Product manager resume templates

Job hunting can be daunting. And product management is an especially competitive job market. The field continues to grow in popularity as more people are drawn to the entrepreneurial nature of the role and the broad scope of work that product managers get to tackle. If you are searching for a new product management role, you want your application materials to stand out and tell a compelling story about you and your work experience. This starts with your resume.

Your resume is more than just a list of job titles. It is the first glimpse a prospective employer gets into your potential to make a positive impact on their organization. It should present a clear picture of your experience, significant achievements, and where you would like to go in your career. Whether you are a seasoned product manager or someone trying to break into the field, an effective resume helps recruiters quickly see how you are the right fit for a product management role at their company.

And keep in mind that recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds reading each resume. In this case, first impressions are everything. Here is how to craft a compelling and organized resume that not only hooks your audience but shows them why you are a strong candidate.

How do I start building a product manager resume?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to building a resume. You do not need to outline every responsibility for every job you have held — think about how to align your experience with the specific role to which you are applying.

As you research, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Why am I motivated to make a job or career change now?

  • What is exciting about this new role?

  • What experience do I have that directly aligns with the job requirements?

  • What accomplishments and metrics can I provide as evidence?

  • What skills will help highlight my qualifications?

How you answer these questions serves as a guide for what to include in your resume. The best job applicants then tailor their resumes to the specific company and role they are seeking. Learn all you can about the company, product team, and hiring manager and use that information to make your resume relevant.

What should be included in a product manager resume?

A strong resume is concise, easy to read, and captures the essence of who you are. It describes what you have accomplished and what you are pursuing. Sub-sections, bullet points, and concrete examples make it easier for a recruiter to scan and evaluate.

Include the following components for a stand-out resume:

Overview

Open with a summary of your expertise and career highlights, including strengths and skills that fit the role. Identify a couple key results you have achieved to help the recruiter understand what you could bring to their organization.

Resume tips:

  • Avoid jargon or cliches (like ninja or guru) that do not add value.

  • Be precise and quantify your impact with data. You want to stand apart from other job candidates — generic is not memorable.

Relevant work and skills

This section details your work history and areas of focus. Include job responsibilities that are most similar to the role you are applying for.

Resume tips:

  • Emphasize hard skills such as "user experience design" and "strategic planning."

  • Refer to soft skills like "detail-oriented" or "resourceful" sparingly. These are difficult to quantify on a resume and do not tell hiring managers much. Think of it as "show vs. tell" — your descriptions of what you have achieved will communicate your soft skills better than simply listing them.

Accomplishments

Include key metrics to show measurable impacts you have had in prior roles. Tangible metrics — such as the number of people managed, frequency of shipped features, or amount of money saved — transform job duties into accomplishments that tell a more meaningful story.

Resume tips:

  • Setting goals, tracking progress, and reporting on results are all key to your role as a product manager. Use your resume as an example of your ability to do all three. Share the goals of initiatives you managed, how you worked toward achieving those goals, and what the end result was for customers and the business.

  • Other metrics that you can use to describe your accomplishments include revenue lift, internal time savings, improved customer satisfaction, customer retention, and new customer growth.

Education and certifications

List university education, continuing education, and any certifications in this section. Product management is constantly evolving — continual learning shows that you are keeping up with advances in the field.

Resume tips:

  • For entry-level roles, consider including university classes you took that relate to product management — such as design, engineering, statistics, and business management. Once you have career experience, you can take out these details and focus your resume on job accomplishments.

Show off your best work so employers can get a better picture of your abilities. Include links to your LinkedIn profile, website, or any relevant work samples — including product launches you have collaborated on or led.

Resume tips:

  • Make sure you keep these resources updated. You want to showcase your latest and best work.

  • Consider soliciting a few recommendations to add to your LinkedIn profile. These notes add context to your resume and help recruiters get a sense for what it would be like to work with you.

Product manager resume formats

While you will want to make sure your resume covers each of the areas listed above, how you choose to organize that information is up to you. Reverse chronological is the most popular option. With this format, you list your work experience starting with your most recent role. This makes it easy for recruiters and hiring managers to review your recent accomplishments — the work they are likely most interested in.

Some candidates opt for a functional resume format. This kind of resume organizes your experience by skillset versus role. Instead of listing accomplishments and responsibilities beneath each job title in chronological order, you group them under skill categories such as product management, customer service, and business analysis. Functional resumes are ideal for people with gaps in their work experience or who are shifting career paths. But keep in mind that most recruiters are familiar with and may prefer chronological resumes.

Before you submit your resume, run through this checklist of formatting best practices. This is one area where details matter — you do not want little mistakes to distract recruiters from the skills and accomplishments listed on your resume.

  • Use a standard 12 pt font that is professional and easy to read.

  • Try to stick to one page if you are relatively early in your career. If you are more senior, you can extend that to two pages to cover your experience.

  • Proofread your entire resume for typos, misspellings, formatting inconsistencies, and other errors.

  • Save your resume as a PDF file. This preserves your formatting and ensures that anyone can open and read the file.

Product manager resume templates

The following resume templates for product managers are formatted to emphasize different aspects of your experience. Choose the template that you think will best highlight your expertise and help you stand out from other applicants. Download each template for free and customize it to fit your needs.

Standard product manager resume

This product manager resume format is the most common — equally suitable for someone early in their career or someone seeking a more senior role. It presents job experience in reverse chronological order (starting with most recent) and gives you space to list responsibilities and accomplishments for each role you have held.

Functional product manager resume

A functional product manager resume highlights the breadth of your skills by breaking out key responsibilities into themes, such as portfolio management, project management, and developer management.

Mid-level product manager resume

A hybrid product manager resume places chronological work experience next to functional product management abilities. It is a great way for mid-level product managers who are applying to more senior product management positions to give context to the skills, disciplines, and methods you use in your day-to-day work.

Entry-level product manager resume

This entry-level product manager resume is perfect for recent college graduates looking to break into the product management field. The format focuses on experience gained while pursuing an education, such as internships and product-related coursework.

Review your application thoroughly, and double-check it for accuracy and consistency. Once you have submitted an application start preparing for the next step — the interview process. Refer to this list of interview questions for product managers to help you prepare.

Product managers really, really love our software — find out why.

Product development dictionary