5 Essentials of a Product Management Resume

Product management is a highly strategic function as you become the ‘brand man’ of an organization. Managing a product requires everything from ideating the product to building a strategy to identifying the right user base to actually developing the product.

Product management is a tough task to master. Landing a project management job is tougher. But with a carefully curated resume, it can be done.

In this article, we will cover the five essentials of a product management resume to help you get the job.

1.    Give your resume a unique heading

Have a look at some of the resume templates available online and see what they have in common. You will not find any one of them with the header as ‘resume’.

Writing ‘Resume’ or ‘CV’ on the top of your resume is a big ‘NO’.

Most professionals tend to do this and trust us, it’s a big resume blunder as it lacks character and makes it easier for a recruiter to misplace your resume in a sea full of resumes.

The recruiter should know that a given resume belongs to you in the first glance.

This is why you should always write your real name on the topmost part of your product management resume. Doing this makes it easier for the recruiters to keep track of your resume and avoids the confusion that comes with writing ‘header’ or ‘cv’.

2.    Provide your contact details & LinkedIn information

Ideally, you should only mention your contact number, email address, and current location in the personal information section of your resume.

Doing this enables a recruiter to get in touch with you if they take interest in your job application.

They can’t  schedule a face-to-face interview or a telephonic interview with you if you don’t give your mobile number details. So make sure that you provide your mobile number in your resume.

Another professional mode of contact is emails. So make sure you give your email details.

You can also put a link to your LinkedIn profile in your resume to allow recruiters to vet your professional platform online. Seeing your digital profile gives them a wholesome idea of where you stand professionally.

As such, it can positively impact your job application.

However, unlike basic contact details like mobile number and email ID, providing your LinkedIn information is totally optional.

3.    Mention an accurate profile title

Your profile title represents your most recent or last held job title. It also represents your seniority level and your functional industry. Given its importance, a great resume tip is to write it as it is.

Most professionals tend to exaggerate their profile to leverage a higher pay in a new job. If you are guilty of doing this, stop right away. Engaging in such activities would be considered a malpractice and you can lose all credibility.

Our advice: Stick to the basics. Write your profile title as it is.

Example: If you are a junior product manager, your profile title should read ‘Junior Product Manager’. Don’t just write ‘Product Management Supervisor’ to be eligible for a senior role and fat paycheck.

4.    Frame an effective summary

An effectively composed summary that is efficiently written is the heart and soul of your resume. It can help you advance your job application and get you shortlisted.

All you have to do is be extra careful while formulating this section.

To catch the recruiter’s attention and  make them recognize your potential, you need to cleverly formulate your resume summary.

Just because a resume summary is an overview of your career trajectory, it does not give you the leeway to write anything and everything under the sun.

Keep it short. A 3-5 lines summary would do. Think of your career highlights and present them professionally in your resume.  You can also mention your key achievements.

Here’s how you can draft this section:

“5+ years experienced Senior Product Manager with an overall experience in domains encompassing finance, fintech, tech, and education. Awardee of the ‘Employee of the Year’ for three consecutive years from 2017-2020 for envisioning and marketing the most successful products. Adept at handling the complete product lifecycle with 100% satisfaction”.

5.    Perfect the Professional Experience Section

The professional experience section is single handedly one of the most important sections of your entire product management resume.

It consists of important work related details such as the places you have worked, the duration of your work, the titles you have held, and most importantly, your day-to-day roles & responsibilities.

All this information put together will dictate if you’ll get the job or not.

Given the importance of this section, you need to perfect it at all costs.

Given how most recruiters are incredibly busy professionals with a lot of work on their plate, you need to ensure that you are able to capture their attention and hold it long enough to impress them.

So here is a list of the top things you should do to professionally present your work details:

  • Use one-liner points and avoid lengthy paragraphs to communicate your work details. Doing this will enhance the readability factor of your resume and make it easier for a recruiter to evaluate your resume.
  • Begin each sentence with a power verb. Example: Instead of using
  • Group similar points under unique subheadings to communicate your key responsibilities in one go. Draw the recruiter’s attention to your key achievements within each point by marking them in bold.
  • Use numbers as much as possible. For example, instead of saying that you managed a team, show a relation between this work and why you did this work.
  • Example: ‘Managed a team of 10+ employees to execute the marketing campaign at the TAT”.
  • The above example shows that the product manager was responsible for managing a team. It also shows that he/she was able to get the work done in a timely fashion.

Conclusion

Your resume is one of the best mediums for converting a job. As the first point of connection between you and the recruiter, perfecting it can make your journey to the interview room incredibly easy.

Following these simple resume tips can help you revolutionize your resume. Follow them to increase your chances of landing a shortlist. All the best!