English
My account

You control your data

We use cookies to tailor the experience of creating resumes and cover letters. For these reasons, we may share your usage data with third parties. You can find more information about how we use cookies on our Cookies Policy. If you would like to set your cookies preferences, click the Settings button below. To accept all cookies, click Accept.

Settings Accept

Cookie settings

Click on the types of cookies below to learn more about them and customize your experience on our Site. You may freely give, refuse or withdraw your consent. Keep in mind that disabling cookies may affect your experience on the Site. For more information, please visit our Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

Choose type of cookies to accept

Analytics

These cookies allow us to analyze our performance to offer you a better experience of creating resumes and cover letters. Analytics related cookies used on our Site are not used by Us for the purpose of identifying who you are or to send you targeted advertising. For example, we may use cookies/tracking technologies for analytics related purposes to determine the number of visitors to our Site, identify how visitors move around the Site and, in particular, which pages they visit. This allows us to improve our Site and our services.

Performance and Personalisation

These cookies give you access to a customized experience of our products. Personalization cookies are also used to deliver content, including ads, relevant to your interests on our Site and third-party sites based on how you interact with our advertisements or content as well as track the content you access (including video viewing). We may also collect password information from you when you log in, as well as computer and/or connection information. During some visits, we may use software tools to measure and collect session information, including page response times, download errors, time spent on certain pages and page interaction information.

Advertising

These cookies are placed by third-party companies to deliver targeted content based on relevant topics that are of interest to you. And allow you to better interact with social media platforms such as Facebook.

Necessary

These cookies are essential for the Site’s performance and for you to be able to use its features. For example, essential cookies include: cookies dropped to provide the service, maintain your account, provide builder access, payment pages, create IDs for your documents and store your consents.

To see a detailed list of cookies, click here.

Save preferences

General Manager (GM) Resume—Sample & 25+ Writing Tips

From retail stores, through restaurants and boutiques, this general manager resume manages to get the job.

Dave Rygielski
Dave Rygielski
Career Expert
General Manager (GM) Resume—Sample & 25+ Writing Tips

You will be making no deals and no profits unless you make this sale. Your pitch must be strong and no detail can be overlooked. Scared yet?

 

Don’t be. With this general manager resume guide you’ll be getting interviews in no time.

 

In this guide: 

  • General manager resume sample that beats 9 out of 10.
  • A professional resume format guide.
  • Tricks to write the best possible general manager job description. 

 

A good manager learns from others’ mistakes. We have seen them all, and you’re in the right place.

 

Save hours of work and get a job-winning resume like this. Try our resume builder with 20+ resume templates and create your resume now.

 

Create your resume now

 

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOWgeneral manager resume example

What users say about ResumeLab:

I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your resume.”
Patrick

I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work!
Dylan 

My previous resume was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!
George

Create your resume now

 

Looking at other positions? See our dedicated resume guides:

 

 

Jeffrey M. Marshall

4144 Dog Hill Lane

Hill City, KS 67642

785-754-1773

JeffreyMMarshall@teleworm.us

 

Profile

 

Energetic general manager with 6+ years of store management experience. Experienced in managing workforces of 90+ and generating sales exceeding $3.5m. Awarded “Manager of the Year” in 2018 and 2019, out of 120 national locations. Looking to leverage management experience to increase revenue and reign in the costs at Hilton.

 

Work Experience

 

General Manager

WalkMarket, Hill City

December 2016—Present

  • Trained and supervised 90+ sales staff, including 3 shift leaders to ensure smooth follow of store operation.
  • Increased foot traffic by 30% and sales by 25% within the first year of work.
  • Oversaw sales of $3.1-3.5 million annually.
  • Awarded the “Manager of the year” title in 2018 and 2019 out of 120 WalkMarket locations in the US.
  • Reduced the turnover rate of staff by 22% by implementing team building practices and incentive schemes.
  • Coordinated 2 charity events a year, collecting $30k+ for a local child care home.

