Facility Manager Resume Example
If you're hoping to start a career as a facility manager, you'll need experience in managing facility budgets and ensuring OSHA compliance. To succeed in your applications for facility manager roles, you'll need a resume that reflects your relevant skills and experience. In this article, we'll showcase resume tips and examples that can help you create a professional facility manager resume that catches the eye of hiring managers.
This complete guide to a facility manager resume will equip you with the tools you need to compete in your applications. The guide will show you practical examples of how to structure your resume to show off your best and most relevant skills and career achievements. It will also show you how to tailor your resume according to the job description and your unique skill set. Read on to access expert insights from Jobseeker that will help you create a winning facility manager resume.
Main elements of a facility manager resume
It's essential to include a few core sections in your facility manager resume, while there are also a few optional sections you can make use of to strengthen your application.
A functional or skills-based resume format might be best for applications where you have little or no relevant facility manager experience. This layout prioritizes your skills and education sections above your work experience. Draw attention to your soft and transferable skills, as employers will value these highly for entry-level roles. You could also mention any internships, training or volunteer work that helps you showcase skills relevant to the position.
If you have some experience as a facility manager, use a traditional, reverse-chronological resume format and focus on showing how you've used the skills required for the job in your career to date. Rather than simply listing your responsibilities in each role, show the impact you made and offer evidence that demonstrates the skills and experience listed in the job description.
As a highly experienced candidate, you'll want your facility manager resume to showcase your depth of relevant work experience, as well as other achievements. Use a reverse-chronological format and add additional sections to prove you're a strong candidate. It's likely that your senior resume will be longer than a standard resume of one-to-two pages. This is because you'll be listing additional achievements beyond your work experience, such as awards, publications and professional memberships.
Your resume layout and structure may differ depending on your experience levels, but make sure your resume includes the following:
Resume Header with Contact Details
The resume header is the place to add your name and contact details, along with your LinkedIn URL if you have a profile, so employers can find more information about your career journey and skills. You don't typically need to add a photo, or any other personal information to this section. Be aware of the amount of space your resume header takes up. You don't want your contact details to take space away from the main content of your resume, so keep this section as brief as possible.
Make sure your email address appears as professional as possible, and doesn't include anything like nicknames, inappropriate language or personal information. If it does, set up a new email account with an address based on your name or initials, and use that for your job applications. Always double-check your contact details are up-to-date before sending your resume.
Louis Stewart
louis.stewart@example.com
(111) 222 33 444 55
4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, IN
linkedin․com/in/louis–stewart123
Resume Summary
In your resume summary, write a short paragraph that highlights two or three of your key achievements and skills for facility manager roles. You could also call this section 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. A resume summary covers your career experience to date, while a resume objective focuses more on your ambitions for the future. Always make sure your summary reflects the job description and highlights some of the key skills required for facility manager roles.
Alternatively, you could use this section to reference your objectives and ambitions, and how this role would fit into your career journey.
The best resume summaries reflect the job description and focus on qualities that are relevant to working as a facility manager, while highlighting elements of your personality that make you an ideal candidate. They also quantify the information provided with evidence. See below for some great examples of how to approach your facility manager resume.
Good example:
Detail-oriented Facility Manager with a Bachelor of Science in Facilities Management and extensive experience as a Facilities Operations Manager. Proven expertise in overseeing facility operations, ensuring safety compliance, managing budgets, and leading maintenance teams to optimize efficiency and performance. Skilled in strategic planning, resource allocation, and implementing best practices to enhance facility functionality and sustainability. Excellent problem-solving and leadership abilities with a strong commitment to maintaining high standards of service and operational excellence
Bad example:
Facility manager with some background in managing places and making sure things run smoothly. Worked in roles where I oversaw operations and kept things safe. Managed budgets and led teams to keep things working well. Involved in planning and using resources wisely to improve how things function. Good at solving problems and leading, with a focus on keeping service standards high and ensuring everything runs efficiently
Conversely, a bad resume summary might be too generic, lacking focus on the specifics of the job description. It will also fail to provide any useful insights on what makes you a unique candidate. The visual above includes some examples of what not to do with your facility manager resume summary
Work Experience
In the next section, list your employment history focusing on the most relevant previous roles and achievements that showcase your facility manager skills. Add each previous employment in reverse-chronological order. This means starting from your current or most recent role and working back in time from there. Include your job title, the company name, the location of the job and your dates of employment.
