Operations Manager Resume Sample

Writing your resume is all about proving that your skills, knowledge and experience make you the best candidate for the job. The following guide will show you some strategies on how best to accomplish this.

1. Use a summary of qualifications

As an operations manager, you have likely accomplished a great deal over a long career in management. This makes the qualifications summary (or summary of qualifications) the perfect way to start your resume.

A qualifications summary is a 4-6 bullet point introduction, consisting of your experience, and greatest professional achievements. Using one allows you to accomplish the following:

a) It makes your resume unique

Most people tend to use a career objective or professional profile at the beginning of their resumes. The result is a lot of them end up looking very similar. The unique style of a qualifications summary will catch the eye of the hiring manager as he sifts through a sea of generic applications.

b) It proves your qualifications with concrete examples

By putting your greatest accomplishments on display, you provide hard evidence that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to excel. This is something that other resume introductions fall short on.

For example, many companies look for operations managers who have experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

By using a summary of qualifications, our example candidate doesn’t just say they have such experience — they prove it by showing what they have accomplished:

• Utilized SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to increase efficiency of supply chain management, decreasing costs by 23% and boosting production by 13%.

In many ways a QS is almost an extension of your work experience. It allows you to overwhelm the hiring manager with a massive list of accomplishments — proving your abilities beyond a doubt.

c) It helps beat the Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

For the most part, operations managers will be working in large enterprises. This means that there is a high chance the companies you apply to are using ATS software to screen applicants.

A lot of medium to large-size companies use ATS software to automatically eliminate unqualified candidates. This is because there are far too many applications for HR to personally deal with. However, the software is not perfect, and sometimes even the most qualified applicants can get the robotic axe.

A qualifications summary enables you to increase the density of keywords and phrases that the ATS scans for. As a result, the ATS will be satisfied you meet the requirements, and your ATS-friendly resume will make it into the hiring manager’s hands.

2. Prove your abilities in your work experience section

In your professional experience section, don’t just list your job responsibilities. Hiring managers care less about what you are responsible for, and more about your actual performance. As such, your work experience section should be used as a tool to prove your abilities. More specifically, your ability to use different operations management skills and techniques to accomplish great things.

You can do this by following the following three steps:

Step 1: Make your bullet points achievement-oriented

This first step is much simpler than it may sound. Rather than saying, “I did X action” full stop, you say, “I did X action, and the outcome was Y(achievement).”

Take a look at the following examples:

Only X Action:

• Analyzed production tracking system reports and communicated potential issues to Operations Manager

X Action with Y Outcome(achievement):

• Analyzed production tracking system reports and communicated potential issues to Operations Manager, preventing mechanical, production, and packaging problems from occurring

Notice how much more impressive the second example is. If you just state your actions, the hiring manager might say to themselves, “Ok, that’s great. But why should I care?” Answer them with an achievement.

Step 2: Cite the specific techniques used to achieve the Y outcome

The hiring manager wants to know that you are good at using operations management techniques. You can easily prove this by citing what tools you used to get results.

For example:

• Analyze production data and use Minitab to adhere to DMAIC roadmap, guaranteeing efficient production of defect-free products

After reading this the hiring manager knows you are capable of effectively using Minitab and the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology.

Step 3: Quantify the achievements

By adding numbers, you give the hiring manager a clear idea of exactly how great your accomplishments are. You won’t be able to quantify everything, but you should do it as much as possible.

Take a look at the following examples to see the difference:

Unquantified:

• Helped train staff in Lean methodologies, reducing waste over time

Quantified:

• Helped train staff in Lean methodologies, reducing waste by 32% over 3 years

In the unquantified version, “reducing waste” is too vague. The hiring manager has no idea what that actually means — it could even be as low as .001%. By quantifying, the extent of your skill and weight of your accomplishment become clear.

3. Use the job description to your advantage

As an operations manager, the diverse range of tasks you perform on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis is immense. This can make it hard to decide exactly what to include on your resume — after all, space is limited.

This is when the job description for the role you are applying to becomes a powerful ally. Look at the specific responsibilities, experience, knowledge, and skills outlined in the job description, and highlight them on your resume. This will not only help you decide what to include, but will also directly satisfy any specific requirements the hiring manager is looking for.

Take a look at the following responsibility from a real job description:

• Develop budgets and approve expenditures for supplies, materials and human resources, ensuring that materials, labor and equipment are used efficiently to meet production targets while initiating and coordinating cost control programs.

Now look at how our example candidate used this in their resume:

• Manage annual budget in excess of $40 million, approve monthly expenditures, and ensure company resources are optimally allocated amongst 42 different products to maximize profits

By doing this, you’re able to directly appeal to the hiring manager (not to mention pass through ATS software with flying colors). As a result, you are much more likely to land that interview and get hired.

Alternatively, use our resume builder to write the perfect resume in minutes.