General Manager Resume: Examples and Tips
A general manager (or GM) oversees the overall operations of a company or division, working to generate new business and meet business objectives. Major duties of this position involve managing staff and budgets, formulating policies, improving administration processes, employing marketing strategies, and monitoring and motivating staff. To succeed as a general manager, you should have strong analytical abilities, excellent communication skills, and a problem-solving aptitude.
To make your general manager resume stand out, use our resume examples and tips:
Table of Contents
Featured Resume Example: General Manager
Name: JAMES WILLSON
Address: City, State, Zip Code
Phone: 000-000-0000
E-Mail: email@email.com
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Serviced-focused General Manager dedicated to giving every customer positive experiences to promote loyalty and repeat business. Orchestrate optimal resource utilization to handle expected operational needs. Sales leader with sound judgment, good planning abilities and interpersonal communication strengths.
SKILLS
- Recruiting and Hiring
- Operations
- Goals and performance
- Product and service sales
- Policy and procedure adherence
- Customer service
- Effective leader
- Conflict resolution
WORK HISTORY
General Manager
02/2014 to Current
Company Name, City, State
- Delivered business strategy and developed systems and procedures to improve operational quality and team efficiency
- Developed value-added solutions and approaches by leveraging trends in customer marketplaces and industries.
- Developed value-added solutions and approaches by leveraging trends in customer marketplaces and industries.
Store Manager
05/2009 to 10/2013
Company Name, City, State
- Oversaw receiving and display of incoming products, meeting planned promotions and seasonal rotation for sales events.
- Scheduled and led weekly store meetings for all employees to discuss sales promotions and new inventory while providing platform for all to voice concerns.
- Oversaw, trained and encouraged 22 sales associates, promoting culture of efficiency and performance.
Lead Retail Sales Associate
09/2006 to 05/2009
Company Name, City, State
- Communicated accurate information about promotions, customer programs and products, providing exceptional customer service and driving retention.
- Opened, shelved and merchandised new products in visually appealing and organized displays for optimal sales promotions.
- Managed efficient cash register operations, including scanning items, processing payments and issuing receipts.
RELEVANT SKILLS
- Adept at analyzing, articulating and solving various problems
- Analytical and organized with the ability to work independently or as a part of a team
- Talent for administrative and project support
EDUCATION
Associate of Arts, Communication
City, State
Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-Class General Manager Resume
- Summary In your summary, the object is to explain to the potential employer in a few sentences why you’re the best fit for a job, featuring your top work achievements, skills and qualifications. For example: “Resourceful general manager with 7 years’ experience surpassing goals for food retail companies. Well-versed in managing costs and increasing employee satisfaction.”
- Skills Incorporate both hard skills (such as business plan management, accounting and finance tasks, mathematical skills, or data analysis) and soft skills (such as critical thinking, decision-making, or time management). Always aim to present skills that address the needs of the specific job, as expressed in the job ad.
- Work History In this segment, focus on accomplishments rather than mundane duties, and make your achievements stand by using quantifiable metrics. For example, “Determined cost control areas and saved $150,000 for the company,” or “managed a team of 55 employees and 4 team leaders,” or “Provided valuable input based on client feedback, increasing market share by 4%.”
- Education List your degree type as well as name and location of the school. Also add any relevant training or coursework in related fields such as finance, retail, human resources, marketing, or business management. Mention certifications such as a Professional Certificate in Management or a certificate in Conflict Resolution.
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Find the Right Template for Your Resume
For a resume that has the right look as well as the right content, use these professional templates.
Strong
This eye-catching template uses thick, shaded section headers and powerful fonts to grab employers’ attention. The two-column layout leaves you plenty of room for an expanded skills section.
Managerial
This layout displays your credentials in two neatly divided columns. Subtle thin lines separate sections, while the monogram graphic in the header provides a unique look.
Standout
Section headings are given prominence in this layout with dot graphics, while the color fonts for each heading makes it a breeze to scan your document.
For a complete selection of templates you can use, visit our templates page.
Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume
- DO craft an engaging elevator pitch for your summary. Employers usually only take a few seconds to scan a resume — make sure those seconds count by leading off with a powerful summary statement. Explain through your traits, skills and accomplishments why you’re a great fit for the job. For example: “Results-oriented general manager with 6+ years experience managing and supervising medium-sized retail store operations.” Notice how this statement features a positive trait (“results-oriented”), emphasizes the job seeker’s experience, and area of specialty (“retail store operations”).
- DO quantify your accomplishments. Don’t miss out on opportunities to make your work achievements really sing by using hard numbers and details to describe them. For example, “Implemented processes that improved employee work accuracy by 28%” gives employers a more complete picture of your abilities than or “Implemented processes that improved employee work accuracy.”
