Risk Management Resume Example

After reading this article, you'll be ready to create a risk management resume that reflects your expertise, experience and leadership in your chosen profession. The guide will show real examples of how to highlight the skills and achievements decision makers are looking for, such as leadership for success, long-term vision, and strategic mindset. Read on to find key insights from the careers experts at Jobseeker, that will help you craft a winning risk management resume.

What to include in a risk management resume

A successful risk management resume will typically include each of the sections listed below, with some optional sections.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Resume Header

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. Make sure your resume header is as brief as possible and doesn't take up too much valuable space. Choose a clear, professional design that sets the tone for your application.

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.

Resume Objective

The next section is the resume summary. The section might also be called 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. This is a brief introduction to you, your key skills and your career achievements and ambitions. While a resume summary focuses on your career achievements and experience, a resume objective typically focuses on your ambitions for the future. Always make sure your summary reflects the job description and highlights some of the key skills required for risk manager roles.

Alternatively, write a paragraph that concentrates on your career objectives and how this role fits with your wider ambitions and progression.

A strong resume summary focuses on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for risk manager roles in a clear, quantifiable way. It also gives an insight into your personal qualities, to help the reader understand why you're a suitable candidate. You can see some positive examples of a resume summary for risk manager jobs below.

Alternatively, a poor resume summary would include bland, generic information that does little to prove your suitability for the role, while failing to provide any useful insights on you as a person or as a candidate. The visual above includes some examples of what not to do with your risk management resume summary

Employment History

In the next section, list your employment history focusing on the most relevant previous roles and achievements that showcase your risk manager skills. Mention only the most appropriate and relevant jobs you've had in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent and working backwards. Add your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the role 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.

For risk manager applications, a longer resume work experience section may be necessary. For a position at this level, employers will expect you to showcase a wide range of relevant work experience and achievements, so you may feel it necessary to focus more on your work experience than other resume sections. While established best practice suggests you should go no further than 10 to 15 years back in your resume work experience section, for a risk manager resume, you might wish to go back further. This can help you prove you've got the necessary expertise in your field to take on a leadership or senior management position.

A successful resume work experience section will always showcase skills and experience relevant to the job description, and how you put each to good use in your previous roles. Offering quantifiable evidence in a risk manager resume proves you're a strong candidate for the job, such as client feedback, project outcomes, KPIs or financial results. See below for some good examples of what to include in your resume work experience section.

Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. Poor examples of resume work experience sections tend to be vague and fail to quantify your achievements and the impact you've made in your career to date. They may also focus on responsibilities above relevant skills and how you've used them.

Education

The education section provides space to list your highest and most recent academic achievements that are relevant to working as a risk manager.

Typically, working as a risk manager requires a university or college degree, which you'll need to list on your resume. If you're working in this sector, it's usually a good idea to highlight your Bachelor of Science in Finance degree or other relevant qualifications. Focus on qualifications that showcase your financial risk analysis or quantitative risk modeling.

List every relevant qualification, including the name and level of the course, the name of the school, college or university, its location and your graduation date. Include bullet points to show any specialist modules you studied, awards or exceptional grades and achievements that can set you apart from other candidates. These will all contribute to creating a positive impression on employers.

Additionally, mentioning any leadership roles or any societies and clubs you participated in while studying shows proactivity and initiative.

Hard and Soft Skills

The skills section is one of the main ways to show employers you've got the skills required for risk manager roles. Whether your skills include quantitative risk modeling, communication skills or any other useful skills for the role, you'll want to list them here. 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 risk manager.

How to list hard skills on your risk management resume

Under hard skills, add any specialist skills you possess that are specifically required for risk manager jobs. These tend to be technical skills and industry knowledge essential to the position. Furthermore, your hard skills list helps to show employers how competent and experienced you are at key risk manager duties and responsibilities. Aim to include four or five key hard skills. If you have space, explain how and where you've used that skill to create successful outcomes in your career. These skills will demonstrate your credentials and show how you meet the job description.

