General Manager CV—Example & 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 CV guide you’ll be getting interviews in no time.

In this guide: 

• General manager CV sample that beats 9 out of 10.
• A professional CV 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 CV guides:

• Sales Manager CV Examples
• Business Manager CV Examples
• Operations Manager CV Examples
• Product Manager CV Examples
• Project Manager CV Examples
• Project Coordinator CV Examples
• Program Manager CV Examples
• Account Manager CV Examples
• Manager CV Examples
• CEO CV Examples
• Executive CV Examples
• Sales Representative CV Examples
• Consultant CV Examples
• Good CV Examples for All Jobs

Let’s write your own general manager CV.

1. Use a Proper CV 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, organised persona starts here, and no detail can be overlooked.

Here’s the business CV format:

General Manager CV Format

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

2. Write a Ray Kroc-esque General Manager CV 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 CV profile sits right at eye-level of your CV. 

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 CV 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, organised, 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 CV 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 CV profile? It is best to do this once you have completed the other sections of your general manager CV, 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 CV.

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 CV examples:

General Manager Job Description

General Manager

WalkMarket, Wembley

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 practises and incentive schemes.
• Coordinated 2 charity events a year, collecting £30k+ for a local child care home.

General Manager

Drift Store, Greenford

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: Scan each separate job ad for specific competencies, and bring them to the forefront in each application by crafting a targeted CV to stand a chance at the top jobs.

Your CV wouldn’t be complete without a well-crafted skills section. In it, list between 5 and 10 hard and soft skills. See the list below for reference.

General Manager Skills for a CV

• Leadership skills
• Excellent communication
• Organisational 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 CV 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 CV:

General Manager CV Sample—Education

Education

BA Business Administration

2014

University of London

5. Add More Sections to Your General Manager CV

Most CVs end with some miscellaneous details. One messy ‘Additional Info’ section is not a good look. Organise your bonus CV 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 CV 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 CV certifications section with a LEAN qualification in a relevant field, such as Process Improvement. 

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

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Want to try a different look? There’s 18 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 CV:

• Stick to the CV format guidelines—1 page, reverse chronological, margins, fonts.
• Start with the general manager CV 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 CV for general manager jobs? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply.

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