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Office Manager resume example

Built from the O*NET occupation First-Line Supervisor of Office and Administrative Support Workers, which is how this job is recorded officially.

A resume for a Office Manager needs to show the work itself: directly supervise and coordinate the activities of clerical and administrative support workers. Day to day that means work like this: supervise the work of office, administrative, or customer service employees to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures, correcting errors or problems; resolve customer complaints or answer customers' questions regarding policies and procedures. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Accounting Manager
  • Customer Service Manager
  • Customer Service Supervisor
  • Office Manager
  • Accounts Payable Supervisor
  • Accounts Receivable Manager
  • Administrative Supervisor
  • Office Coordinator
  • Office Supervisor
  • Staff Services Manager
  • PBX Supervisor
  • Accounting Administrator
  • Accounting Clerks Supervisor
  • Accounting Director
  • Accounting Supervisor
  • Accounts Payable Manager
  • Accounts Receivable Supervisor
  • Adjustment Supervisor

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Supervise the work of office, administrative, or customer service employees to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures, correcting errors or problems.
  • Resolve customer complaints or answer customers' questions regarding policies and procedures.
  • Provide employees with guidance in handling difficult or complex problems or in resolving escalated complaints or disputes.
  • Review records or reports pertaining to activities such as production, payroll, or shipping to verify details, monitor work activities, or evaluate performance.
  • Discuss job performance problems with employees to identify causes and issues and to work on resolving problems.
  • Prepare and issue work schedules, deadlines, and duty assignments for office or administrative staff.
  • Recruit, interview, and select employees.
  • Interpret and communicate work procedures and company policies to staff.
  • Evaluate employees' job performance and conformance to regulations and recommend appropriate personnel action.
  • Train or instruct employees in job duties or company policies or arrange for training to be provided.
  • Research, compile, and prepare reports, manuals, correspondence, or other information required by management or governmental agencies.
  • Implement corporate or departmental policies, procedures, and service standards in conjunction with management.

28 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Supervise the work of office, administrative, or customer service employees to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures, correcting errors or problems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Resolve customer complaints or answer customers' questions regarding policies and procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Provide employees with guidance in handling difficult or complex problems or in resolving escalated complaints or disputes, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Review records or reports pertaining to activities such as production, payroll, or shipping to verify details, monitor work activities, or evaluate performance, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Adobe Acrobat
  • ADP Workforce Now
  • Apple macOS
  • Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge
  • Blackboard software
  • Bookkeeping software
  • Citrix cloud computing software
  • Contract management software
  • Data entry software
  • Database software
  • Delphi Technology
  • Document management system software
  • Dropbox
  • Evernote

89 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • 10-key calculators
  • Computer data input scanners
  • Computer laser printers
  • Desktop computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Laser facsimile machines
  • Liquid crystal display LCD projectors
  • Multi-line telephone systems
  • Personal computers
  • Photocopiers
  • Photocopying equipment
  • Postal scales

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • train personnel

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Coordination
  3. 03Monitoring
  4. 04Reading Comprehension
  5. 05Social Perceptiveness
  6. 06Speaking
  7. 07Critical Thinking
  8. 08Active Learning
  9. 09Instructing
  10. 10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Administration and Management
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Administrative
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Personnel and Human Resources
  • Economics and Accounting

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 45%Bachelor's Degree
  • 23%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 20%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Office Manager do?
Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of clerical and administrative support workers. Day to day that includes work like supervise the work of office, administrative, or customer service employees to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures, correcting errors or problems and Resolve customer complaints or answer customers' questions regarding policies and procedures.
What skills should a Office Manager put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Coordination, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Office Manager list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, ADP Workforce Now, Apple macOS, Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge, and Blackboard software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Office Manager work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Accounting Manager, Customer Service Manager, Customer Service Supervisor, and Office Manager. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Office Manager need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 45% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Office Manager role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.