 

Assistant General Manager

Drift Store, Hill City

June 2014—October 2016

  • Developed, planned and implemented annual budgets ranging from $500k to $1m.
  • Increased sales by 40% within two years of work.
  • Resolved 20+ customer complaints per month, regarding service and sales.

 

Education

 

BA Business Administration, 2012-2014

University of Denver, Denver

 

Skills

 

  • Multitasking
  • Business planning and forecasting
  • Organization
  • Decision-making
  • Project management

 

Languages

 

  • Spanish (fluent)
  • Chinese (beginner)

 

Let’s write your own general manager resume.

 

1. Use a Proper Resume Format

 

Let’s face it, there is a lot of money at stake. Nobody is going to trust the management of their business to someone who can’t manage Microsoft Word. Your impeccable, organized persona starts here, and no detail can be overlooked.

 

Here’s the business resume format:

 

General Manager Resume Format

 

 

Ok, we’ve got the ‘General’ out of the way. Let’s manage the hell out of your resume.

 

2. Write a Ray Kroc-esque General Manager Resume Summary or Objective

 

It’s no accident the more expensive stuff is at eye level, you know that. Once you have someone’s attention, it’s best not to waste it on something boring. The resume profile sits right at eye-level of your resume. 

 

Let them know you have Jack Welch-level skills and the vision of Ray Kroc. Put a couple of your best achievements forward in a striking career summary. You can do so by answering each question with approximately one line:

  • Who are you? (One power adjective, job title, years+ of experience, previous employer)
  • Can you do the job? (Describe achievements and metrics that show how well you can do the job)
  • No, but really? (Add another achievement or metric here)
  • What can you do for us? (1-2 sentences)

 

See these career summary examples:

 

General Manager Resume Summary

Good Example
Energetic general manager with 6+ years of store management experience. Experienced in managing workforces of 90+ and generating sales exceeding $3.5m. Awarded “Manager of the Year” in 2018 and 2019, out of 120 national locations. Looking to leverage management experience to increase revenue and reign in the costs at Hilton.
Bad Example
Experienced general manager of Green Grocer’s. Reliable, organized, and detail-oriented. Great at multitasking, accounting and training staff. Looking for new opportunities in a larger store.

If you don’t have any general management experience yet or are switching careers, write a career objective. In it, focus on transferable skills.

 

See these career objective examples:

 

General Manager Resume Objective

Good Example
Effective sales manager with 6+ years in the telecommunications industry seeking to leverage strategic and sales skills (increased telecom sales over 10% annually) in a general managerial position at LG.
Bad Example
Reliable retail assistant manager with exceptional budgeting skills seeking a general manager position at Acme.

Expert Hint: How to write a resume profile? It is best to do this once you have completed the other sections of your general manager resume, especially your job description.

3. Write a General Manager Job Description 

 

Your job is complicated, challenging and convoluted, but the aim of it is simple. Keep the profits flowing. Whether you do this by training your employees to the highest standard, by ingenious business strategies, or by cutting costs—it must all shine right out of your general manager resume.

 

In your work history section, under your most recent position, bold out 5-10 bullet points that show the volume and type of business you dealt with, the improvements you made, the results you achieved. 

 

Each one of these could be a bullet point for your general manager job description:

  • Number of employees managed
  • Number of employees trained
  • Size of annual revenue and improvement of it
  • Exceeding sales targets
  • Reduction in costs
  • Employee efficiency improvements 
  • Business strategies you developed and their effectiveness

 

Every bullet point should contain metrics and achievements that back them up.

 

See this job description from one of our general manager resume examples:

 

General Manager Job Description

Good Example

General Manager

WalkMarket, Hill City

December 2016—Present

  • Trained and supervised 90+ sales staff, including 3 shift leaders to ensure smooth follow of store operation.
  • Increased foot traffic by 30% and sales by 25% within the first year of work.
  • Oversaw sales of $3.1-3.5 million annually.
  • Awarded the “Manager of the year” title in 2018 and 2019 out of 120 WalkMarket locations in the US.
  • Reduced the turnover rate of staff by 22% by implementing team building practices and incentive schemes.
  • Coordinated 2 charity events a year, collecting $30k+ for a local child care home.
Bad Example

General Manager

Drift Store, Hill City

June 2014—October 2016

  • Developed, planned and implemented annual budgets and business strategies.
  • Increased sales and reduced costs year-on-year.
  • Resolved customer complaints regarding service and sales.

