How to Position Yourself for a Manager Role—Without the Title Yet
The Manager Resume Blueprint for Ambitious Women Ready to Lead
Women face workplace barriers from their heads and shoulders all the way down to their knees and toes. And it’s no child's play. The glass ceiling, or invisible barrier that keeps women from reaching the tippy-top of an organization—think senior leadership, C-suite or board seats—stunts female careers in the long term, but the real challenge comes much earlier. It’s when her high heels cross the workforce threshold to meet the broken rung. While women are less likely to snag entry-level roles compared to men, according to 2024 research, it’s the first promotion point of the career ladder that’s broken. Here’s the raw deal: For every 100 men promoted to manager, 81 women are promoted.
While the system is broken, control what you can: your resume. It’s your career power tool to craft your leadership narrative even before “manager” is in your title. When your resume highlights measurable results, project leadership, mentorship and cross-functional influence, you’re showing decision-makers you’re already operating at a higher level. And now? You have the words (and the evidence) to simply ask them to recognize what you’ve been doing all along.
Why Positioning Matters for Women Pursuing Management
Management is less supervision and more collaboration, coaching and influence, according to new research. Because managers act as connectors. The most successful mid-level leaders exercise boots-on-the-ground social skills (e.g., communication, empathy, conflict resolution) along with critical thinking and complex problem-solving. Let’s be real. Managers are the glue that holds high-performing teams together. And showcasing these skills is the path to promotion, per a recent HBR study.
But women are in a unique conundrum. Because downplaying our success is our MO rather than talking about it. It’s the self-promotion gap. 43% of American women said they’d rather give up social media for a week than talk about themselves. Yikes.
Even worse, women self-select out of leadership application pools because of a perceived lack of expertise or experience. “Talented women are more likely to shy away from applying for job opportunities, particularly more advanced, higher-paying positions, because they’re concerned they aren’t qualified enough, whereas men don’t seem to worry about their skills matching the specific job requirements as much, according to research by Harvard Business School Associate Professor Manuela R. Collis and Leena Kulkarni.
So, it's not only about owning your genius, but also about pinpointing your wins and articulating them in leadership language. It’s a translation game. Let’s talk about how to play...and win.
Highlight Leadership Skills on Your Resume (No Manager Title Needed)
Show you lead where you’re planted. When writing your management resume without formal experience, it’s imperative to show your leadership in the now. Consider where you’re taking initiative and link your impact with sought-after management skills, such as problem-solving with a high EQ, thoughtful analysis and social influence. Weave these traits seamlessly into your manager-focused resume within:
Headline
Indicate your managerial prowess by adding the job title of interest under your contact details. Insert “Career Target:” or “Role Target:” before the job title. It makes it crystal clear what role you are after. For example:
Career Target: Corporate Communications Manager OR Role Target: Technical Program Manager
skills list
This area plays a supporting role to your leadership story. Repeating leadership skills (and language) emphasizes what you bring to the table. Keep to hard skills, rather than soft skills, in this list. A two-line list of skills is enough to emphasize what you’re already saying your bread and butter is throughout your resume. Because a focused, skill-based list reinforces your leadership brand.
branding statement
Describe your unique promise of value and how you lead. Integrating your leadership philosophy or a quick hit of bulleted leadership highlights will grab the attention of the hiring manager that you’re already the boss they’re looking for. Don’t go generic here. Specificity is the special sauce that’ll keep hiring managers wanting more. For example:
For more guidance and examples, take a peek at Hinge Resume’s Resume Branding Workbook
subheadings
Separate long bulleted lists outlining your achievements by using leadership-focused keywords, such as Stakeholder Management, Project Management and People Leadership. This organizational tactic highlights your impact within each specialized area. Remember to align your language strategically with the employer's needs. It will not only resonate, but employers will feel seen and understood.
Show Measurable Impact on Your Resume
Resist the urge to go into the weeds of your daily work. Instead, focus on showcasing the impact you make. Highlight your work wins using specific metrics, such as percentage growth, cost savings, efficiency gains or team performance improvements. And before you fall for the lie of “I don’t have any of those.” Think again. Check out 101 Questions for Women for Career Advancement.
Individual contributors lead. The onus is on you to show how and why it matters. The first rule of thumb is to lead with your impact within your bullet points. The natural tendency is to share how you got there. Flip the script. In other words, share the after, and then the before.
The Ask Method
Ask isn't an acronym; it's a command. Ask: "So what?" to each role contribution. Get at the impact (the "how") rather than the "what." Here's an example from a customer success representative:
I help customers on the phone and increase customer satisfaction.
So what?
I created a procedure for call handling to ensure calls weren't missed.
So what?
I performed this task so well that I was asked to create the company's customer satisfaction function to ensure we didn't miss any customer calls.
And so on. Here's the before and after bullet points of this tactic:
❌ Assisted customers on the phone and increased customer satisfaction.
✅ Decreased missed inbound calls by 30% in 6 weeks by developing a new call handling standard operating procedure (SOP).
The C.A.R Method
The C.A.R method serves as a scaffolding to help you identify how you uniquely contribute to the organization at that time and in that role. C.A.R. stands for Challenge, Action, Result. Here’s how to use it for your resume. Put yourself back in the shoes of a role you held. Then:
Challenge: Identify a problem, task or situation you faced. This sets the context and shows the scope or complexity of the issue.
Action: Detail the specific actions you took to address the problem.
Result: Dish on the outcome or impact of your actions. Share metrics and tangible results to show, rather than tell, your success.
Here's an example from an HR Generalist:
Challenge: Inefficient employee files
Action: I created new employee files and updated the HR filing system for tracking vacation, FMLA & benefits. I did this within 60 days.
Result: Improved HR tracking system & eliminated inefficiencies for 375 employee files.
Put it all together for a standout bullet point:
✅ Created 375 new employee files within 60 days and eliminated HR inefficiencies when tracking attendance, vacation, benefits and FMLA.
The C.A.R method isn’t the only way to get there. Consider similar frameworks, such as S.T.A.R (situation, task, action, result), C.A.R.L (challenge, action, result, lesson learned) or any other similar framework. The trick is to always lead with your results first. For real-life examples and resume bullet point formulas, take a peek at Steer Your Career: Accelerate Resume Success with the C.A.R. Method.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
Reframe Work Experiences Into Leadership Language
The secret is out. Women use more “communal” words on their resumes, according to a 2024 study, conveying helpfulness and interpersonal qualities, while men associate with assertiveness and ambitious traits based on language alone.
So, when choosing your words, think strategically about how you portray your skills and experience. Ditch weak language (assist, help…do you see it now?). Instead, choose words that nudge at your influence and authority, such as spearhead, champion, orchestrate, direct and facilitate. And don’t forget to give context that showcases your level of authority and influence. It’s a simple switcheroo. For example:
❌ Coordinated a project to deliver a training seminar.
✅ Spearheaded a custom, end-to-end project with a new evergreen training seminar for a national client.
Showcase Leadership in Related Contexts
Leadership isn’t limited to the office. Spill the tea on how you lead in your industry, within professional organizations and in your community. Add a leadership section to your resume, following your work experience, to highlight board roles, volunteer leadership and committee chair positions, among others.
Own your leadership story now. And get comfortable telling it. Don’t wait until a title catches up. Because a management-ready resume doesn’t reflect where you’ve been, but where you’re going. Embrace these strategies to position yourself for your next leadership move. Snag a sneak peek of Hinge Resume’s free director-level resume toolkit because you’re headed for big things, my friend. Don’t stop now!