Before you write the perfect document, you need to take a step back and make sure you have brushed up on your skills and the standards of your industry to really make an impact.
Resume writing is more than just listing a few previous jobs, along with your education.
The details that can make or break a resume come down to more than previous work experience.
This article will show you the subtle differences between what makes a resume that is sure to land you an interview, and one that will get tossed in the waste paper basket.
If you are just getting started in a new field, or maybe you haven’t applied to a new job recently, you have come to the right place to get started.
Let’s get going!
Summary
- Resume Template
- Formatting
- Writing Your Resume Summary
- Areas of Expertise
- Writing Your Work Experience
- Writing Your Education Section
- Additional Sections
- Resume Points to Remember
- Resume “Don’ts” to Remember
- Some Helpful Tools
Let’s begin with a sample account manager resume to demonstrate how all the resume pieces fit together. Then we will break each section down to really drill into how to write the best account manager resume you possibly can.
Account Manager Resume (Text Version)
Contact Info:
Rosemary Knight
[email protected]
1 (901) 555-5500
Memphis, TN 37501
Summary Statement:
Account Manager: Customer-focused account manager with 10 years of experience acquiring and maintaining profitable clients for high-earning companies. Dynamic customer service, organizational, and follow-through skills. Passion for utilizing problem-solving and prioritization skills in order to exceed expectations within critical deadlines.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise
- Innovative Solutions
- Corporate Client Liaison
- Warehouse Management
- Labor Management
- Inventory Reports
- Proactive Strategizing
- Relationship Building
- Compliance Standards
- Intuit QuickBooks
- Negotiation
- HubSpot
- Account Planning
- Active Listening
- Relationship Building
Professional Experience:
Third Party Logistics | Memphis, TN
Account Manager | June 2016 – Present
- Self-recovered 10 dormant accounts worth $350,000 annually
- Improved customer service, increasing business volume by 125%
- Trained 5 incoming account managers to maintain client relations
- Receive and process all order releases, including system updates
Premium Guard, Inc. | Memphis, TN
Account Manager | Oct 2013 – May 2016
- Utilized outside sales team to increase sales by 25%
- Ensured efficient delivery of solutions, increased client retention by 30%
- Communicated goals to stakeholders to exceed sales targets by 20%
- Selected as Employee of the Month 3 times for exceeding sales goals
United Recovery and Remarketing | Collierville, TN
Skip Tracing Account Manager | July 2010 – Sept 2013
- Primary contact for corporate clients, branch representatives, and field agents
- Exceeded productivity, customer satisfaction, and compliance standards
- Built strong relationships with internal and external customers
- Responded to all inquiries and complaints in a positive, timely manner
Education/Certifications
Bachelor’s Degree | Business Administration
University of Memphis | Memphis, TN
Graduated 2010
Formatting
The first step in writing an account manager resume that is going to catch the attention of a hiring manager is the formatting.
That means that before you think about what words you want to write on the page, you should be thinking about how you want your resume to look overall.
The first visual decision you make should apply to the font you select for your resume.
Avoid the temptation to use a font that is eye-catching at the expense of being easy to read and follow.
The best formatting decisions are the ones that help your words do all the talking and don’t distract from what you are trying to convey.
While it is essential to keep your account manager resume limited to just one page, it is also important to allow for even spacing between lines and sections so that you can guide your readers’ eyes down the page.
Bullet points help create the necessary separation between talking points so that more impressive information can stand out.
Since hiring managers only spend about 6 seconds reviewing the resumes they look at, it is always important to draw attention to the key details you want to be sure are noticed.
List your work experience in reverse chronological order to ensure that your most recent and relevant accomplishments will be read even if nothing else is.
No matter how impressive a candidate is, if their resume fails to convey the correct information, they might not receive another opportunity to prove themselves.
Take the format of your resume just as seriously, if not more so, than any other aspect of your resume – it is the first detail that will make an impression.
Start With Your Resume Summary
If you have been a part of the workforce for a few years, you might be familiar with the “resume objective.”
An objective has traditionally been the standard introductory section of a resume.
However, today, the standard opening section of a resume is referred to as a resume summary.
The difference between these two sections isn’t major; however, a resume summary typically offers more information concerning who you are as a candidate.
Think of this opening paragraph as an opportunity to grab attention with some key details and descriptions without giving too much away.
An ideal resume summary will consist of two to three sentences that give a general overview of who you are as an account manager and a few quantifiable details to back up your worth.
Yes!
Customer-focused account manager with 10 years of experience acquiring and maintaining profitable clients for high-earning companies. Dynamic customer service, organizational, and follow-through skills. Passion for utilizing problem- solving and prioritization skills in order to exceed expectations within critical deadlines.
No!
