Office Manager Skills for a Resume
Companies hire office managers to keep the workplace running smoothly, safely and within budget. Show the size of the office, the areas you manage and the savings and improvements you made.
Updated
13 skills at a glance
Hard skills
Hard skills
What the work takes, how a hiring manager judges each skill, and a bullet point that shows it.
Facilities and building management
Show the space and the work you coordinate.
Example bullet pointManaged a two-floor office of 25,000 square feet, coordinating repairs, cleaning and security.
Budgeting and purchasing
Give the budget you manage and the savings you found in supplies, services or space.
Example bullet pointMoved supply ordering to one vendor with monthly invoicing, saving 12% and hours of paperwork.
Vendor and contract management
Name the kinds of vendors you manage and the better prices or service you secured.
Example bullet pointTracked renewal dates for 20 service contracts and renegotiated each one before it expired.
Health and safety compliance
Show the records and drills you manage.
Example bullet pointRan quarterly fire drills and kept first aid and safety training records ready for inspection.
Onboarding and offboarding logistics
Show how new and departing staff were looked after.
Example bullet pointBuilt an offboarding checklist with IT and HR that recovered every laptop and access badge.
Event planning
Give the events you plan, how many people came and whether you kept to budget.
Example bullet pointPlanned the yearly company party for 120 people within budget.
Office software and booking systems
Name the systems you set up or run.
Example bullet pointIntroduced a visitor sign-in system that printed badges and notified hosts automatically.
Basic bookkeeping
Show the financial tasks you handle.
Example bullet pointRecorded office expenses in QuickBooks and reconciled petty cash every month.
Soft skills
Shown through what you did, never claimed as adjectives.
Problem solving
Describe an office problem you fixed quickly, such as a facilities failure, and how work carried on.
Example bullet pointFound temporary space within a day when a burst pipe closed half the office.
Organization
Show systems that kept the office running.
Example bullet pointCreated a facilities calendar for inspections, renewals and maintenance, so nothing lapsed.
Negotiation
Show savings or better terms you won.
Example bullet pointLowered the cleaning contract price by matching the schedule to how the office was actually used.
Approachability
Show that staff came to you and felt helped.
Example bullet pointRan a simple request form and replied to every request within a day.
Discretion
Mention the confidential matters you handle.
Example bullet pointHandled confidential staff matters, such as accommodations and leave, with care.
Licenses and certifications
Give them a section of their own, with who issued each one and the year or expiry date.
- Certified Administrative Professional (CAP)
- First Aid and CPR
- Facility Management Professional (FMP)
Keywords from office manager job postings
Use the ones that are true for you, in your bullet points as well as your skills list.
- office
- facilities
- budget
- vendor
- onboard
- supplies
- office move
- contracts
- employees
Each posting has its own words. Our guide to tailoring your resume to a job description shows how to find them and where to put them.
Where to put your skills
- In a skills section: a short list of the hard skills the posting names, in its words.
- In your bullet points: every skill that matters should show up in something you did, with a result. That is where a hiring manager believes it.
- In your summary: two or three of the skills the job asks for most.
More on choosing them in how to choose and prove the skills on your resume.
Questions
What skills should an office manager put on a resume?
Facilities management, budgeting and purchasing, vendor contracts, health and safety, onboarding logistics, events, office systems and basic bookkeeping, plus problem solving, organization and negotiation.
How do I show results as an office manager?
Give the office size and budget, then the savings, improvements and problems you solved.
Should I mention people I supervised?
Yes. Supervising a receptionist or an assistant shows management experience, which helps for senior roles.
Put them to work
Start from an office manager resume that already uses these skills, for an invented person, and make it yours in the builder.