INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, People Manager positions are at a 9% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 161,700 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 14,800 to 176,500 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the People Manager jobs was $121,220 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $71,180, and the highest 10% more than $208,000.
Our conclusion? The People Manager job market is wide open for candidates.
Top people manager sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to craft the perfect people manager resume experience section
Perfecting the experience section: people manager resume checklist:
- Be careful with bullet points: use no more than 4-6 per position;
- Mention only positions that are relevant to the job you’re applying for;
- List your experience in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Highlight your results by using numbers – e.g. percentage increase/decrease in an important metric that’s followed by - your hard work;
- Use action words whenever possible… but more on that below.
Need examples? We looked through thousands of People Manager resumes and gathered some examples of what the ideal experience section looks like. Check them out below!
- Been France one of the largest markets in Europe, to cope on time with the volume of contracts received is a challenge. To open a 24h communications channel with Sales Brand was key and helped us to prioritize and focus.
- Billing checks were implemented to ensure correct invoices and to collect cash sooner by increasing customer satisfaction.
- Talent is key, I coached all employees to find their dream job. Also created strategic roles that increases team efficiency.
- 10+ years of experience as business consultant and change manager
- 6+ years of experience in marketing and sales
- 3+ years of experience as a trainer and tutor
- 78% engagement score in 2019 and 73% engagement score in 2020.
- Created and launched ‘Culture Club’ at Work.Life - led a group of 12 to meet the yearly goals set for the key pillars that make up culture - events, wellbeing and community.
- Coached team members looking to develop within the company, successfully filling 12 roles from internal employees.
- Improved and implemented a brilliant onboarding process for all new starters - received regular positive feedback from new Work.Lifers that they feel welcomed, included and settled into their new role.
- Implemented a new progression framework and review process for Work.Life helping to improve career progression opportunities for the team.
- Curated 3 separate wellbeing and mental health events to support our team through challenging times during the height of the pandemic when morale was low.
- Sourced and implemented benefits that supported wellbeing, mental health and development through partnerships with Self Space, Matchable and More Happi.
- Built and implemented company policies, ensuring they were values-driven and fit for purpose as we scaled e.g. maternity leave, WFH policy.
- Focused on improving employer branding through reviews, awards etc. which helped support Work.Life’s hiring strategy - 2019 - hired 45 roles with 85% being from direct hires, 2021 - hired 26 with 77% from direct hires.
- Implemented diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives such as blind CV screening, shared pronouns, enhanced careers page to showcase inclusivity and guaranteed gender diversity in male-dominated roles.
- Interim Project Lead for Work.Life Bcorp certification with 91.5 points, which 26.7 points were from the Workers section.
- Leading 3 senior UKI cross-functional teams across Europe with generating revenue of 20M GBP per month (20 HC)
- Decision making on resource & succession planning for UKI department (250 HC)
- Motivation, talent recognition, empowering teams
- Leading the process of transformation to ensure the effectivness and effeciancy
- Identifing sinergies accross Client Units & regions to ensure consistent client deliverables
- Escalation contact point for business risks and issues
- Collaboration and relationship with the Senior UKI and EMEA leaders - GM, CFOs, Market Leader, Unit Leaders
- recruitment and onboarding of new employees
- talent development
- manage the cost of labour and productivity
- collect necessary documentation of employees which is required by Polish labour law
- conclude contracts and annexes, introduce abstentions and holidays, prepare payroll and bonus lists
- Redesigned the HR function to provide HR support to these divisions
- Redefined and aligned HR initiatives to company and divisional iobjectives aimed at creating a high performance culture aligned to the mrp Values of Passion, Value and Partnership
- Supported the restructure of largest two divisions for optimal performance
- Leading team of 30+ technicians (both local and virtual teams) monitoring and maintaining cloud platforms for our customers
- Provided mentoring and career growth to about 25 people in my role as a manager
- Supervised the establishment of several new businesses within my teams as well as growth of current service
PRO TIP
Show off real numbers that display your accomplishments in past roles. Instead of listing out your responsibilities as People Manager, talk about the measurable impact you made to their business. Did you boost their revenue? Increase customer retention? Mention your proudest points on your resume.
