Project Manager CV example and ATS keywords
Project manager CVs are judged on delivery. Show the size of your projects (budget, team, timeline), the methods you use and what you delivered, with numbers.
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Keywords employers screen project manager CVs for
Most employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that look for the words in their job advert. Use the ones that are true for you, in your skills section and in your experience. Always check the advert itself too, because each employer words things slightly differently.
Skills
- Project delivery
- Stakeholder management
- Risk management
- RAID log
- Budget management
- Agile
- Scrum
- Waterfall
- Change control
- Resource planning
- Jira
- MS Project
- Vendor management
Qualifications and checks
- PRINCE2 Foundation
- PRINCE2 Practitioner
- APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ)
- PMP
- Scrum Master certification
Personal qualities
- Leadership
- Organised
- Clear communicator
- Decisive
- Calm under pressure
Example project manager personal statement
Your personal statement (or profile) sits at the top of your CV. Keep it to 3 or 4 sentences: who you are, your experience, your strongest skills and what you're looking for. Make it your own: these examples show the shape, not words to copy.
Organised operations coordinator with 3 years running process improvement projects of up to £50k, coordinating teams across 3 sites. PRINCE2 Foundation certified. Confident managing risks, timelines and stakeholders, and looking to step up into a project manager role.
PRINCE2 Practitioner project manager with 8 years delivering IT and change projects of up to £2m in financial services, using Agile and Waterfall methods. Track record of delivering on time and under budget while keeping senior stakeholders informed and engaged.
Example experience bullet points
Start each bullet with an action verb and add a number wherever you can. Recruiters remember results, not duties.
- Delivered a £1.2m CRM migration for 300 users 2 weeks early and 5% under budget.
- Managed a cross-functional team of 12 across IT, operations and an external supplier.
- Ran the RAID log and fortnightly steering meetings, resolving 3 major risks before they hit delivery.
- Introduced Scrum ceremonies and Jira boards, improving sprint delivery predictability by 25%.
- Negotiated supplier changes that saved £80k over the contract term.
Mistakes that get project manager CVs rejected
- Describing responsibilities instead of results. Say what was delivered, when, and for how much.
- Not giving scale: budget, team size, number of users or sites.
- Leaving your certifications at the bottom. Put PRINCE2, APM or PMP near the top.
How to lay out your project manager CV
- Contact details: name, phone, email, town and (optionally) LinkedIn. No photo or date of birth needed in the UK.
- Personal statement: 3 or 4 sentences, like the examples above.
- Key skills: 6 to 10 skills from the keyword lists that are true for you.
- Experience: most recent job first, with 3 to 5 bullet points each.
- Education and training: qualifications, certificates and checks.
Use one column, standard headings and no tables, text boxes or graphics, so applicant tracking systems can read every word. Save it as a Word file unless the advert asks for a PDF.
Project Manager CV questions
Do I need PRINCE2 to be a project manager?
Not always, but many UK employers, especially in the public sector, ask for PRINCE2 or APM. Agile roles may prefer Scrum certifications.
How do I show project management experience without the title?
Describe projects you've led in your current role, with scope, budget, team and results, and use the advert's keywords.
How long should a project manager CV be?
Two pages is normal for experienced project managers. Focus most detail on the last 5 to 10 years.
Get a project manager CV tailored to each job you apply for
Upload your CV once. For every job, Trabo rewrites it with the advert's keywords, using only your real experience, and shows your ATS score.