In addition, include a few bullet points under each job, highlighting your key achievements so the hiring manager can see how they led to successful outcomes. Back up each point with evidence to show how you meet the job description.
A good work experience section pulls the reader in with clear examples of where you've put the skills necessary for the job into good use in your career to date. This typically includes evidence of how your skills and activities contributed to positive outcomes for the organization. There are some examples of strong resume work experience sections below.
Good example:
Facilities Operations Manager, January 2022 - Present
Zenith Property Solutions, Honolulu
- Increased operational efficiency by 25% through implementation of advanced maintenance management software and streamlined workflows
- Reduced facility costs by 15% annually by negotiating vendor contracts and optimizing energy usage
- Led a team of 50+ staff to achieve 100% compliance with safety and regulatory standards over three consecutive years
Bad example:
Facilities Operations Manager, January 2022 - Present
Zenith Property Solutions, Honolulu
- Improved processes to enhance efficiency and productivity within the facility
- Managed vendor relationships to optimize cost savings
- Led team to ensure adherence to safety protocols and regulations
In the graphic above you can see a great example of what to avoid when writing your resume work experience section. A bad resume work experience section might fail to address skills and achievements that relate directly to the job description. Falling back on clichés, vague descriptions and basic responsibilities, rather than showing the impact you made, is likely to disengage the reader.
Education
Your resume's education section provides space for you to list your highest and most relevant qualifications for facility manager roles.
A facility manager role tends to require candidates to have a university or college degree, so make sure you list yours in your resume. A Bachelor of Science in Facilities Management degree or similar is the most suitable for this job, but you could also include any other relevant qualifications that show your HVAC systems or budgeting expertise.
List your relevant qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Add the name and level of the award, the institution, its location (if this isn't obvious from the name) and your dates of study. You can also add some bullet points outlining any high grades, awards you won or specialist subjects you studied. Adding this information will show the employer your dedication to learning and your areas of specialist knowledge.
If you took part in any volunteering or you were a leader or member of any university societies, you could also mention these in your education section.
Bachelor of Science in Facilities Management, 2017 - 2020
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Hard and Soft Skills
Adding a list of your key skills provides a quick reference for the reader of what you can bring to a facility manager role. Skills such as project management or communication skills are particularly useful for facility manager jobs. Again, refer to the job description and make sure you include skills that the employer has listed as essential or desirable for employment as a facility manager.
Listing hard skills on your facility manager resume
Under hard skills, add any specialist skills you possess that are specifically required for facility manager jobs. These tend to be technical skills and industry knowledge essential to the position. Furthermore, it's important to show these skills in a facility manager resume as they provide a strong indication of your experience in the sector. It's best to aim for four or five key hard skills that match the job description. These can really showcase your suitability for the job.
If you want to make a strong impression with your hard skills list, focus on hard skills that align with your specific industry expertise, and that reflect the job description. For inspiration on the right type of hard skills for a facility manager resume, see below.
- Project management
- Vendor negotiation
- HVAC systems
Adding soft skills to your facility manager resume
Soft skills are the personal skills and qualities that make you a good fit for the job. They include transferable skills and strengths that help you settle into the role, adapt to new challenges and build effective working relationships. Indeed, as the nature of work changes, soft skills are growing in importance, so make sure you include them in your resume. Aim to include approximately five soft skills that reflect the skills listed in the job description.
A strong soft skills section should play to your strengths, listing skills that reflect your personal qualities while also reflecting the skills listed in the job description. For some examples of good soft skills for a facility manager resume, see below.