Action verbs for your people manager resume
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Impressing recruiters with a top people manager resume skills section
Checklist for an impressive people manager resume skills section:
- List both hard and technical skills that are important for the role;
- Check what the job description says and add some keywords based on that;
- Focus only on relevant skills;
- Try not to list things such as “communication”; rather, highlight your soft skills in other sections of your People Manager resume.
Top skills for your people manager resume
Microsoft Office
Project Management
Jira
Slack
Taleo
Workday
Organisation
Communication
confidentiality
Time management
Team work
Adaptability
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
People manager resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
CHECKLIST For Your People 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 People 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.
Crafting a strong summary for your people manager resume
Checklist: The perfect people manager resume summary section
- Add a couple of keywords from the job description;
- Mention some of your most valuable skills and characteristics;
- Highlight your top achievements (and add numbers!);
- Use no more than 3-5 sentences to guarantee readability and keep - the hiring manager interested.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Highlight specific past projects that you’re most proud of in your summary. It sets an excellent tone for the rest of your resume. You can talk about all of your former jobs in your work experience section later on.
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An impressive education section: people manager resume
People manager resume: education section checklist
- Highlight your highest education degree;
- Include the degree subject, year of graduation, and institution name;
- Mention some of the awards you’ve received during your studies;
- List your certifications (incl. the body that’s issued them);
- Entry-level positions: Give preference to courses that are relevant to the position.
Top certifications for your people manager resume
Management Skills: New Manager Training Update 2022
Management Skills Certification in Developing People, Leading Teams & Process Improvement in the New Hybrid Work Culture
Become an Inspiring People Manager
Learn how to get your team to give their best through recognition, expectation setting and creating a great environment
People Management: Learn how to Connect
Learn Skills to develop a key behavior of a great people manager- Connecting with teams to achieve business results
Corporate Leadership and People Management
The ultimate training for people managers consolidating the best in class tools and techniques used in large businesses
Super Manager Leadership
How to Be a Hero in the Lives of the People We Lead and Learn ALL the Most Critical People Leadership Skills
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PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
The right format for your people manager resume
When it comes to formatting your People Manager resume, there are certain things you need to keep in mind. These include your level of expertise, your total years of experience, and the position and company you’re applying for, to name a few.
You can choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological format is just that – all your experience listed in a reverse-chronological way. It’s great for experienced professionals who have been in the industry for many years and have no career gaps.
The functional skills-based resume, on the other hand, focuses on skills, education, and personality traits, rather than experience. This makes it great for graduates, people with less experience, or bigger career gaps. The idea is to show you’re the perfect match without putting too much emphasis on your lack of relevant experience.
If none of these sound suitable, go for a hybrid (or combination) resume. It’s a mix of experience, skills, and personality traits. It’s also considered modern and innovative because of its non-traditional structure and sections. Here, you can add details about what your typical day looks like or what your life philosophy is. In short, the hybrid resume format shows who you are, both as a professional and as an individual.
More tips on perfecting your resume style and layout:
- Choose a traditional 12p font;
- Make sure your resume margins are no bigger than an inch;
- Go for a one-page template. If you have broad experience and can’t fit your resume on one page, choose a two-page resume template
- Save your resume as PDF to avoid formatting issues and unauthorized editing.
Read this: Ways to make your People Manager resume stand out
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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.
More sections worth adding to your people manager resume
If the industry, company, and position you’re applying for allow for that, you could include other sections in your People Manager resume. By doing this, you’ll show the recruiter that you’re a real human and not a robot.
Here are some ideas:
The right kind of creativity for your people manager resume
Several years ago, everyone preferred keeping a safe distance from creative resumes. Today, adding creativity to your CV is considered cool, innovative, and one of the best ways to stand out.
You can add a creative section that describes your typical day or even go for a colorful creative template. No matter what you choose, make sure to keep the position, company, and industry in mind. Otherwise, you risk looking silly.
What Makes a Great People 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.
