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.

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Looking at other positions? See our dedicated resume guides:

• Sales Manager Resume
• Business Manager Resume
• Entrepreneur Resume
• Operations Manager Resume
• Product Manager Resume
• Project Manager Resume
• Project Coordinator Resume
• Program Manager Resume
• Account Manager Resume
• Manager Resume
• CEO Resume
• COO Resume
• Executive Resume
• Sales Representative Resume
• Consultant Resume
• Chief Financial Officer / CFO Resume
• Business Resume
• Good Resume Examples for All Jobs

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

• Use elegant resume fonts, like Noto or Didot in 10–12pt.
• Order your experience in the reverse-chronological resume format.
• Here’s your resume outline: Resume Header, Objective, Experience, Education, and Additional.
• Set 1-inch resume margins, and use white space between sections.
• Choose a modern resume template. Avoid fancy graphics if you’re applying to a conservative company.
• How long can your resume be? One page should be enough. Write a two-page resume only if you have years of experience under your belt.
• Save your resume as a PDFto protect formatting, unless instructed otherwise. 

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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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

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:

• Certifications
• Awards
• Hobbies, Activities, and Personal Interests
• Volunteering
• Professional References
• Foreign Languages
• Skills—if you haven’t included them as part of your other sections

Extra Sections on General Management Resume Sample

Languages

• Spanish (fluent)
• Chinese (beginner)

Certifications

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

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).

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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.

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