince the recruiter that you have them! In your work experience section, when mentioning past duties, weave those skills into your descriptions.

6. Add Extra Sections to Your Senior Project Manager Resume

With the kind of senior project manager resume you’ve prepared thus far, your reader will know hiring you wouldn’t be a mistake.

But all the other applicants have done the same thing with their resumes. What now?

You’ve got an ace up your sleeve, and that ace is called personality.

It goes without saying that PM’s need a good dose of technical expertise and management, but multiple studies show that people skills and being a good, empathetic leader are just as important.

So to set yourself apart and show your friendly side, include extra sections to your resume and let your personality shine through.

Here are a few great additions to a resume:

• Certifications and licenses
• Hobbies and interests
• Foreign language skills
• Volunteer work
• Conference attendance (especially as speaker)
• Freelancing activity

Read more: How to Put Projects on Your Resume

7. Finish with a Senior Project Manager Cover Letter

Is a cover letter a necessity?

Definitely so.

By not including one, you’re doing a 50/50 on whether you run into a recruiter who’s a cover letter hardliner.

So, better get to it. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered with a few steps to writing a cover letter:

• Know what cover letter format you will be picking ahead of time.
• Start your cover letter with an engaging introduction.
• In the middle of the letter, elaborate on your strengths and your ability to use them to help the company overcome their challenges.
• When ending the cover letter, implore your reader to think about all the benefits hiring you would bring.
• Lastly, do not exceed one page when writing your cover letter. The ideal cover letter length is 3–4 paragraphs. 

Read more: What Should a Cover Letter Say?

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:

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That’s it! Thanks for reading

Got any more questions? Finding any particular part of writing your senior project manager resume extra frustrating? Let’s get the discussion started in the comments section.

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Sources

• https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:900178/FULLTEXT01.pdf