The Best Project Manager Resume Skills and Keywords [Updated for 2023]

If you’re not sure which keywords to add to your project manager resume, scroll down for a list of project management resume skills and keywords. I will also show you how to place these correctly in your resume so you’re showing these skills off, too.

The Project Management Institute predicted a higher demand for Project Management jobs than all other occupations between 2017-2027. This is because according to their Pulse of the Profession: The High Cost of Low Performance, only 56% of strategic initiatives meet their original goals and business intent.

So if you’re looking for a project management job in today’s world, the odds are in your favor. But how do you convince the recruiter that you’re the best fit?

The answer is simple. You should add keywords in your project manager resume that recruiters most commonly search for. You must also include the skills that are the most relevant to the job description.

If you’d like to see a resume cheat sheet in which I break down where you need to put your best keywords and how exactly to back them up with hard, tangible accomplishments, download my resume cheat sheet below:

 

The resume that is based on was used by a manager to double their initial offer -- just by visually showing she brought results.

Top Project Management Keywords

I studied a few project manager job descriptions carefully. After that, I have put together a list of the best project manager resume skills and keywords. Feel free to use these in your resume.

You can copy these skills from a PDF here.

Hard keywords like the ones above are those recruiters would search for, say using the LinkedIn search bar, to find someone like you. Soft keywords are strengths they'd look for when reading between the lines of your resume -- can you work well in a team? Are you a good problem solver? Can you communicate well with executives? And so on.

Below, you'll find a list of soft skills that you should speak to on your resume:

Project Management Keywords Related to Education

Project manager certifications make great keywords. You must mention them in the skills section if you have them. I’m sharing a few of them below:

How to Highlight Your Project Manager Skills in Your Resume

Only adding these project management skills to your resume is not enough. You must also do the following:

    1. Place them correctly.

    1. Weave them into your experience section.

    1. Back up your project manager resume skills with examples. In short, prove that you have them.

One place to add project management resume skills and keywords is towards the top of the resume. That is where the reader pays the most attention.

For example, look at the project manager resume skills below. Because these are in the first few lines, they will catch the reader’s attention in the first few seconds.

Moreover, ATS categorizes how well you know something based on where it falls under your professional experience. For example, a key skill that you used more recently will be weighed higher than one used several years ago. So, it's critical to weave these keywords into your professional experience as well:

Project Management Keyword-Based Questions to Ask Yourself

To weave the project manager resume skills into your work experience, ask yourself the following questions. These will help uncover your wins. Your answers can be used to shape your professional experience section.

Quality Control:

    1. What weaknesses did service reporting have when you first joined?

    1. What issues did service delivery have when you first joined?

    1. Were there any obstacles in the smooth execution of business strategy?

    1. Did your team ever fail to meet KPIs? What action did you take to address the gap?

    1. Did you ever run into cost management issues?

    1. How did end-to-end project management help you achieve quality project outcomes?

Management:

    1. Was there any part of your workflow that felt disjointed?

    1. How many projects did you successfully oversee?

    1. Was non-conformity with the company’s policies and rules ever an issue while executing planned projects?

    1. What problems hindered the completion of the project?

    1. Were you ever challenged by having to manage multiple projects at the same time? How did you live up to that challenge?

    1. Did you struggle with setting priorities as to which project would need more resources? If yes, how did you find a solution for that? If no, what frameworks did you use to set the priorities straight?

    1. Was the progress of the project not being recorded properly?

    1. Can you recall a time where the unfair distribution of resources affected the project’s success? What strategies did you use to effectively utilize the resources available?

    1. Can you recall a time where the project faced a critical IT issue and it was hard to come up with a practical solution? What did you do?

    1. Did you ever have a hard time managing conflicts? Were you able to provide any solutions?

    1. Did you help resolve any communication gaps? How?

    1. Was the company having a tough time getting a client on-board for a project?

    1. Did you ever face resistance when you introduced improvement processes?

By following the simple steps outlined above, you will notice an increase in the response rate of your job applications.

Project Management Keyword Dos and Don'ts

Before you send in your resume, make sure there are no grammatical errors. Also, your skills should be correctly capitalized.

Moreover, don't worry about being a complete master of a skill in order to include it in your resume. However, you should only add skills that you actually can use within your first month at your new job. Also, double-check your skills for outdated software.

Here are a few more resources you might find helpful:

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