Your perfect Product Manager’s CV
I encourage every sitting or aspiring Product Manager to treat his/her CV as their first Product. After all, the CV is the silent representative that is to convince the recruiter to contact you when you are not there! 😎
I even made a video about it (link below), but today let’s look at some CV tips that will help you stand out!
❗️ Don’t have a single CV. Have a CV general TEMPLATE and adjust it to EVERY job you apply for. It’s a lot of work and tiresome, but every product needs a lot of great work to achieve success.
📑 Start with a personal intro written in 1st person, active tense — around 5 sentences:
“I am a data-driven Product manager with a passion for mobile apps and making life easier. (…)”
📑 In such an introduction, in the last sentence, tell the recruiter something personal and unique about yourself. This will help you stand out and catch attention:
“To relax, I foster homeless kittens and puppies until they find their new homes.” 😺
📝 Write about your experience from a first-person perspective, active tense as well! Make it an easier read for the recruiter, we all find bullet points boring and forgettable!
📝 Don’t write about your responsibilities! Tell the recruiter of your ACHIEVEMENTS! Say what you accomplished (not how!) and show it in % improvements. This way no NDA will be harmed!
📝 When doing so, incorporate (and bold) the typical Product Management keywords. Take them directly from the job ad! It will greatly help the bots 🤖 suggest your CV to the recruiter.
(since LinkedIn doesn’t allow bolding, I CAPITALIZE words instead of in the example.)
“Following the ROADMAP I established, I was able to achieve 20% year on year growth on the main product’s KPI”.
⌚️ Don’t use any abbreviations in case the recruiter doesn’t know them
📈 Bonus points for showing, indirectly, that you worked hard and actively to get to Product Management using your previous roles and that you are eager to learn. Be sure to focus on Product Management aspects of your previous careers.
2019 — Product Manager
2016–2019 — Data Analyst: “I helped the sitting Product Manager to write USER STORIES, suggested several BACKLOG ITEMS that were introduced to the product and worked hard to be promoted to a Product Manager”
2016 — Junior Data Analyst: “Crunched the numbers to help the Product Manager to verify his product hypothesis”.
2015 — Data Analyst intern: “Took my first professional steps and worked hard to convert the internship into a full-time position”
🧽 Be sure to make no more than 2 pages long and focus on introduction and career. Don’t forget contact details, address, declaration if you are ok to relocate, and last relevant education. Everything else is fluff (even certificates and declared skills).
Good luck getting your dream job!
To keep inspired, here is the promised video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZWX65WRN8c
📌Do you know how to become a Great Product Manager? Visit http://www.drbartpm.com to learn everything you need to land this $100,000 per annum job!
Use the code “MediumFollower” on checkout to receive a 25% discount on all my courses :) Or, simply follow this link:
https://drbartpm.com/coupon/mediumfollower
📌 Would you like me to review your resume? Or prepare you for a job interview? Book a session here: https://topmate.io/drbart
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