Ken Chase 
Is your resume focused on the right Operations Manager skills?
Before you can land a new role as an Operations Manager, you'll need to secure an interview by making the right impression on employers. To do that, you need to make sure your resume is focused on qualifications that present you as the best candidate for the job.
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But how can you determine which Operations Manager skills will most effectively highlight your qualifications?
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Which skills should you be adding to your resume to deliver the most compelling message possible?
In this guide, we'll explain why Operations Manager skills are so important and explore the different types of Operations Manager skills you'll need to include in your resume. We'll also provide tips to help you understand how to add these abilities in a way that highlights your potential value as an employee.
What are Operations Manager skills?
An Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing many of the most important elements of business operations to optimize productivity and profitability. They're responsible for everything from planning, organizing, and supply chain management to staffing, resource allocation, and quality control. Operations Manager skills include all the abilities and professional traits that you need to use to fulfill these responsibilities and maximize operational efficiency for your employer.
Related reading: What Are Skills? (With Examples and Tips on How to Improve Them)
Why are Operations Manager skills so important for your resume?
No matter how skilled you are in operational management, those abilities won't mean much if you're unable to convey them to potential employers. That's why it's so critical to understand which skills you should include in your resume and the best way to highlight them.
When a hiring manager skims your resume, these skills will be among the most important details they're interested in seeing. The right skills, presented in the right way, can help you capture any employer's attention and separate you from rival candidates.
Related reading: Make the Perfect First Impression With Your Resume
The Operations Manager skills employers want
When employers skim your resume, they're looking for specific skills that show them you can handle the role's responsibilities. To understand which skills to highlight, you first need to consider the types of results employers are expecting from their best candidates. While those expectations can vary to some degree, most employers are interested in knowing that you can:
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Improve efficiency
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Introduce innovative solutions
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Manage supply chains
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Promote quality control
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Enhance operational productivity
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Make strategic decisions
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Ensure customer satisfaction
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Boost employee engagement
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Manage risk
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Maintain compliance with regulations
Which Operations Manager skills should you include in your resume?
To convey your qualifications to a hiring manager, your Operations Manager resume needs to highlight key skills needed for the position. Those skills include both hard technical abilities and soft interpersonal talents. Below, we'll explore some of those essential skills and explain why they're prized by employers.
Technical skills required for Operations Manager
1. Technical operations
To meet their responsibilities, a competent Operations Manager needs to possess keen technical expertise in equipment and software related to design processes, production, data management, logistics, and customer relationships. These proficiencies typically include broad transferable abilities as well as industry-specific knowledge and skills.
2. Project management
Operations Managers need to be skilled in project management to deliver high-level results in an efficient manner. They are ultimately responsible for developing, organizing, and overseeing projects and should be well-versed in customer communications, management and team oversight, and hiring, training, and budget decisions.
3. Process improvement
Employers are always looking for operational managers who have proven success in improving the way things are done. This skill is useful for analyzing systems, processes, and trends to identify shortcomings that can be improved. Those improvements can help companies reduce costs, eliminate inefficiencies, enhance worker productivity, increase customer engagement, and boost profitability.
4. Regulatory compliance
Operations Managers should also be knowledgeable about relevant laws and regulations governing their industry. Whether it's OSHA safety regulations, quality assurance standards, or human resource, privacy, and data protection rules, a good Operations Manager needs to have a well-grounded familiarity with all relevant compliance concerns to ensure that their organization is operating in accordance with legal standards and industry best practices.
5. Risk analysis
Unforeseen risks can always pose a danger to any company's operations, which is why solid risk analysis skills are an important asset for any Operations Manager. Risks need to be identified before they can negatively impact a company's operations so that strategies can be created to minimize those hazards' potential for serious disruptions. By highlighting these abilities on your resume, you can demonstrate a future-focused mindset that can help employers respond to challenges before they become serious obstacles.
6. Supply chain management
Logistical management is another vital skill for Operations Managers. Every company needs to ensure that its supply chain remains secure and vibrant so that organizational continuity can be maintained at all times. This requires consistent monitoring of materials, costs, information, and financial activity in every area of operations – from the company's vendors, manufacturing, and wholesaling operations to retail chains and individual customers.
7. Strategic planning
Strategic planning as an Operations Manager requires a detailed understanding of a company's needs, industry trends, and long-term potential for growth and sustainability. Showcasing these skills will help employers understand your ability to define a company's direction, strategy, and viable plans that drive the company to reach those goals.
8. Financial management
No company can be successful without careful management of its finances. As an Operations Manager, your ability to manage company resources in a responsible way can help optimize performance, control costs, boost revenues, and increase profitability. To achieve those goals, you'll need to be skilled in financial forecasts and able to collaborate effectively with your company's financial team.
Soft skills for Operations Manager
1. Communication
If there's one skill that no Operations Manager can do without, it's the ability to communicate. These professionals are required to engage with superiors, subordinates, vendors, customers, and other stakeholders on a constant basis. To do that effectively, they need superior written and verbal communication skills that can enable them to convey ideas, inspire buy-in from their team, and provide useful feedback to drive improvements in every area of the company.
