Most businesses, at some point, will require an Office Manager to keep track of day to day business, so this is a very stable career choice with a future.
There are opportunities in all sectors, from small business to huge corporations and public organizations.
The role of the Office Manager is to oversee all aspects of business administration and to ensure that the office runs smoothly and efficiently.
Be warned, Office Manager jobs typically attract a high number of applicants – so be sure your resume has a sound focus on the skills that make you the best option; from high-level administrative abilities, budget management and organization to leadership and delegation.
Even if you have been doing an Office Manager’s role previously, make sure your resume is tailored to the requirements of the organization you are applying to; when the competition is this fierce you can not afford to be complacent.
The most natural starting place for a career in Office Management is through the channel of administrative assistant, either in the same business or a related field.
You don not necessarily need specific qualifications, but you do need a proven track record in an office environment.
You may also find that the role of Office Manager comes with direct line management for other employees, although this is not always the case.
Do your research before you apply and find out about the organization you are hoping to join.
Median Pay
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the pay for experienced (7+ years) Administrative-related Office Managerial jobs in 2019 was around $96,020 dollars per year.
Other career websites like pay scale.com, for example, place the median salary a bit lower at $46,126 per year. Other career intelligence sites place medians anywhere between these two.
Average salaries can be affected by things like the location of the job position. For example, coastal cities, like San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia will have higher pay than similar positions in other places in the country.
Presumably, the discrepancy in pay is correlated to the specific function of any given type of office administrative managerial position.
Office Manager Salary Statistics 2019
2019 Median Pay | $94,020 per year $45.20 per hour |
Typical Entry-Level Education | Bachelor's degree |
Work Experience in a Related Occupation | Less than 5 years |
On-the-job Training | None |
Number of Jobs, 2019 | 287,300 |
Job Outlook, 2014-2024 | +8% |
Employment Change, 2014-2024 | +23,500 |
Industry Forecast
On the whole, job outlook for office managerial type work is generally positive. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, job outlook between the years 2014 and 2024 is relatively robust at 8% which is the average growth rate among all professional working class industries.
Of course, as times change, so must labor. In the ever-connected app world where business moves a million miles an hour, one would be foolish to assume that the office manager job will be the same 20 years from now as it is today.
Always remember to eagerly learn new software, new apps, and don not be afraid to explore new industries so that you always remain competitive.
Common Types and Titles of Office Managers
The title “Office Manager” can be a notoriously vague one. Taken at face, Office Manager would seem to only manage an office. However, anyone who has worked in a large or medium size office knows that is not just the case.
There are many different types of managers in the office. From accountants, accounting managers, to administrative managers, bookkeepers, business managers, office assistants and office coordinators, the list of”Office Manager” job titles is endless.
Herein lies an important point. Given the massive variety and types of Office Managers, it is important to make your resume reflect the specific type of manager job that you have held. If you just write “office manager” on your resume, you will not stand out.
If you do not force yourself to get specific when writing, then your resume will be vague, and you will not be a perfect fit for any particular position. Instead, look back at your last couple of experiences, and try to identify a more specific managerial title that better suits the specific responsibilities that you held in your previous company or companies.
Receptionist Resume Sample Download (MS Word Format)
Below is an example of a typical Office Manager resume. You can use this resume to get an idea of the type of styling, fonts, wording, and bullet points you might want to use on a resume of your own.
Feel free to download this sample and print it off when writing your own resume, but always remember you must customize your own resume if you want to stand out.
How To Write Your Own
Even though this website is called copy my resume.com, we do not actually recommend that you copy exactly the samples and bullet points we provide for you here.
Sure, writing your own resume can be scary, especially when starting with a blank sheet of paper.
However, if you download one of our templates and start with a basic structure, then putting “meat on the bones”, so to say, becomes much easier.
Before you begin actually writing your resume, get a piece of scratch paper. On this paper list all of the responsibilities you remember doing at your last job; be prepared to write a long list. Repeat this process by writing a list of all the skills that you needed to use, all the software knowledge you needed, etc., until you have a long list.
You will use these lists later to select the best most relevant bullet points and skills to actually type into your final resume.
When writing your Office Manager resume, remember the attributes that make for a good Office Manager. Accuracy, efficiency, organization, positive attitude, streamlining, the ability to think independently; these are all skills required of a good office manager and all can also be used to describe a good Office Manager resume.
This means your resume should be accurate, do not lie or embellish. You should also be efficient when writing your resume, meaning you do not include unnecessary responsibilities like ordering more Culligan water, for example.
When you include irrelevant or minor tasks on your resume just to make it look longer, it actually detracts from the most valuable bits that HR and employers are looking for.
You also want to make sure your resume is organized. You want to choose a structure that reflects your education and experience level, meaning either a reverse chronological, a functional, or combination style resume format.
Also, like any good Office Manager, you want to write a resume in a way that reflects your personality. You want to be positive and optimistic, including helpful information like how you managed to reduce budget expenses in dollar percentage terms.
Likewise, you can mention how you helped grow an office from the size of 5 to 6 people, during the start up time, to 50 people once the company went public.
Of course, these are just examples that may not pertain to you specifically. You should only mention things that will get the reader, AKA, the employer, excited about your application.
Also, do not overlook the essentials. Your resume must contain an introduction, like a career objective or professional statement. You must also have a work experience section where you list previous relevant work experiences.
Please do not include experiences that are not related to the job you are applying for as they will only dilute the overall power of your resume.
Sample Bullet Points
Below are a few excellent examples of simple bullet points that Office Managers can use on their resumes. Of course, our bullet points are written for anyone, so you should not copy them exactly as they are written.