Account manager with customer service, organizational, and follow-through skills. Good at utilizing problem-solving and prioritization skills in order to meet expectations on time.
The “Yes!” example lists details concerning the candidate’s skills and level of experience to show hiring managers that they are a capable and well-versed applicant.
The “No!” example leaves too much to the imagination, failing to lend enough of a description to entice a hiring manager to continue reading.
PRO TIP: When deciding what details are best to include in your resume summary, stop and ask yourself, “what are the key characteristics and expectations of a great account manager?” “What skills and experience, or accomplishments do I have that prove I meet those expectations?” Start by making a general list where you match up and then narrow things down to what you think the key details are. Sometimes starting broadly and working your way in allows you to pick out the best information.
Key Accomplishments/ Skills & Qualifications
While it is crucial to start off with a brief introduction at the top of the page, it is equally important to make sure you add something a bit more eye-catching as well.
Including a section that lists your key skills and qualifications in simple bullet points and without any extra fluff will grab a hiring manager’s attention immediately.
When listing your skills and qualifications, be sure only to list the items that are relevant to the exact job you are applying for.
The goal of this section is to keep things short and sweet so that the information will stand out on the page.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise:
- Innovative Solutions
- Corporate Client Liaison
- Warehouse Management
- Labor Management
- Inventory Reports
- Proactive Strategizing
- Relationship Building
- Compliance Standards
- Intuit QuickBooks
- Negotiation
- HubSpot
- Account Planning
- Active Listening
- Relationship Building
Also, be aware that there are two main skill types to include when you are writing this section.
Hard Skills:
- Referred to as technical skills
- Typically job-specific
- Often quantifiable
- Taught and practiced
Soft Skills:
- Referred to as people skills
- Similar to personality traits
- More innate
- Applicable to more jobs
A well-rounded candidate should be able to use the software necessary and have the specific industry know-how to be a competent account manager.
However, they should also be able to maintain client relations through their abilities of persuasion and communication.
Both skill types are essential when working as an account manager, so make sure that you include a decent amount of both on your resume.
PRO TIP: When writing this section of your resume, make sure that you consult the job posting to see if the company has already stated what skills they are looking for a candidate to have. Make sure that your resume matches what they are looking for so that they can see you are compatible.
Writing Your Work Experience
The section of your account manager resume that should take up the most space is your work history section.
A person’s work experience is valuable because it allows them to back up the skills they claim to have and talk about previous achievements related to the job they want.
Depending on your background, you will need to tailor this section around your own unique job history and play to your strengths.
Utilizing reverse chronological order to list things starting with your most recent, and hopefully relevant, is the most common and expected way to format this section.
Once you have decided what jobs are most beneficial to include in this section, describe each one with three to five bullet points.
Each bullet point should describe a specific job task or accomplishment that fortifies why you would be an excellent fit for the new position you seek.
Yes!
Third Party Logistics | Memphis, TN | Account Manager | June 2016 – Present
- Self-recovered 10 dormant accounts worth $350,000 annually
- Improved customer service, increasing business volume by 125%
- Trained 5 incoming account managers to maintain client relations
- Receive and process all order releases, including system updates
No!
Third Party Logistics | Memphis, TN | Account Manager | June 2016 – Present
- Manage and oversee various accounts
- Provide exceptional customer service
- Train incoming account managers
- Process order releases efficiently
The “Yes!” example lists detailed information regarding how the candidate achieved their tasks and what the impact was for their company and clients.
The “No!” example lends no specific details to set the candidate apart from others or show the impact of their hard work and abilities in their field of work.
PRO TIP: Make sure that you begin each bullet point in your job descriptions with different power words. A power word is an action verb that describes your various job tasks and accomplishments in a way that is unique and impactful. Never repeat the same power word on your resume – you want to show hiring managers that you are a versatile and capable candidate.
(If you lack work experience, see below for a helpful section.)
What are bots?
When you are writing your account manager resume, it is important to consider who the audience you are writing for will be.
While it is safe to assume that a hiring manager or business owner of some kind will review your resume at some point in the hiring process, there is actually one other reviewer you should be aware of.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), or bots, are systems designed to review and narrow down resumes before an actual person does.
Bots look through resumes in search of keywords (distinct adjectives) that are associated with the type of candidate they are looking for.
When a bot finds a resume that shows promise based on their diction, it will flag the resume to move forward in the hiring process.
While this method might sound strange, it is an increasingly common review process used by many companies – meaning you should always assume your resume is going to be put against a bot.
Some resume experts believe that including more keywords in your job descriptions through formatting with paragraphs instead of bullet points will create a higher chance of impressing a bot.
