If you’re aspiring to become a product manager, you may or may not have noticed the journey to landing your first product management role can be as complex as the role itself. Consider that nowadays, you’re likely navigating this path among an army of other qualified and ambitious individuals, standing out over the crowd becomes not just beneficial, but essential. You aren’t just looking for any job, you’re aiming for a specific role that matches your skill set, aligns with your career goals, and provides the foundation for continuous growth and innovation.
So, you’ve got the drive, you have the skills, and maybe you’ve taken on a few extra-curriculars and join hackathons, tech meetups, and online courses. How do you translate all of these into a resume that makes recruiters stop and think, “Wow, we’ve got to get this person in for an interview!”?
The Importance of a Well-Crafted Resume
Before diving into the tips, it’s vital to understand the significance of a resume in your job search. In a highly competitive field like product management, your resume serves as your first impression. Given that recruiters spend an average of 7 seconds (or less!) looking at a resume, it’s crucial that yours is not just good but exceptional.
The Fundamentals
1. Contact Information and Professional Summary
Start with your name, followed by contact details. Add a LinkedIn profile if you have one. Follow this up with a brief professional summary that encapsulates your skills, experience, and what you bring to the table as a product manager.
2. Formatting and Length
Your resume should be well-organized, with a clean layout, readable fonts, and bullet points for easier scanning. Stick to one page, especially if you’re applying for junior or entry-level positions.
Skill-Focused Resume Tips
1. Highlight Relevant Skills
Instead of listing every skill you possess, focus on those most relevant to product management. These may include technical skills like SQL, soft skills like stakeholder management, and/or industry-specific skills like e-commerce optimization.
2. Use the Job Description as a Guide
Customize your resume for each job application. Look for keywords in the job description and make sure they appear in your resume, provided you actually possess those skills. On that note, here’s a pro tip: you don’t need to meet all of the job posting’s asks to the letter! Generally, a job posting’s bullet points reflect their “ideal candidate,” meaning, if they’re looking for 5 years of experience in X and you only have 3, that does not mean you would never be considered.
3. Provide Quantifiable Achievements
Instead of vague descriptions, use quantifiable achievements to demonstrate your skills. For instance, instead of saying “Managed a team,” you could say, “Led a team of 5 in a successful $50,000 project that was completed two weeks ahead of schedule.”
Experience and Projects
1. Prioritize Relevant Experience
If you’ve previously worked in roles that are not directly related to product management, focus on transferable skills. Did you make data-driven decisions in your last job? Did you work in cross-functional teams? These experiences are worth highlighting.
2. Showcase Side Projects
For those who may not have a lot of relevant work experience, side projects can be a godsend. If you developed an app, led a community project, or even created a comprehensive market research report or case study, make sure it finds a place on your resume.
3. Use Action Verbs
Utilize strong action verbs to start each bullet point in the experience section. Words like ‘orchestrated’, ‘led’, and ‘implemented’ are more compelling than ‘was responsible for’.
Additional Sections to Consider
1. Certifications and Courses
If you’ve taken relevant courses or certifications, especially from known platforms like Coursera or Udemy, add them. This not only shows that you are keen on upskilling but also substantiates the skills you claim to have.
2. Hobbies and Interests
While not mandatory, adding a (relevant) hobbies and interests section can give recruiters a fuller picture of you. Given your interest in tech meetups and hackathons, mentioning these can add value.
Pitfalls to Avoid
1. Generic Cover Letters
If the application asks for a cover letter, tailor it to the company and role you’re applying for. Overly generic cover letters can be spotted from a mile away. A general rule of thumb is spend time tailoring letters to roles you’re particularly interested in, and use a template that allows for some customizability for everything else.
A cover letter template should always hit upon the following, if nothing else:
- Why their company? (i.e. Do you align with their values? Mission? Etc.)
- Why you are interested in the role
- What value you can contribute to the team
2. Overcomplicating Things
Steer clear of jargon and buzzwords. Your resume should be understandable to both technical and non-technical hiring managers. Read that last part again. While yes, recruiters may have some idea of the role they’re trying to hire for, this does not mean you can instantly start dropping terms like “object-oriented programming,” “modularity,” or “model-view-controller” and expect them to understand you.
3. Overlooking Errors
Grammatical mistakes can send a resume to the discard pile. Proofread multiple times and consider having a mentor or career counselor review it. Consider tools like Grammarly to help you on this front.
Conclusion
Your resume is more than just a piece of paper; it’s a marketing tool, and the product it’s marketing is you. As product manager, consider your resume as a product you’re managing. Just like any product, it requires iterative development, user testing (in the form of reviews), and, most importantly, a focus on delivering value.
Remember, you’re not just listing your past roles; you’re narrating a story. It’s the story of your professional journey, and the objective is to make the hiring manager want to become a part of that story.