What you want to do is to use these points for inspiration. Try to adjust them to better suit your specific experiences.
Sample Office Manager Bullet Points
Task |
---|
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. |
Compute figures such as balances, totals, or commissions. |
Coordinate activities with other supervisory personnel or with other work units or departments. |
Participate in the work of subordinates to facilitate productivity or to overcome difficult aspects of work. |
Make recommendations to management concerning such issues as staffing decisions or procedural changes. |
Develop or update procedures, policies, or standards. |
Maintain records pertaining to inventory, personnel, orders, supplies, or machine maintenance. |
Consult with managers or other personnel to resolve problems in areas such as equipment performance, output quality, or work schedules. |
Develop work schedules according to budgets and workloads. |
Analyze financial activities of establishments or departments and provide input into budget planning and preparation processes. |
Design, implement, or evaluate staff training and development programs, customer service initiatives, or performance measurement criteria. |
Keep informed of provisions of labor-management agreements and their effects on departmental operations. |
Discuss work problems or grievances with union representatives. |
Coordinate or perform activities associated with shipping, receiving, distribution, or transportation. |
Monitor inventory levels and requisition or purchase supplies as needed. |
Plan for or coordinate office services, such as equipment or supply acquisition or organization, disposal of assets, relocation, parking, maintenance, or security services. |
Arrange for necessary maintenance or repair work. |
Plan layouts of stockrooms, warehouses, or other storage areas, considering turnover, size, weight, or related factors pertaining to items stored. |
Writing Your Career Objective
Career objective, professional statement, skill summary: these are all considered “introductions” to your resume. If you are a fresh graduate, you will be using a career objective.
If you are a senior-level candidate, you will probably want to use something like a professional summary or skill summary, as obviously, you have more skills than a freshly-graduated entry-level Office Manager applicant would have.
Keep the section short, it is essentially an introduction. The goal is to impress the reader and to get them to read the rest of your resume, which is the “meat” of application. Be precise, including information written specifically for the job you are applying to.
That is right; every SINGLE introduction, meaning every career objective, should be custom-tailored to the specific position being applied for.
Do not slack off here. Taking the time to customize every single career objective to each position will take more time than using the same exact resume for every job; however, it increases the chances of the reader actually processing your resume exponentially.
Always remember, you want to be the only unique puzzle piece to completing the big picture puzzle of the employer.
Additional Skills & Certifications to Include
Effective Office Managers have a wide variety of skills that help them organize and manage the office to always remain productive and efficient. Staple managerial skills that you will want to include are multitasking, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
You also want to emphasize how efficient you can be, and how concerned you are with things like productivity, ROI and KPI’s. Essentially, managers of businesses, like CEOs, want their Office Managers to think like they do.
You will also want to be sure you have a good mix of technical, organizational, and administrative skills on your application. Technical skills will include specific software suites like a Asana, Wrike, and even Microsoft Office and its related applications.
Next, you will mention how things like office records, bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, documents are organized and easily accessible. You also want to make sure things like everyday office supplies are always fully stocked and things like office printers and scanners are always up and running and full of ink.
Finally, you want to include administrative skills like the ability to manage a large group of people that work for the company. Office Managers are often critical to maintaining a positive office morale, effective communication, and a positive office culture.
You must be a good problem solver, meaning not just having the ability to solve your own problems, but also having the ability to solve problems among other coworkers in the office space.
Finally, confidentiality and reliability are key traits of office managers. Bosses and CEOs want someone they know that they can depend upon with sensitive information regarding the business and other workers. In some industries, office managerial discretion is absolutely critical.
You should not have to worry too much about certification, as many valuable office managers are valued purely for their experience and interpersonal skills.
However, if they really wants a formal certification, you can pursue something like an associate’s degree. Any degree in communication, business theory, law management, or computer systems will all be highly appreciated Office Manager managerial attributes.
Finally, if you do have a bachelor’s degree, you can get specifically certified within industry. For example, the International Facility Management Association offers certified facility manager certificates that you can use in your resume.
Likewise, if you have not gone to college yet, you can looked at things like bachelor of science in business administration to position you for a successful career in Office Management.
Complimentary Useful Skills to Include
Below is a list of skills that you can use on your own resume. These are selected specifically for office managerial type work and reflect a wide variety of desirable qualities that employers seek when hiring managers for their offices.
Useful Office Manager Skills
Skill | Skill Description |
---|---|
Reading Comprehension | Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
Active Listening | Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
Speaking | Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
Monitoring | Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
Social Perceptiveness | Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
Coordination | Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
Critical Thinking | Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
Writing | Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
Active Learning | Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
Instructing | Teaching others how to do something. |
Judgment and Decision Making | Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
Time Management | Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
Management of Personnel Resources | Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job. |
Learning Strategies | Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
Persuasion | Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. |
Negotiation | Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences. |
Service Orientation | Actively looking for ways to help people. |
Complex Problem Solving | Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
Systems Evaluation | Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system. |
Systems Analysis | Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes. |
Quality Control Analysis | Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance. |
Mathematics | Using mathematics to solve problems. |
Management of Material Resources | Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work. |
Management of Financial Resources | Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures. |
Operations Analysis | Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design. |
Operation Monitoring | Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. |
Troubleshooting | Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it. |
Programming | Writing computer programs for various purposes. |
Technology Design | Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs. |
Operation and Control | Controlling operations of equipment or systems. |
Science | Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
Equipment Selection | Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. |
Installation | Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications. |
Equipment Maintenance | Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. |
Repairing | Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools. |