As you can see, the more specific, the better. Help them understand, and don’t make them wonder.

Expert Hint: BLS data shows general manager salaries average out at an even $100,000, but 50% of managers earn between $65,000 and $157,000. That’s a large spread. Scan each separate job ad for specific competencies, and bring them to the forefront in each application by crafting a targeted resume to stand a chance at the top jobs.

Your application wouldn’t be complete without skills for resumes. In it, list between 5 and 10 hard and soft skills. See the list below for reference.

 

General Manager Skills for a Resume

 

  • Leadership skills
  • Excellent communication
  • Organizational skills
  • Strong work ethic
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Computer skills
  • Teamwork
  • Budgeting
  • Strategy 
  • Team-building skills
  • Profit & loss management
  • Negotiating skills
  • Change management
  • Lean management
  • Mentoring & coaching
  • Operations management
  • Sales management
  • Sales analysis
  • POS systems
  • In-store logistics
  • Product knowledge
  • Tech savvy
  • Marketing
  • Visual merchandising
  • Customer service
  • Critical thinking skills
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Decision-makingskills
  • Time management

 

If you have specific achievements, you can add a sentence or two of elaboration to each skill.

 

The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.

 

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOW

 

CREATE YOUR RESUME NOWcreate your resume now

Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our resume builder now.

 

4. Make Your Education Section A Reason To Hire You

 

If you have followed the instructions on laying out your resume experience above, you have probably convinced the reader that you can handle their business. However, an education section makes for a useful reassurance that you won’t bankrupt them.

 

List the name of your school, diploma type and course, and graduation date. Here’s an example of how to mention education on your resume:

 

General Manager Resume Sample—Education

Good Example

Education

 

BA Business Administration, 2012-2014

University of Denver, Denver, United States

5. Add More Sections to Your General Manager Resume

 

Most resumes end with some miscellaneous details. One messy ‘Additional Info’ section is not a good look. Organize your bonus resume sections with clear headings:

 

Extra Sections on General Management Resume Sample

Good Example

Languages

 

  • Spanish (fluent)
  • Chinese (beginner)

 

Certifications

 

  • Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, Project Management Institute, 2018
Bad Example

Additional Information

 

Spanish, PMP Certification, Blogging

Expert Hint: Buff up your resume certifications section with a LEAN qualification in a relevant field, such as Process Improvement. 

One last thing. Write a manager cover letter. It’s a useful tool to explain your motivation and skills (not to mention almost 50% of hiring managers still expect to get it).

 

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.

 

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

 

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOWcreate your cover letter now

Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.

 

Key Points

 

Make sure that you do the following before you send off your general manager resume:

  • Stick to the resume format guidelines—1 page, reverse chronological, margins, fonts.
  • Start with the general manager resume sample and fill in your own information.
  • Fill your job description with achievements and numbers.
  • Show depth with certifications, skills and other bonus sections. 
  • Write a general manager cover letter.

 

Was the general manager sample useful? Got questions on how to write a great resume for general manager jobs? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply.

Rate my article: general manager
Thank you for voting
Average: 5 (5 votes)
Dave Rygielski
Dave Rygielski
Dave is a career expert delivering a wide range of well-researched advice regarding the job hunting and application process. At ResumeLab, his data-driven resume and cover letter guides help readers capitalize on their potential.

Was it interesting? Here are similar articles

Free Resume Templates: The Ultimate Collection for 2023

Free Resume Templates: The Ultimate Collection for 2023

The best things in life are free. That applies to free resume templates, too—browse our hand-picked free resume template collection and download your favorites straight away!

Maciej Duszyński, CPRW
Maciej Duszyński, CPRW
Career Expert