Standard Bullet Point Format:
Premium Guard, Inc. | Memphis, TN | Account Manager | Oct 2013 – May 2016
- Utilized outside sales team to increase sales by 25%
- Ensured efficient delivery of solutions, increased client retention by 30%
- Communicated goals to stakeholders to exceed sales targets by 20%
- Selected as Employee of the Month 3 times for exceeding sales goals
Paragraph Format:
Premium Guard, Inc. | Memphis, TN | Account Manager | Oct 2013 – May 2016
Utilized the outside sales team to maximize customer satisfaction and increase sales by 25%. Ensured efficient delivery of solutions according to customer objectives, increasing customer retention by 30%. Clearly communicated the initiative process to internal and external stakeholders to exceed sales targets by 20%. Selected as Employee of the Month 3 times for exceeding sales goals.
Or, consider adding bullet points to the end of your paragraph.
Premium Guard, Inc. | Memphis, TN | Account Manager | Oct 2013 – May 2016
Utilized the outside sales team to maximize customer satisfaction and increase sales by 25%. Ensured efficient delivery of solutions according to customer objectives, increasing customer retention by 30%. Clearly communicated the initiative process to internal and external stakeholders to exceed sales targets by 20%.
- Employee of the Month 3 times
- Managed 95+ accounts
When deciding what format to use in your own account manager resume, consider the visual difference between these two styles.
It is still possible to use keywords when writing with bullet points, and the visual impact is generally more enticing for human viewers.
Here at Big Interview, we recommend sticking with bullet point format rather than paragraphs on your resume whenever possible.
Writing Your Education Section
Regardless of how far you have come in the workforce, it is still necessary to include an education section.
When writing your education section, list your levels of education, starting with your highest degree first (if you have more than one).
If you have graduated from college, you can generally leave out your high school diploma.
Make sure that for each degree, you include the full title of your degree, the school you attended, and the year you graduated.
Example:
Education
Bachelor’s Degree | Business Administration
University of Memphis | Memphis, TN
Graduated 2010
You can also include any certifications or licenses in this section as well.
Certifications
CBRM (Certified Business Relationship Manager)
Possible Sections to Include
In some cases, you might have qualifications and accomplishments to include on your account manager resume that don’t fit in the more typical sections; you can include those details by adding an additional section.
Some sections to consider including are:
- Awards and honors
- Publications
- Noteworthy Projects
- Social Media Influence
- Speaking Engagements
- Hobbies/Interests
- Volunteer Work
What if You Don’t Have Much Experience?
If you are concerned about how to write your resume with a lack of experience, rest assured that you can tailor it around your work history (or lack thereof).
When applying to become an account manager, it is crucial to have some job experience, as this is not typically an entry-level position.
However, if you have absolutely no work experience, you can adjust your resume by moving your education section to just below your resume summary.
Enhance your education section by listing additional academic accomplishments (high GPA, honors, awards, etc.) to make it pop a bit more.
Add in a section that includes any internships or volunteer work that might apply to the position you are after.
If you do have some experience that is more or less unrelated to the position you are after, you can still include it in your resume, provided you don’t have the most relevant work history to discuss.
Try to focus on listing workplace tasks and accomplishments that transcend work fields and might still apply to the skills necessary for an account manager to have.
Resume Points to Remember
Quantify and Qualify
When writing your job descriptions, make sure that you lend quantifying and qualifying details to enhance your accomplishments and tasks. Adding specific details about how you carried out duties and what the outcomes were separates you from other candidates.
Name and number
Make sure that you include your name and contact information in a clear and apparent location on your resume. Don’t get so hung up on the complicated details of your resume that you forget the more simplistic information.
Keep it fresh
Don’t repeat the same power words or talking points more than once. Keep your diction and your insights fresh, and don’t feel the need to repeat yourself. Use formatting to allow for valuable information to stand out.
Try to Avoid
Two-page resumes
Never allow your resume to go onto a second page. Make sure that you take the time to narrow down talking points and details to only the most essential and impressive. Regardless of how much experience you have, a hiring manager does not want to see a two-page resume.
Improper spacing
Don’t try to pack in too many details at the expense of your formatting. A well-formatted resume will allow enough space in between bullet points and sections so that a reader can effortlessly follow your words down the page.
Distracting style
While your resume should grab attention visually, and not only with words, make sure that you aren’t making stylistic decisions that will distract your readers. Don’t include graphics, layouts, or fonts that won’t help with creating a quick and easy read.
(See below for a helpful table of some suggested power words.)
Helpful Tools:
Power Words
- Administered
- Founded
- Adept
- Formulated
- Built
- Implemented
- Created
- Improved
- Consolidated
- Initiated
- Coordinated
- Launched
- Developed
- Pioneered
- Designed
- Organized
Skills List
Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
HubSpot | Active Listening |
Intuit QuickBooks | Negotiation |
Inventory Reports | Relationship Building |
Labor Management | Communication |
Corporate Client Liaison | Innovative Solutions |