- Communication skills
- Problem-solving ability
- Time management
Relevant Certifications and Licenses
Your certifications section is the place to mention any relevant professional facility manager certifications, licenses or qualifications. You could list accreditations for certain professional roles or licenses for certain activities that help to make you a strong candidate. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and professional certifications required for facility manager roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.
See below for some suggestions of relevant certifications for a facility manager resume:
- FMP Certification, 2022
- CFM Certification, 2022
- SFP Certification, 2022
Expert Tip:
Optional Resume Sections
If you need to provide further evidence of your suitability for the job, optional sections can be useful for a facility manager resume. Choose any optional sections that showcase essential or desirable skills or experience for facility manager jobs.
Personal Hobbies and Interests
Including your hobbies and interests can be a valuable way of showing your key skills and qualities. These are particularly useful for your resume if you're short of work experience and need to showcase a particular skill or experience. Don't include hobbies and interests in your resume unless they showcase a specific interest or aspect of your personality. You'll want them to add something to your application that you can't add elsewhere.
Volunteer Experience
Voluntary work can help you develop useful skills, so it's a valuable addition to your facility manager resume. List your volunteer job title, the organization you volunteered for, its location and the dates of your involvement, alongside a brief explanation of your responsibilities in the role.
References
References aren't a standard facility manager resume section, but employers do sometimes ask for them. Check the job advert and only include them if requested. Only include referees that you've had prior approval from, and notify them to expect contact from the employer.
References are available upon request.
Best action words for your facility manager resume
Using strong action words to make your resume resonate with the employer. Add strong verbs from the list below to create a greater impact with your work experience section.
- Manage
- Coordinate
- Supervise
- Implement
- Oversee
- Inspect
- Negotiate
- Maintain
- Streamline
- Evaluate
If you need help creating a resume that impresses HR managers, take a look at Jobseeker's professional resume templates. You can also access beautiful cover letter templates that help your application stand out.
Example of a facility manager resume
The facility manager resume example below incorporates all the information from above into a full-designed resume template, so you can see how a final resume will look:
4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, IN
•
louis.stewart@example.com
•
(111) 222 33 444 55
•
linkedin․com/in/louis–stewart123
Experienced Facility Manager with a Bachelor of Science in Facilities Management and a proven track record as a Facilities Operations Manager. Skilled in overseeing daily operations, ensuring compliance with safety standards, managing budgets, coordinating maintenance activities, and enhancing overall facility efficiency. Adept at leading teams, optimizing resource utilization, and implementing cost-effective strategies to improve operational performance. Strong problem-solving abilities and a commitment to maintaining high-quality service and facility standards
Facilities Operations Manager
2020
-2022
Synergy Facilities Solutions (Oklahoma City)
- Reduced operational costs by 15% through strategic vendor negotiations and energy-efficient initiatives
- Implemented a comprehensive maintenance schedule, increasing equipment uptime by 25%
- Led a team of 30+ staff to achieve a 95% customer satisfaction rate in facility management services
Bachelor of Science in Facilities Management
2017
-2020
University of Houston (Houston, Texas)
Project management
Vendor negotiation
HVAC systems
Communication skills
Problem-solving ability
Time management
FMP Certification
CFM Certification
English - Fluent
Spanish - B2
Best practices for a facility manager resume
Tips for best resume practices
- Use action words that show how you've made an impact in different facility manager jobs (e.g. coordinate, inspect, streamline).
- Quantify your accomplishments by providing evidence that shows the impact you've made in your career.
- Showcase your key facility manager qualities with a strong resume summary or objective to catch the attention of the reader.
- Choose a resume format that's clear, professional and makes your resume as readable as possible. Pay particular attention to the font, line spacing, heading and margins to make your document as easy-to-read as possible for employers.
- Keep your facility manager resume as brief as possible. Aim for one page for an entry-level role, and two pages for more senior jobs.
Keep away from these common resume mistakes
- Don't use an unprofessional email address. Instead, opt for a simple email address based on your name.
- Don't use passive language - steer away from phrases like 'I was asked to' and use action words instead.
- Don't include hobbies unless they help you prove a skill or experience that's necessary for the job.
