How To Write a General Manager Resume
Create your general manager resume by demonstrating the most compelling aspects of your leadership and operations management experience and provide quantifiable results for what you’ve achieved in the past. When employers see the positive impact you’ve had on other teams or businesses, they are more likely to understand the value you can bring to them as a leader. Read on for expert tips and insights to help translate your career into an accomplishment-driven resume.
- Entry-Level
- Mid-Career
- Senior-Level
1. Write a brief summary of your general manager qualifications
Use the profile summary to communicate your value proposition — it makes you different from other candidates and a great option for the position. Your lengthy leadership experience, your success in a specific industry, or special certifications the employer prefers in a candidate are all potential things to mention.
Keep it short. This section should be no more than four sentences. It needs to act as a hook to capture attention and cause people to look closer at your general manager resume.
Profile Example #1
A General Manager with seven years of operations management experience within the retail industry, specializing in staff development, sales forecasting, and organizational leadership. A proven track record of building and managing diverse high-performance teams. Adept at identifying process improvement opportunities to enhance operational efficiency.
Profile Example #2
A General Manager with eight years of experience within the restaurant industry, specializing in operations management, logistics, vendor management, and P&L. A strong history of developing innovative business strategies to improve gross margins. Adept at recruiting, training, and building teams to deliver an unparalleled dining experience.
2. Add your general manager experience with compelling examples
This section of your resume allows you to demonstrate a career progression, creating a narrative about how you came to leadership positions and what valuable experience you picked up along the way. It also provides the opportunity to align yourself with the employer’s needs. If the employer wants a candidate with retail management experience, you might feature instances of you managing store operations, inventory, and sales initiatives.
Be sure to feature hard numbers, monetary figures, and metrics to showcase the impact of your professional achievements. The key to grabbing the employer’s attention is providing context and detail for your contributions. If you managed or trained a team, specify the number of personnel. If you improved a process or reduced operational costs, include a metric to back it up.
Professional Experience Example #1
General Manager, BestBuy, Cincinnati, OH
July 2017 – Present
- Manage all aspects of store operations for an electronics retail business, oversee P&L valued at $30M, conduct inventory forecasting, and lead initiatives to improve customer service, resulting in a 30% increase in online survey scores
- Build, recruit, and lead a team of 50+ personnel, including department managers, cashiers, custodians, sales representatives, and technical support specialists
- Establish a work culture of accountability to drive operational excellence and lead initiatives to improve staffing coverage and increase team morale
- Oversaw monthly inventory of electronics products valued at $5M and conduct forecasting to optimize stock levels based on sales projections
Professional Experience Example #2
General Manager, Fogo de Chão, Philadelphia, PA
July 2017 – Present
- Oversee operations for a high-end Brazilian steakhouse, manage P&L valued at over $15M, and identify opportunities to enhance workflows and operational efficiency
- Manage 30 servers, hostesses, and sou chefs, and lead efforts to improve communication between front of the house and back of the house during high volume periods
- Develop new procedures to improve inventory management and forecasting, which has reduced waste by 15%
- Coordinate with corporate leadership to implement Covid-19 safety protocols, including rapid testing and mask mandates
3. Include education and certifications relevant to general managers
Demonstrating your educational credentials can add credibility to you as a leadership candidate and show a willingness to engage in ongoing learning. When you include certifications on your resume, such as project management, Six Sigma, or leadership courses, it shows you value continuous improvement of yourself and others.
Education credentials can also help build trust with the employer immediately and cast you as a qualified candidate. Management experience and a business degree, for example, make you an especially well-rounded candidate.
Education
Template
- [Degree Name]
- [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
Example
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Business Administration
- University Of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH | 2014
Certifications
Template
- [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example
- Certified General Manager (CGM), Global Association for Quality Management | 2022
4. List key skills and proficiencies for general managers
Including relevant skills on your resume helps round out and expand on your qualifications. You might have leadership experience and a management degree, for example, but including your specific accounting and budgeting skills can help position you as a leader who is good with finances.
Consider the type of business you’re applying to and what the hiring manager lists as priorities in the job posting when including skills on your resume. Most employers want a well-rounded general manager with experience that applies to their niche. Consider how you can include skills that support that impression.
