Top Resume Keywords for
Project Managers
A recruiter's first look at a resume averages 7.4 seconds (Ladders eye-tracking study, 2018). These are the words that look has to find.
See the full Project Manager skill gap analysisWhat a Project Manager resume has to say
Split by what the parser matches literally and what a human reads for. Both columns are ranked core-first.
Technical skills
These are the hard skills and tools that define the role. Mention these in your “Skills” section and within your work experience bullet points.
Soft skills
Use these keywords to describe how you work. Weave them into your summary and accomplishment stories.
Not every keyword carries the same weight
Skilture models 103 roles. Counting how many of them ask for each word shows which ones mark a Project Manager out — and which ones every other applicant is listing too.
These say “Project Manager”
Asked for by almost no other role. If a keyword here is missing, the parser has little to tell this resume apart from any other.
- Project Planning1 of 103 roles · core in 1
- Gantt Charts1 of 103 roles
- Kanban1 of 103 roles
- Microsoft Project1 of 103 roles
- PMP Certification1 of 103 roles
- Resource Allocation1 of 103 roles
Everyone lists these
Asked for by 10 or more of the 103 roles. Worth including, but they will not make a resume stand out — for these, the evidence in your bullet points does the work, not the word.
- Communication69 of 103 roles · core in 26
- Problem Solving66 of 103 roles · core in 10
- Leadership22 of 103 roles · core in 8
- Stakeholder Management17 of 103 roles · core in 13
- Negotiation14 of 103 roles · core in 7
Counted across the 103 role profiles Skilture scores against. These are the role requirements we model, not anybody's resume.
Keywords are a start. Check the whole resume.
Adding keywords is easy. The free Resume Score shows whether your resume as a whole has what a Project Manager role asks for, and names the skills it is still missing. Practice Project Manager interview questions →
Check my Project Manager scoreKeywords only help if the ATS can read them. Check your resume's ATS parse rate free →