INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, IT Service Manager positions are at a 11% growth rate, which is faster than average. With that said, there are currently 482,000 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 52,700 to 534,700 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the IT Service Manager jobs was $151,150 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $90,430, and the highest 10% more than $208,000.
Our conclusion? The IT Service Manager job market is wide open for candidates.
Top IT Service Manager sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a IT Service Manager resume experience section
IT Service Manager Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real IT Service Manager resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- To be an integral part of the account planning and delivery support strategy
- Follow appropriate problem & change management processes
- Act as a team member of International GPS IT organisation and as such support projects and activities also outside Europe
- Proactively contribute to identify improvements, cost take out opportunities and new technologies & solutions that could benefit IBM
- The single point of contact on end to end technology for the PMO assets, infrastructure, third party services, other IBM technology delivery organisations and the client
- Support development, implementation and delivery of technical solutions with the business solutions
- Respond to client IT requirements as specified in the contract or Statement of Work SOW, or through the PMO contract change control process
- Oversee and verify contractual IT cost
- Organise and perform annual disaster recovery testing in the recovery site (Krakow)
- Support the Business DPE and Project Executive PE in identifying growth opportunities and CTO (Cost Take Out) opportunities resulting in contract profitability
- Own quality of IT service provided by the IT delivery organisation and responsible for tracking and reporting on service level performance
- Participate and provide input into Client's strategy and planning in support of the PMO
- Direct and assist teams to develop program, project, product, and business strategies and implement resulting solutions to meet contract deliverables
- Proactively monitor the problem and change process and manage problem and change issues and alerts as needed
- The single point of contact on end to end technology for the PMO Assets, Infrastructure, Third Party Services, other IBM technology delivery organizations, and the Client.
- Support development, implementation, and delivery of technical solutions with the business solutions.
- Respond to client IT requirements as specified in the contract or Statement of Work SOW, or through the PMO contract change control process.
- Oversee and verify contractual IT cost.
- Manage matrix of IBM IT services and drive client and 3rd IT Team LeaderParty IT resources to deliver IT services and solutions to meet the end to end client business process.
- Support the Business DPE and Project Executive PE in identifying growth opportunities and CTO Cost Take Out) opportunities resulting in contract profitability.
- Own quality of IT service provided by the IT delivery organization and responsible for tracking and reporting on service level performance.
- Participate and provide input into Client's strategy and planning in support of the PMO
- Direct and assist teams to develop program, project, product, and business strategies, and implement resulting solutions to meet contract deliverables
- Pro-actively monitor the problem and change process and manage problem and change issues and alerts as needed
- ITIL Foundation exam preparation in progress
- Future task: Other ITIL exams
- To operate, manage and monitor the IT-delivery to the customer due to contracts
- Manage and develop one or more contracts under the set goals
- Develop and delivery solutions as the customer's business needs increases/decreases
- Operate, control and monitor external interaction on both tactical and operational level.
- Act steering committee chairman for the implementation of projects.
- Check and follow up sales and billing
- Drive and develop the business according to set economic goals for revenue and profitability within IT
- Design and implement the service for HR
- Manage enhancements portfolio
- Monitor service performance and cost
- Ensure technical and functionnal consistency
PRO TIP
Check the IT Service Manager job description for inspiration. Look for similarities between your employer’s values and your experience.
Action Verbs for your IT Service Manager Resume
Recommended reads:
IT Service Manager Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your IT Service Manager resume
- Python
- Java
- Javascript
- SQL
- GIT
- HTML
- MySQL
- CSS
- Jira
- C++
- Communication
- Organisation
- Analytical thinking
- Creativity and innovation
- Accountability
- Flexibility
- Eager to learn
- Perseverance
- Problem solving
- resourcefulness
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
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IT Service Manager Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your IT Service Manager Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your IT Service Manager resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
IT Service Manager Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your IT Service Manager resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
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Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your IT Service Manager resume
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PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
IT Service Manager Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
IT Service Manager Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
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PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your IT Service Manager resume:
IT Service Manager Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your IT Service Manager resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great IT Service Manager Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
