Customer Success Manager Resume Prep: Know Before you Apply

In our previous blog, we discussed where to search for a Customer Success Manager role, but what happens when you find a great fit? If your resume is not in good shape, you will be wasting your time applying to Customer Success Manager roles. Let’s review some tips to help you draw the attention of the Hiring Manager or Recruiter by discussing the content and format.

Content

• Transferable Skills - A company will have an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) tool to take resume submissions and categorize them from the strongest match to lowest. How do you become a strong match? If your resume has the keywords that the job posting has advertised. You should use the posting as a guide to use industry terminology, metrics or skillsets that are transferable because those are the qualities that they are looking for.

• Quantify your impact - How did you measure success in your role? When highlighting your accomplishments, add quantifiable results to emphasize your impact. Ex. Managed 20 key enterprise accounts with over $5 million ARR and 90% renewal rate

• Software or Tech tools - Include technology software that you have experience using. The more seamlessly you can integrate into the company’s tech stack or current software tools, the more you will stand out from the competition. Ex: Salesforce, Gainsight, Slack, Jira, G-Suite, etc.

Format

• Be concise and brief - If you can lay out your achievements in a simple, easy to read format, you will pique the recruiter’s interest. Start with a an action verb when describing each responsibility such as "maintained, spearheaded, managed, etc." to maintain the reader's interest.

• Be consistent - Make sure the bullet points summarizing each role is consistent. If you have 4 bullet points for one role, have that across all of your positions. The formatting structure for reach role including the date, font, spacing, etc should all be consistent because it's all about the presentation.

• One pager - Summarize your work history and accomplishments down to one page - yes, one page. It's an unwritten rule, but even executives choose to keep their resumes brief and relevant. It might be challenging, but the rule of thumb is to keep only last 5 years of work history on your resume. Be sure to include your professional bio at the top, which can be in lieu of a cover letter.

• Add Promotions - Sell yourself! Don’t forget to include promotions for each role including dates in that position.