Top Operations Manager Resume Skills for 2026

Use a simple, clean format that highlights your skills and experiences. Focus on readability by using bullet points and short phrases to present your skills. Properly organize your resume into education, experience, and skills sections.

“Adding a skills section to your resume is a great way to draw the recruiter’s attention to your most relevant strengths and competencies.”

– Ashley Watkins, NCRW, NCOPE, Job Search Coach

For example, a product manager’s bullet points might look like this:

• Successfully coordinated cross-departmental operational activities to meet company objectives.
• Demonstrated effective decision-making under pressure, resulting in successful project completions.
• Delivered performance coaching to underperforming team members, increasing their productivity by 30%.

Hitting all the top job requirements with your skills list will help you rank highly for a keyword search within an applicant tracking system. But don’t stop there. Add context for every skill elsewhere in your work experience. If a recruiter is excited by leadership in your skills section, the first thing they’ll do is skim your work experience to figure out when, how, and how much you used that skill.

As an operations manager, you must emphasize your skills and accomplishments in the work experience section of your resume. This will make you stand out to potential employers and show them you possess the expertise they seek.

As you list your responsibilities, it’s also important to highlight your specific achievements wherever you can.

“For soft skills, it’s often more effective to demonstrate them in the context of your past work experience. Instead of merely stating “excellent team player”, you are better off saying “collaborated with a cross-functional team of 6 on a new product launch that boosted sales by 30% in one year”. Examples of specific accomplishments or business outcomes speak louder than buzzwords.”

– Ana Lokotkova, Career Coach and Advisor

Instead of saying,

“Managed a team.”

You could say,

“Managed and mentored a high-performing team of 15, improving productivity by 30% and reducing turnover by 20%.”

Using these detailed and quantified statements, you can effectively highlight your skills and achievements as an operations manager, making your resume more attractive to potential employers.

If you’re applying for a role requiring a broad skillset, categorize your skills.

“If you opt to include a designated skills section on your resume, include up to 10 of your core competencies. Excessive skills lists are overwhelming and sometimes confusing to the reader.”

– Kelli Hrivnak, Marketing and Tech Recruiter

For instance, someone applying for the role might benefit from segmenting their skill lists as follows:

Operational Efficiency Skills

• Process Optimization: Implemented changes that improved productivity.
• Waste Reduction: Streamlined operations to reduce waste .
• Cost Management: Oversaw cost-effective allocation of resources, reducing expenses by 10%.

Leadership and Team Management Skills

• Team Leadership: Managed a high-performing team 15, improving productivity .
• Employee Development: Provided mentorship and training that increased team competency and reduced turnover.
• Conflict Resolution: Successfully mediated and resolved team conflicts, maintaining high morale and productivity.

Safety and Compliance Skills

• Safety Protocols: Implemented safety measures, reducing workplace incidents by 40%.
• Compliance Management: Ensured 100% adherence to industry regulations and successfully passed all external audits.

Policy and Procedure Skills

• Policy Development: Formulated operational policies that enhanced workflow efficiency by 20%.
• Procedure Implementation: Initiated new procedures, increasing operational effectiveness.

Reporting and Analysis Skills

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Used operational reports to inform decisions, contributing to a 15% increase in annual profits.
• Performance Analysis: Analyzed operational performance to identify areas for improvement.

This method of categorizing skills allows potential employers to understand your diverse expertise quickly and makes your resume more readable.

Use numbers to quantify your achievements wherever possible. This helps potential employers understand your abilities and the impact you can have on their organization.

“Recruiters and hiring managers are looking for relevancy of how and when you applied those skills, so provide examples of this in your experience section. Bonus tip: Don’t just insert the skill like a task–include results.”

– Kelli Hrivnak, Marketing and Tech Recruiter

Instead of saying,

“Led a team.”

You could say,

“Supervised and mentored a team of 20, increasing overall productivity by 35% and reducing turnover by 25%.”

Using numbers gives hiring managers a better sense of your value and demonstrates your expertise in the operations management role.

Quantifying your achievements makes your resume more compelling and effectively communicates the impact you can have on a potential employer’s organization.

Read the description carefully and emphasize the relevant skills and experiences. Highlight the skills that the employer seeks and provide examples of how you’ve used those skills in your previous roles. Doing so can demonstrate that you’re a strong fit for the position and increase your chances of being invited to an interview.

“The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach doesn’t work when it comes to your resume. For every job application, tailor your skill set to match the job description. Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that filter candidates based on keywords and skills listed in the job description. So, research the role you’re applying for and distill the skills required.”

– Ana Lokotkova, Career Coach and Advisor

In order to do this, “you must first understand what skills are most important for the target role,” says Ashley Watkins.

Here’s an example of how to tailor an operations manager’s resume to a job description

Job Title: Operations Manager at a Manufacturing Company

Requirements:

Experience with process improvement, strong leadership skills, data-driven decision-making, and knowledge of safety regulations and compliance standards.

Tailored Resume Description:

• Directed process improvement initiatives for a major manufacturing firm, resulting in a 20% increase in operational efficiency and a 15% reduction in costs.
• Led a team of 20, cultivating a high-performance culture that boosted overall productivity by 35% and reduced employee turnover by 25%.
• Spearheaded compliance initiatives, ensuring 100% adherence to industry regulations and passing all external audits over a three-year period.

“Focus on the sought-after and in demand skills. A great way to figure out what is currently in demand is by researching current job openings from your preferred companies and reading through the posting. Pay close attention to the preferred requirements section and build your skills section based on this list.”

– Chelsea Jay, Career & Leadership Development Coach – Seasoned and Growing

By tailoring your resume in this way, you can demonstrate that you have the specific skills and experiences the employer is looking for, thus increasing your chances of getting an interview.

Start each bullet point with an action verb. An action verb expresses an action, such as “create,” “build,” “manage,” “lead,” or “implement.”

Action verbs grab the reader’s attention and paint a vivid picture of what you accomplished at work.

Action verbs make your resume more interesting to read. They also show the kind of can-do attitude that employers are looking for.