Some options to consider including, if relevant, are:
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Budget management | Business development |
| Business strategy | Change management |
| Client relations | Continuous improvement |
| Cross-functional leadership | Customer service |
| Hospitality | Human resources (HR) |
| Inventory management | Negotiations |
| Operational excellence | Operations management |
| Process improvement | Profit and loss (P&L) |
| Project management | Team leadership |
| Team management | Recruiting |
| Restaurant management | Retail management |
| Staff development | Strategic planning |
| Supply chain management | Vendor management |
How To Pick the Best General Manager Resume Template
As a candidate for a leadership role, you need a resume that demonstrates how you bring results to an organization, oversee and motivate others, and impact business bottom lines. Look for a template that includes robust professional experience and skills sections for these purposes.
Choose customizable designs so you can create a unique but professional document that stands out from others in the application stack. Avoid too many flourishes, but do consider section dividers or other small touches that can create a more executive touch for your resume.
General Manager Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
- Example #1
- Example #2
- Example #3
Alyssa Brown
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
123 Your Street, Philadelphia, PA 12345
Profile
A General Manager with eight years of experience within the restaurant industry, specializing in operations management, logistics, vendor management, and P&L. A strong history of developing innovative business strategies to improve gross margins. Adept at recruiting, training, and building teams to deliver an unparalleled dining experience.
Professional Experience
General Manager, Fogo de Chão, Philadelphia, PA
July 2017 – Present
- Oversee operations for a high-end Brazilian steakhouse, manage P&L valued at over $15M, and identify opportunities to enhance workflows and operational efficiency
- Manage 30 servers, hostesses, and sou chefs, and lead efforts to improve communication between front of the house and back of the house during high volume periods
- Develop new procedures to improve inventory management and forecasting, which has reduced waste by 15%
- Coordinate with corporate leadership to implement Covid-19 safety protocols, including rapid testing and mask mandates
General Manager, Gentile Italian Cuisine, Philadelphia, PA
May 2014 – July 2017
- Managed all aspects of daily operations for an upscale Italian restaurant and led initiatives to improve marketing outreach on social media and within the local community, which increased annual revenue from $2M to $2.8M over three years
- Conducted negotiations with vendors to secure optimal pricing for food products and ingredients, which reduced costs by 15%
Education
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Business Administration
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA September 2010 – May 2014
Key Skills
- Team Management
- Operational Excellence
- Restaurant Management
- Customer Service
- Vendor Management
Frequently Asked Questions: General Manager Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for general manager resumes?-
Integrating action verbs in your resume helps convey impact and movement — for your overall career as well as your positive effect on processes and teams.
For example, you could list team management or leadership as a responsibility in a previous position. But it’s much more impactful to write something like “Supported a 15% increase in revenue through team leadership initiatives, including coaching and empowering staff.”
You can use the list below of common verbs for general manager resumes as a starting point, but add some of your own to create a unique document that best explains your experience.
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Achieved | Analyzed |
| Built | Collaborated |
| Communicated | Conducted |
| Coordinated | Directed |
| Established | Executed |
| Improved | Led |
| Managed | Negotiated |
| Orchestrated | Oversaw |
| Revitalized | Spearheaded |
| Supervised | Transformed |
How do you align your resume with a job description?-
Align your resume with a job listing by prioritizing the most relevant information to that employer and using the same language that appears in the posting when possible. For example, if you’re applying to manage a retail store, prioritize in-person and sales management experience on your resume. If the employer lists supply chain management experience as a preferred skill, provide examples of you coordinating logistics and managing supply chain operations.
Overall, employment opportunities in management occupations will grow at a faster-than-average rate compared to all other job types, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Tailoring your resume to each position you’re interested in can help you capture employer attention and land interviews.
What is the best general manager resume format?-
Management professionals can create strong resumes by starting with a reverse chronological format that puts their most recent experience first. This ensures hiring managers see your latest accomplishments and you have the leadership experience they need.
The reverse chronological format also lets potential employers scan your resume to understand the story of your career. They can see your rise into supervisory and management positions, for example, and understand what from-the-ground-up skills and knowledge you’ve collected along the way. Many employers value past practical experience in their leadership staff.
Craft your perfect resume in minutes
Get 2x more interviews with Resume Builder. Access Pro Plan features for a limited time!
Do you wish you could talk directly to a hiring manager to explain something on your resume? A cover letter lets you do that. Use this document to highlight or explain a detail on your resume or point out how your leadership values align with those of the organization to which you’re applying. You can start with our management resume cover letter example, but make sure to create a tailored letter for each resume you send out.
