9 Key Management Skills: How to Show Them on Your Resume

Key takeaways

Management skills to feature on your resume are workplace and technical skills that showcase your ability to problem solve, communicate, and lead.

• Rather than simply listing management skills on your resume, illustrate how you used these skills and what impact they had. 

• Key management skills include leadership, delegation, empathy, project management, and communication.

• You can develop your management skills through practical experience, on-the-job training, and courses.

Learn what management skills are, explore a list of key management skills, and demonstrate how to highlight them on your resume. Then, discover Coursera for Business and its expert-powered learning platform that can equip your team with critical skills needed in today’s changing workforce.

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What are management skills? 

Management skills are abilities and traits needed to perform certain duties, usually pertaining to overseeing a team, such as solving problems, communicating well, and motivating employees. Such skills can be learned through practical experience or in courses and then honed on the job. Interpersonal skills are essential to maintaining good relationships and team spirit, while technical skills enable knowledgeable managers to coach newer team members.

Management skills are necessary across industries, as they can be found in investment firms, start-ups, bars and restaurants, government agencies, and more. Consider these key management skills for your resume:

• Leadership

• Project management

• Planning

• Delegation

• Coaching

• Negotiating

• Empathy

• Interpersonal skills

• Communication

• Problem-solving

• Coordinating

• Organization

• Conflict resolution

• Strategic thinking

• Public speaking

• Logistics

• Technical knowledge

• Networking

• Collaboration

• Execution

• Decision making

• Innovation

To demonstrate to a potential employer that you have the management skills to succeed, illustrate how you managed a team and how much impact you had so that your resume shines in a competitive applicant pool.

How to highlight management skills for your resume (Hint: Show, don’t tell)

You can include management skills in two different sections of your resume. First, you can list them in a skills section of your resume. Another, perhaps better, place for skills is in the work or education sections. Describing how your management skills contributed to your team's workflow, productivity, or success can be a more effective use of precious resume space. 

A strategic move is to write a line or two about your management skills, connecting them to your most relevant work experience. Later on, you can expand on this in your cover letter or during your interview. This helps paint a better picture of your capabilities so that hiring managers are doing more than reading a list of management skills.

Some management skills are transferable. Restaurant or shop managers can leverage their resumes to demonstrate good organizational and communication skills. Mothers or fathers who plan to transition into a job after years of managing a household can speak to this experience in a job interview. 

9 management skills for resume building

Explore nine examples of management skills and how you can incorporate them into your resume. 

1. Leadership

Leadership skills are key to successful management and a great skill set to include on your resume. Being an effective leader means guiding a team to achieve the company’s objectives and contributing to a positive, productive work environment. Whether the role explicitly states leadership as a requirement or not, employers look for signs of leadership in a resume. They want to hire people who can inspire others and lead by example.

Example of leadership skills on a resume:

• Topia Agency, Marketing Manager

  • San Francisco, CA. July 2023-January 2026

• Assembled and led a team of social media influencers to create content and launch a brand of sportswear on TikTok.

Read more: What Leadership Qualities Make Managers Better?

2. Delegation

Delegating is a management skill that implies strategically distributing tasks to the most qualified employees. Good leaders delegate because it is necessary for a team to accomplish more. Assigning the right projects requires observing and understanding employees’ strengths and weaknesses. When done well, direct reports can feel that even tedious tasks are purposeful and that they are contributing to the team.

Example of delegation skills on a resume:

• Helping Hands, Healthcare Facility Supervisor

  • Boston, MA. May 2021-December 2024

• Managed a team of seven health care and four custodial staff, including delegating nurses to specific patients, considering their personalities, areas of expertise, and years of experience.

3. Empathy

Empathy is essential to leading, delegating, and other key management skills. It is the ability to understand how others are feeling and to see things from their perspective. Empathetic leaders and managers are effective because they know when their team needs nurturing or more independence. Employees, in turn, feel comfortable sharing concerns or feedback.

Example of empathy on a resume:

• Justice for Women, Paralegal

  • Charleston, SC. December 2017-April 2022

• As a paralegal working on domestic violence cases, I conducted research and interviewed clients to understand their needs and distribute resources when necessary.

4. Project management

Project management is the process of leading and organizing a team to complete a project within a specific time frame and budget. It involves managing people, systems, tools, software, and budgets, and usually requires plenty of training, technical skills, and interpersonal skills. 

Example of project management skills on a resume:

• Baraka Conservancy, Project Manager

  • Austin, TX. September 2020-Present

• Implemented Trello and Salesforce systems for a 20-person non-profit organization team and increased efficiency by 10 percent in one year.

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5. Communication

Demonstrating that you are an effective communicator can prove your worth to a hiring manager. Being able to communicate effectively and efficiently across diverse teams through verbal and written exchanges is a key management skill. When delegating a task, good communicators are professional and articulate. They are good at coordinating, collaborating, and organizing.

Example of communication skills on a resume:

• Center for Migration, Partnership Coordinator

  • Washington, DC. February 2017-2025

• Performed outreach by cold-calling and communications materials, developed partnerships with five grassroots organizations, and secured three international funders.

6. Planning

Managers need to think ahead to ensure that current activities and projects align with overall business goals. Planning ahead and taking the initiative to brainstorm plans for the future shows future employers that you are goal-oriented and results-oriented, organized, and ready for any obstacles that may come your way.

Example of planning skills on a resume:

• Nobita, Head Chef

  • Miami, FL. November 2015-January 2020

• Supervised all raw ingredients orders, ordered and created a 15 percent buffer to mitigate potential supply chain shortages.

7. Negotiation

Negotiation is a management skill that demonstrates an ability to persevere in problem-solving, persuading clients or customers with hard facts and mutually beneficial solutions. Using their interpersonal and communication skills, a good negotiator influences others and convinces them to make an evidence-based decision.

Example of negotiation skills on a resume:

• Adobe Agents, Real Estate Agent

  • Cincinnati, OH. June 2020-Present

  • Closed 12 cash deals within the first three months of working at Adobe.

8. Problem-solving

Finding solutions to problems is a skill needed in nearly every job. Teams need leaders who are able to resolve issues creatively, using any resources available to approach and tackle them successfully. 

Example of problem-solving skills on a resume:

• Blue Cube, Software Engineer

  • San Diego, CA. April 2021-September 2025.

• Advised customers on maintenance of the software system, troubleshooting and coaching them when issues arise.

9. Conflict resolution

In any organization, disagreements may occur between employees or teams or between the company and its customers. Employees or managers equipped with the ability to step in and resolve conflicts are valuable. They can suggest a compromise using mediation and empathy so that everyone is happy with the outcome.

Example of conflict resolution skills on a resume:

• Sweet Mountain High School, School Counselor

  • Boulder, CO. September 2024-Present

• Handle and mediate conflict between students, between students and teachers, including initiating conversations with family members for additional counseling. 

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