Office Manager Resume Example & Writing Guide

As an office manager with a diverse skill set, you probably can’t wait to use your abilities in a dynamic environment. Before you get there, you need to show your workplace competence to a recruiter, and what better way to do that than with a riveting office manager resume?

Now, if you’ve never written a resume before, you probably see it as a daunting task. 

That’s why we’ve compiled this handy guide, which will take you from start to finish, explaining every minor detail along the way. After reading it, you’ll be able to craft an outstanding office manager resume that will give you an edge over the competition!

What is the Right Format to Use for an Office Manager Resume?

Before you fire up your laptop and start typing, you need to determine how you’re going to convey information to recruiters through your resume.

Are you new to the field, and do you want to make your skills the focus of your office manager resume? Or are you a seasoned professional who wants to show off their impressive work history to potential employers?

If you ask a bunch of hiring managers what their favorite format is, most of them will recommend the chronological resume format. It puts your latest (and usually most important) accomplishments first, lists the rest in reverse-chronological order, and is ATS-friendly. All this makes it the best option for the majority of candidates.

The other two formats are:

• Functional, which emphasizes skills and is great for beginners.

• Combination or hybrid, which is generally used by experts who want to highlight their skills but also reinforce them with professional achievements.

Resume Layout

Here’s the thing: many recruiters spend as little as 6–7 seconds skimming through resumes, which is why you want to make it clean, readable, and one page long.

To achieve that, you need a sharp resume layout, which you can get by following these guidelines:

What Sections Should an Office Manager Resume Contain?

Certain sections of your resume are mandatory, while others are optional, though incredibly valuable when included correctly. Here they are:

Before we get into the specifics of each of those sections, we should mentionour resume builder, as this tool will do most of the heavy lifting for you. It’s perfect if you don’t want to write a resume from scratch, think about the format and layout, or worry whether you’ve forgotten to include crucial information.

Our resume builder has ready-made, ATS-safe templates where you can effortlessly adjust font, layout, or colors and add your information by simply filling in the blanks.

Office Manager Resume Contact Information

Just like with the contents of your resume, there are mandatory and optional bits that should go in your contact information section.

The must-have parts are:

Here’s what you shouldn’t include in your contact information:

Now, let’s take a look at an example:

In essence, you want to keep your contact information section concise and professional. 

Office Manager Resume Objective or Summary

You don’t want to spend hours perfecting your office manager resume only for recruiters to skim through it. For this reason, there's a section called a resume summary or objective that's meant to get their attention and make them want to keep reading. In essence, it’s a short description of your office manager resume.

You should write an objective if you’re an entry-level candidate who wants to emphasize their skills and career goals despite a lack of professional history.

On the other hand, if you've been working in your field for a long time, you can use a summary to highlight your most important professional achievements.

Entry-Level Office Manager Resume Objective

To grab attention from the get-go as an entry-level candidate, you should highlight your most prominent skills and career goals. That will show recruiters that you have potential and drive, both of which go a long way toward portraying you as a suitable candidate.

When writing an office manager resume objective, the goal is to be precise and specific. It helps if you have some sort of experience, whether it’s obtained through volunteer work, internships, or other activities.

Here’s a good example:

Good For comparison, here’s a bad example that features ambiguous information and displays uncertainty rather than determination:

Office Manager Resume Summary

As an experienced professional, you’ll put your best foot forward by including a couple of impressive workplace achievements in your office manager resume summary. Give recruiters a glimpse of what you’re capable of, and they’ll keep reading to find out more about you.

Let’s see that in a good example:

On the flip side, if you don’t showcase any concrete accomplishments, recruiters likely won’t get the impression that you’re much more than an entry-level applicant. Here’s how not to write a summary:

While a resume summary should be brief, it shouldn’t be this short. There isn’t anything valuable about the candidate’s workplace competence and accomplishments that would entice recruiters into checking out the rest of their resume.

Office Manager Resume Work Experience

If there’s one section that can single-handedly get you to the next stage of the hiring process, it’s the work experience section. Let’s see how to get it right.

However, relevance is the name of the game, meaning you don’t want to list unrelated jobs or accomplishments.