Related reading: 11 Best Communication Skills for Your Resume (With Examples)
2. Analytical thinking
Analytical skills are essential for studying problems, analyzing complex data, and identifying the best solutions to operational challenges. A great Operations Manager can use these skills to modify processes and introduce new systems and strategies that reduce costs, improve efficiency, and maximize productivity.
3. Organizational skills
An Operations Manager's role is so broad and diverse that it would be impossible to succeed without keen organizational skills. Projects, strategy planning, employee management, budgets, and other key concerns need to be given the right amount of attention if the organization is to operate efficiently. Managers who can successfully organize and prioritize these tasks will be much more effective in ensuring that their company remains on the right course.
4. Adaptability
Change is inevitable in business, which is why the ability to adapt to new situations and paradigms is so essential for operational success. Operations Managers often need to be flexible as they are confronted with unexpected challenges, changes in their industry, and new customer trends. The best managers are able to readily adapt to these changes, identify new opportunities, and implement new strategies to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves.
5. Conflict resolution
Often, disagreements and other conflicts will arise between employees, the company and its clients, or other stakeholders. To prevent conflicts from distracting the team from its mission, operation managers should possess conflict resolution skills that can quickly and effectively eliminate any source of discord. These skills can help maintain strong teamwork, resolve vendor concerns, and create a more harmonious and focused work environment.
6. Leadership
Leadership skills are about more than just being in charge and getting others to do what you want. True leadership requires the ability to motivate and inspire others, set achievable goals, and empower team members to follow that vision and achieve the mission. Operational Managers who possess critical leadership skills can help to drive change, lead their teams through even the most challenging of circumstances, and foster a work culture that contributes to organizational success.
Related reading: 20 Key Leadership Competencies for Success (Plus Tips!)
7. Time management
Time management abilities are vital for any Operations Manager's success. Tasks need to be prioritized and deadlines need to be managed in a way that optimizes operational efficiency and overall productivity. This skill is essential for managing schedules, implementing strategies, monitoring production and service, achieving milestones, and maintaining consistent standards across any organizational enterprise.
8. Decision-making
The ability to make the right decisions in a timely manner can often mean the difference between success and failure in any organization. It's not enough for an Operations Manager to be able to analyze data and situations to identify problems and possible solutions. Great managers are able to make choices that have a significant positive impact on a company's operational success.
How to add Operations Manager skills to your resume – the right way
Your resume has two primary goals to achieve: it needs to get past the company's applicant tracking system and make the right impression on hiring managers. To achieve both of those objectives, you'll need to tailor your resume to fit the specific role that you're seeking. The following tips can help you create that targeted resume:
Use the job posting as a guide
Your tailoring efforts should start with the job posting and description. What skills has the employer listed as requirements for the role? Identify them and make sure you include those abilities in your resume – using the exact terms you find in the job posting to ensure that the ATS can find the keywords it's looking for as it scans your submission.
Add skills to your resume headline
One of the first places you can include one of these skills is in your resume headline. Since this job title headline appears right below your contact information, it will be the first employment information a hiring manager sees. Simply use the job title you're seeking, along with some descriptive language that highlights your capabilities or specialties. For example:
Operations Manager with 8 Years of Experience in Technical Operations and Process Improvement
Include skills in your resume profile
Whether you use an objective statement or resume summary, make sure that your profile section highlights some of these key skills. For example:
Results-oriented Operations Manager focused on sound analysis, strategic planning, and continuous improvement to drive operational success. Proven results in risk analysis, project and resource management, quality control, and regulatory compliance. Designed and executed reorganization of ABC Corp., resulting in 43% improvement in efficiency and 22% increase in revenues in one year.
Related reading: Resume Profile Explained (with Examples)
Create a stellar skills section
Once you've selected the right skills for your resume, creating a winning skills section should be a simple and straightforward endeavor. Just craft a list of between nine and twelve relevant hard and soft skills in bullet point form. To save resume space, it's a good idea to format your skills section into two or three columns.
Highlight skills in your work experience achievements
Of course, you should also tie your skills to positive, quantifiable achievements. The easiest way to do that is to weave those abilities into your work experience section by adding them to some of your achievement bullet points. Wherever possible, try to use real numbers to demonstrate quantifiable value. For example:
Implemented five-stage reorganization plan for ABC Corp. to achieve integration with DEF Inc. after merger, aligning facilities and processes to reduce combined annual costs by $5 million.
Introduced Lean Operations Management for XYZ, simplifying supply chains and increasing logistical efficiency – resulting in 32% increase in profits.
Related reading: 47 Accomplishment Examples for Your Resume: Expert Picks
Use Operations Manager skills to prove you're the best person for the job
By focusing your resume on the right Operations Manager skills, you can make sure that you highlight your qualifications and send the right message to hiring managers. That can help you capture their attention, inspire them to want to learn more about you and increase the odds that you secure the interview you need to land your next job.
Not sure if your resume contains the right Operations Manager skills? Why not get your free resume review from TopResume's team of experts and let them help you deliver the compelling resume narrative you'll need to stand out from your rivals?