- Don't list irrelevant work experience as it will likely do nothing for your chances of success.
- Don't fill up your facility manager resume with unnecessary information that contributes nothing to your chances of success.
Making an ATS-friendly resume
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is just one of the tools employers and recruiters can use to streamline their hiring practices. This typically includes screening candidates by scanning and ranking their resumes based on their likely suitability for any vacancy. If you follow a few simple tips when writing your facility manager resume, you'll give yourself a better chance of ranking highly in the ATS screening and progressing to the next stage.
Create an ATS-optimized resume by following these quick tips:
- Use a traditional resume format, such as reverse-chronological or functional. These will give your resume a structure that's easier for ATS systems to scan.
- Include keywords throughout your resume that align with the job description. ATS software tends to compare your resume to the job description for points of similarity, so careful, considered use of keywords should help your chances of success.
- Add each section with clear headings that match the established resume conventions, so ATS software can easily identify each part of your resume.
- Use a resume design that includes clean, professional design elements to give your content space to breathe. This might include clear, readable fonts, subtle color accents and simple design elements.
- Make sure your resume is as concise as possible, so ATS applications can easily scan and identify the required details.
If you're looking for inspiration for your resume, discover our comprehensive resume examples and in-depth, expert career blog.
Frequently Asked Questions about a facility manager resume
Now that you know how to write a professional facility manager resume, you might also want to learn how to write an accompanying cover letter that makes a similar impact.
In some situations, a full, professional cover letter may not be necessary. Check the job advert and decide whether to write a formal cover letter, or if a brief email is more suitable.
If you decide you want to write a traditional cover letter, follow the standard letter-writing conventions around layout and structure. In the main body of the letter, write an opening paragraph to introduce yourself and explain why you're applying for the facility manager role. Your second paragraph is typically where you highlight your key relevant skills and achievements. Finally, close by expressing your enthusiasm for the role and leave a call to action to encourage the hiring manager to make contact with you.
For help creating an eye-catching cover letter that impresses recruiters and hiring managers, use Jobseeker's professional cover letter templates.
There are plenty of ways to still make a positive impression with your facility manager resume, even if you lack relevant work experience. Use a skills-based resume format to highlight your relevant skills and education. This is more suitable for junior or entry-level roles where you might not have much work experience to showcase. Make the most of additional sections such as hobbies and interests, volunteer work, certifications and internships. These can help you showcase skills that you've developed outside traditional work settings.
Use a resume headline to make it easy for the reader to start assessing your suitability for facility manager positions at first glance. Resume headlines can also help you pass the ATS stage of the selection process, by highlighting the job title and one or two key details. Write a short, concise resume headline incorporating the job title, one or two key skills that match the job description and a reference to your reputation or track record.
You can use this example resume headline as a template for creating your own:
- Junior Facility Management Specialist
- Expert Facility Management Professional
- Experienced Senior Facility Management Professional
The best resume format for you depends on two things. Firstly, it depends on your experience level. Secondly, it depends on the type and level of position you're applying for. For roles where you're lacking experience, such as graduate jobs or career changes, you could use a functional or skills-based resume format. This places your skills and education above your work experience. If, however, you have experience in your chosen profession, a traditional, reverse chronological resume format might be the way to go. This showcases your relevant skills and achievements in your work experience section.
Key points for your facility manager resume
The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Choose the most suitable resume format for your experience levels, and focus on tailoring your resume based on the requirements listed in the job description.
Remember, Jobseeker resume templates and other tools make it easy to create a resume and cover letter that leaves a positive impression on hiring managers. Sign up now to start building your perfect resume. Whether you're a junior or senior candidate, a professional cover letter can help to grab the attention of the employer. Jobseeker's cover letter examples were created by careers experts to provide useful tips and ideas for your cover letter.
Sources:
(1) Tips for Writing a Federal Resume, U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs/tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume
(2) Resume Tips, Duke University: https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/resume-tips/
Impress potential employers with your resume
Follow step-by-step professional guidance to create a polished resume in minutes.