Because of that, you should start by researching the job description. Once you find out what the company wants, it’ll be much easier to create an impactful list of your achievements.

Generally, you want to start with your most recent employment since it’s usually the most important. And while it’s fine to mention your responsibilities, you should put more focus on results and achievements. Here’s how to get the most out of them:

• For optimal results, use bullet lists with 3–5 points per job.

• Adding exact numbers and percentages substantiates achievements.

• Notable action verbs and power words will help you stand out and make your work experience section more memorable.

Office Manager With No Experience

What if you’re new to the field and don’t have any professional experience?

In that case, any relevant experience will do the trick, and all the general tips we talked about still apply. For example, if your work history is not extensive, you can rely on your college projects, internships, or volunteering work, as these are a perfect fit for students or recent graduates.

Here’s how an entry-level candidate leveraged their cashier job to highlight skills and achievements relevant to the position of an office manager:

Senior Office Manager

Senior office managers will usually have a much easier time finding enough content for their work experience section than juniors. However, the secret here is not to overdo it. You don’t want every minor accomplishment to clutter your resume and draw attention away from the important stuff.

Instead, focus on those achievements that show why you are a senior.

Here’s an example:

Office Manager Resume Education Section

Creating an education section is usually simple, though there are a few niche cases. You should list your degree, the school you attended, the years of attendance, and any major accomplishments.

Here’s what that looks like:

If you want to list multiple degrees, it’s best to do that in reverse-chronological order. However, it’s not recommended to include your high school diploma in your resume unless that’s your highest degree.

What if I’m still studying?

• You could place “expected” next to a graduation date if you have one. Or you could omit the graduation date and put “current” instead.

What achievements warrant a place in my education section?

• Anything from a GPA of 3.5 or higher to relevant extracurricular activities, coursework, volunteer work, exchange programs, and more. Keep in mind that the richer your work experience section, the less focus should be on your education.

Office Manager Resume Skills

When you think about it, the entire resume is basically a testament to your skills and proficiency.

Still, you need a dedicated office manager resume skills section.

For starters, it’s worth noting that there are two different types of skills, and a good office manager needs a healthy combination of both on their resume.

Hard skills are specific and quantifiable abilities, many of which are unique to the position of an office manager. You can’t do the job without them, which is why recruiters look for these skills first.

Then there are soft skills, also known as people skills. These skills are more like personality traits that are applicable to different jobs and are often learned through real-world experience. They make you more organized and productive, a better team player, and so on.

Due to their differences, you should list them separately.

Office Manager Resume Optional Sections

If you have some space left on your resume and want to add more useful information, you can use optional sections. They can help you add a personal touch to your resume or tailor it to the job you’re applying for.

Courses & Awards

We already talked about how you can add relevant coursework to your education section. However, if you’ve taken useful office administration courses outside your formal education, this is where you should mention them to show dedication to the field.

On the other hand, awards show that you went above and beyond and got great results, which is why they are another great asset to a resume.

Languages

Proficiency in foreign languages always looks impressive on resumes. In some cases, if you’re supposed to work with foreign clients and coworkers, a job ad might even make this section mandatory.

In any case, list the languages you know in order of your skill level. The skill levels are:

Hobbies & Interests

This section can be a hidden gem on your office manager resume. While it seemingly has nothing to do with the job, it can still help you stand out by portraying you as an interesting and passionate individual.

Keep this section brief and toward the bottom of your resume, but don’t be surprised if it catches the attention of hiring managers and they ask you a thing or two about it during the interview.

Should You Submit a Cover Letter With Your Office Manager Resume?

A position-specific cover letter that matches your resume is one of the best ways to get ahead of the competition, and you should definitely submit it.

Try to find out who the recruiter is and address them by name for greater impact. In 3 to 5 paragraphs, you can show why you’re the best candidate by talking about your relevant professional accomplishments and displaying a strong desire to work at the company.

Job-Winning Office Manager Resume Example

Use this example

Closing Thoughts

That’s all there is to it!

You’re now more than capable of creating an office manager resume from scratch. Not only that, but you can rest assured that it will be better than what the majority of other candidates in the field have.

And if, at any point, you feel like you need a bit of help, come back to this article or use our resume builder. It’s as simple as that!