Your resume hard skills list should reflect your unique and specific industry expertise and experience, while also fulfilling the requirements listed in the job description. See the examples below for an idea of what an effective risk management resume hard skills list looks like.

Showcasing your best soft skills

In your soft skills list, include any personal characteristics that make you a good fit for a risk manager job. Soft skills tend to be more universal than hard skills, but they're no less important. In fact, as technology develops, soft skills are growing in importance for recruiters and employers, so be sure to add several of these to your resume.

It's best to aim for four or five soft skills that match the job description and reflect your strongest personal qualities. For senior risk manager candidates, it's essential to focus on leadership skills in the soft skills section of your resume.

The strongest resume soft skills sections include a mix of skills that match your best personal strengths, and that reflect the skills listed in the job description. See below for some examples of effective soft skills for a risk manager resume.

Certifications and Training

In your certifications section, list any professional certifications or licenses that are relevant to working as a risk manager. Add any official certifications or accreditations that increase your level of qualification and suitability for working as a risk manager. Therefore, make sure you list the dates of your certifications and licenses so employers can see they're up-to-date and valid.

Take a look at some example certifications for a risk management resume below:

Optional Information

To provide further information on your suitability for the role, you could add some optional sections to a risk manager resume. Choose optional sections from the list below, if they help to showcase your relevant skills and experience.

Personal Interests

Add any hobbies and interests that reinforce your credentials for the position. Your hobbies and interests are useful for a risk manager resume if you want to show a different side to your personality, or to stand out among other candidates. They can also be valuable if you're a junior candidate without much relevant work experience. If you're thinking about adding hobbies and interests, just make sure they add something unique to your application, and showcase your personality and interests in unique and interesting ways.

Voluntary Work

Voluntary work can help you develop useful skills, so it's a valuable addition to your risk management 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 risk management 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.

Best words to use in a risk management resume

Using strong action verbs in your work experience bullet points can make a stronger impression on employers and show the value you added to your previous roles. Choose from the list of words below to increase the impact of your work experience section.

As a senior, experienced risk manager, your resume length might be longer than those applying for more junior roles. As such, a resume length of two pages or even longer can be appropriate, depending on the role and the industry sector. Jobseeker's clean, attractive resume formats can help your applications make a strong impression on employers. Check them out for help designing a winning resume, and see our cover letter templates to help win over recruiters and hiring managers.

Example of a risk management resume

Now we've covered the main sections to include in your risk management resume, let's take a look at how it all comes together in the example below:

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. When you're writing your risk management resume, there are several things you can do to make sure your resume stands the best chance of passing the ATS stage.

Follow these guidelines to create the best ATS-friendly resume:

• Use a traditional resume layout, such as a reverse-chronological or functional format. This will mean your resume includes all the necessary sections, in the expected order.
• 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.
• Use clear headings that break your resume up into readable, scannable sections that match the standard content employers expect from a resume.
• Adopt a resume design that uses clear, professional design principles and leaves white space for your content to breathe. Use the most readable fonts and incorporate subtle design elements to enhance the readability of your document.
• Make sure your resume is as concise as possible, so ATS applications can easily scan and identify the required details.

Takeaways for your risk management resume

An effective resume is a concise, professional summary of your relevant skills and career achievements, showcased through a chronology of your career history. Use a suitable resume format and tailor your resume for every application you submit.

Use Jobseeker's resume templates, other tools and resources to create an application that impresses employers. Sign up today to access a wealth of valuable resume and cover letter resources. 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) Overcoming the Most Common Challenges in the Executive Job Search, MIT Career Development Office: https://cdo.mit.edu/blog/2024/10/15/overcoming-the-most-common-challenges-in-the-executive-job-search/

(2) How to Impress an Executive Recruiter and Break Into the C-Suite, Harvard Division of Continuing Education: https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-impress-an-executive-recruiter-and-break-into-the-c-suite/