9 Key Management Skills: How to Show Them on Your Resume

Managers are good leaders and collaborators. They are not only adept at managing others’ time and outputs, but take the initiative to mentor them and help facilitate a positive work environment.

If you are applying for a position where management skills are listed in the job description or for a manager role at an organization, your resume should reflect your managerial capabilities. Hiring managers want to know that you have relevant experience.

This article will explain what management skills are, provide a list of key management skills, and demonstrate how to highlight them on your resume.

What are management skills? 

Management skills are abilities and traits needed to perform certain duties, usually as it pertains to overseeing a team, such as solving problems, communicating well, and motivating employees. Such skills can be learned, through practical experience, or in courses and then honed on the job. Interpersonal skills are essential to maintaining good relationships and team spirit, while technical skills enable managers to knowledgeably coach newer team members.

Management skills are necessary across industries: managers can be found in investment firms, start-ups, bars and restaurants, government agencies, and more. Here is a list of key management skills you might consider for your resume:

• Leadership

• Project management

• Planning

• Delegation

• Coaching

• Negotiating

• Empathy

• Interpersonal skills

• Communication

• Problem solving

• Coordinating

• Organization

• Conflict resolution

• Strategic thinking

• Public speaking

• Logistics

• Technical knowledge

• Networking/outreach

• Collaboration

• Execution

• Decision making

• Innovation

Listing these skills is not enough. To demonstrate to a potential employer that you have the management skills to succeed, you’ll want to illustrate how you managed a team and how much impact you had, so that your resume shines in a competitive applicant pool.

How to highlight management skills on your resume. (Hint: Show, don’t tell.)

Management skills can be included in two different sections of your resume. They can be listed in a skills section of your resume. Another, perhaps better, place for skills is in the work or education sections. Describing how your management skills contributed to the workflow, productivity, or success of your team can be a more effective use of precious resume space. 

A strategic move is to detail a line or two about your management skill in your most relevant work experience. Later on, you can expand on this in your cover letter or interview. This helps paint a better picture of your capabilities so that hiring managers aren’t just reading an arbitrary list of management skills.

Some management skills are transferable. Restaurant or shop managers can leverage their resumes to demonstrate good organization and communication skills. Mothers or fathers who hope to transition into a job after years of managing a household can speak to this experience in a job interview. 

Below are 9 examples of management skills and how you can incorporate them into your resume. 

1. Leadership

Leadership skills are key to successful management, and a great skill set to include on your resume. Being an effective leader means guiding a team to achieve the company’s objectives and contributing to a positive, productive work environment. Despite whether the role explicitly states leadership as a requirement or not, employers tend to look for signs of leadership in a resume. They want to hire people who can inspire others and lead by example.

Example of leadership skills on a resume:

• Topia Agency, Marketing Manager

  • San Francisco, CA. July 2019-January 2022

  • Assembled and led a team of social media influencers to create content and launch a brand of sportswear on TikTok

2. Delegation

Delegating is a management skill that implies strategically distributing tasks to the most qualified employees. It’s more than bossing people around—good leaders delegate because it is necessary for a team to accomplish more. Assigning the right projects requires observing and understanding employees’ strengths and weaknesses. When done well, direct reports can feel that even the most tedious tasks are purposeful and that they are contributing to the team.

Example of delegation skills on a resume:

• Helping Hands, Healthcare Facility Supervisor

  • Boston, MA. May 2017-December 2020

  • Managed a team of 7 healthcare and 4 custodial staff, including delegating nurses to specific patients, taking into consideration their personality, area of expertise, and years of experience

3. Empathy

Empathy is essential to leading, delegating, and other key management skills. It is the ability to understand how others are feeling and to see things from their perspective. Empathetic leaders and managers are effective because they know when their team needs nurturing or more independence. Employees, in turn, feel comfortable sharing concerns or feedback.

Example of empathy on a resume:

• Justice for Women, Paralegal

  • Charleston, SC. December 2014-April 2019

  • As a paralegal working on domestic violence cases, I conducted research and interviewed clients to understand their needs and distribute resources when necessary

4. Project management

Project management is the process of leading and organizing a team to complete a project within a specific time frame and budget. This involves managing people, systems, tools, software, and budgets, usually requiring plenty of training and technical skills in addition to interpersonal skills. 

Example of project management skills on a resume:

• Baraka Conservancy, Project Manager

  • Austin, TX. September 2020-Present

  • Implemented Trello and Salesforce systems to a 20-person non-profit organization team and increased efficiency by 10% in one year

5. Communication

Demonstrating that you are an effective communicator can prove your worth to a hiring manager. Being able to communicate effectively and efficiently across diverse teams, through verbal and written exchanges, is a key management skill. When delegating a task, good communicators are professional and articulate. They are good at coordinating, collaborating, and organizing.

Example of communication skills on a resume:

• Center for Migration, Partnership Coordinator

  • Washington, DC. February 2012-2019

  • Performed outreach by cold-calling and communications materials, developed partnerships with 5 grassroots organizations, and secured 3 international funders

6. Planning

Managers are required to think ahead to ensure the current activities and projects align with overall business goals. Planning ahead, and taking the initiative to brainstorm plans for the future, shows future employers that you are goal- and results-oriented, organized, and ready for any obstacles that may come your way.

Example of planning skills on a resume:

• Nobita, Head Chef

  • Miami, FL. November 2015-January 2020

  • Supervised all raw ingredients orders, ordered and created a 15% buffer to mitigate potential supply chain shortages

7. Negotiation

Negotiation is a management skill that demonstrates an ability to persevere in problem solving, persuading clients or customers with hard facts and mutually beneficial solutions. Using their interpersonal and communication skills, a good negotiator influences others and convinces them to make an evidence-based decision.

Example of negotiation skills on a resume:

• Adobe Agents, Real Estate Agent

  • Cincinnati, OH. June 2020-Present

  • Closed 12 cash deals within first three months of working at Adobe

8. Problem-solving

Finding solutions to problems is a skill needed in nearly every job. Teams need leaders who are able to resolve issues creatively, using any resources available to approach and tackle them successfully. 

Example of problem-solving skills on a resume:

• Blue Cube, Software Engineer

  • San Diego, CA. April 2017-September 2021.

  • Advised customers on maintenance of software system, troubleshooting and coaching them when issues arise

9. Conflict resolution

In any organization, there may be disagreements between employees or teams, or between the company and its customers. Employees or managers who are equipped with the ability to step in and resolve the conflict are valuable. Using mediation and empathy, they can suggest a compromise so that everyone is happy.

Example of conflict resolution skills on a resume:

• Sweet Mountain High School, School Counselor

  • Boulder, CO. September 2020-Present

  • Handle and mediate conflict between students, between students and teachers, including initiating conversations with family members for additional counseling 

Boost your management skills with Coursera

Management skills can enhance your performance in your current or desired role. Taking online courses can be a great way to build those skills on your own schedule while exploring career options and updating your resume. Consider taking one of Coursera's top-rated courses in management:

For an introductory learning experience, take Johns Hopkins University's Principles of Management. This course takes about 15 hours to complete and covers how to coach direct reports, align team strategy with organizational goals, and more.

To delve deeper into management, consider the Leading People and Teams Specialization from the University of Michigan. Taught by exceptional leaders, this program takes about a month to complete and covers how to inspire and motivate individuals, manage talent, and lead teams.

If managing projects is more your style, the Google Project Management Professional Certificate can equip you with the right tools to launch your career in this high-growth field. Inside, you'll explore technical skills such as Agile project management, how to implement Scrum events, and build Scrum artifacts.