- DO omit the personal pronouns from your resume. Restrict the use of personal pronouns as they project an impression of a self-seeking applicant and don’t adhere to the standards of a professional resume. First-person pronouns such as “I,” “me,” “my” deliver an informal tone and lead to the immediate dismissal of your resume. For example, “I carried out the store operations and supervised new associates” can be simply changed to, “handled store operation and supervised new associates.”
- DON’T use the same resume for every job application. Different jobs have different needs — make sure you adjust your own resume to best serve those needs. When applying to a job, always update your resume to address job requirements. For example, if the job focuses on business planning, forecasting and P&L management, feature skills and job achievements that show you’re capable of handling these areas. For more on how to tailor your resume, see our article How to Create a Targeted Resume.
- DON’T use weak verbs to describe your experiences. Many applicants tend to repeat common words and phrases like “responsible for” or “assisted with” to describe their job responsibilities. Swap out these terms for strong action verbs that present you as the catalyst for your own achievements, such as “directed,” “guided,” “facilitated,” “mentored” and “managed.” Our article How to Maximize Action Verbs provides more tips.
- DON’T forget to feature soft skills. General manager jobs usually require technical skills that can be learned, but they also require intangible traits, or soft skills, that show how you can manage others and approach work. In your summary, skills, and work experience sections, stress terms like adaptability, leadership, training and mentoring, and critical thinking. For a complete list of soft skills employers look for, visit our Top Resume Skills page.
General Manager Resume FAQs
- 1. What format should be used for a general manager’s resume?
- 2. What are hard and soft skills you should consider for a general manager resume?
- 3. What common mistakes should be avoided when creating your resume?
- 4. Should you include references in your resume?
- 5. What’s the best way to approach your resume?
1. What format should be used for a general manager’s resume?
Your format will depend on the strength of your experiences and skills. Use the chronological format and its expanded work history section if you have plenty of years of general manager experience you can feature. If you have a few years in business operations under your belt or can “transfer” skills and experiences from a different job or career field, consider a combination format, which puts equal focus on skills and work history. A functional format is best for those who lack professional experience, as it emphasizes your job-specific skills, education and training.
2. What are hard and soft skills you should consider for a general manager resume?
| Hard skills: | Soft skills: |
| Training | Effective listening skills |
| Project management | Teamwork |
| Inventory management | Solution-oriented |
| Delegation | Quick decision-making |
| Organizational skills | Leadership skills |
| Policy standardization | Time management |
| Financial skills | Relationship building |
| Monitoring employee growth | Empathetic |
| Microsoft Office | Collaboration |
| Operations strategy | Customer service |
| Budget management | Attention to detail |
| Performance evaluation | |
| Report generation | |
| Report compilation | |
| Quality assurance |
| Hard skills: |
| Training |
| Project management |
| Inventory management |
| Delegation |
| Organizational skills |
| Policy standardization |
| Financial skills |
| Monitoring employee growth |
| Microsoft Office |
| Operations strategy |
| Budget management |
| Performance evaluation |
| Report generation |
| Report compilation |
| Quality assurance |
| Soft skills: |
| Effective listening skills |
| Teamwork |
| Solution-oriented |
| Quick decision-making |
| Leadership skills |
| Time management |
| Relationship building |
| Empathetic |
| Collaboration |
| Customer service |
| Attention to detail |
3. What common mistakes should be avoided when creating your resume?
Eliminate experiences that are outdated or don’t have a bearing on the job you’re applying for — you may be able to make a mean martini from your bartending days, but it won’t help you nab a general manager job. Avoid using unusual fonts, graphics and colors in your resume, as they can confuse employers (and the software they use to scan resumes). It’s also best to do without an “interests and hobbies” section, unless you can show that your interests display an important skill needed for the job.
4. Should you include references in your resume?
Once upon a time, job seekers sometimes included a references list in their resumes — but they’re no longer needed. Don’t waste space in your document on references — instead, devote it to providing important details on your achievements and skills. For tips on how you should really handle your references, see our article References on Your Resume 101.
5. What’s the best way to approach your resume?
Think “concise.” No long sentences or irrelevant information. Use bullet points and crisp phrases to get your credentials across. Focus only on details that are useful for the job, and on the best of what you have — skills, accomplishments and qualifications. Unless you’re applying for a job that demands years and years of experience, shoot for containing everything within two pages. For more tips on writing every section of your resume, visit our page How to Write a Resume.
Pair Your Resume with a Matching Cover Letter
