How To Create a Supervisor Resume (With Tips and Example)

Achieving the role of a supervisor can be rewarding and usually signifies an advancement in a career. To secure a role as a supervisor, demonstrate your qualifications with a good resume. If you are interested in pursuing a supervisor position, understanding how to draft an effective resume can help you impress the hiring manager and increase your chances of getting invited to interview. In this article, we discuss what a supervisor is, explore how to make a compelling resume for this role, identify what to include, and provide tips, a template, and an example to help you write your own.

What is a supervisor?

A supervisor is a management team member who directs, evaluates, and supervises a particular group of employees. Depending on the organization and the supervisor's duties, they can oversee a team, factory, unit, or entire department. Supervisors often report directly to higher members of management and play an essential role in disseminating information from the top-level executives to the employees.

Related:

• What Are the Responsibilities of a Supervisor?

• How to Write a Resume

• What Is the Standard Canadian Resume Format? (With 7 Tips)

How to create a supervisor resume

You can follow these steps to create an impressive supervisor resume:

1. Start with your contact information

Your contact information appears at the top of your resume. It contains information the hiring manager can use to identify you and contact you to provide information about the result of your application. A good contact information section is brief, containing only relevant professional information. This section contains your city and province or territory of residence, email address, phone number, and official name.

Related: How to Include and Format Contact Information on a Resume

2. Use a professional summary

A professional summary, also known as a resume summary, is a short paragraph or list of three to four sentences that contain the most relevant or impressive parts of your resume. The purpose of a resume summary is to highlight what makes you most qualified for the role, helping the hiring manager review your information before reading the whole resume. Ensure your resume summary is in a friendly and professional tone.

Related: Nine Resume Profile Examples

3. Outline your academic background

Depending on the organization you're applying to, your academic background can be important to qualify for the role. Even in low-skill jobs where a bachelor's degree is unnecessary, it's important to include your high school education, as this is usually a minimum requirement for a supervisor role. Outlining your academic background involves listing the name of the school and your year of graduation. If you choose to include post-secondary education, list the degree type under the name of the school. You can also include bullet points detailing your grade point average or any relevant courses you completed.

4. Discuss your work experiences

The work experience section proves to the hiring manager that you have practical skills and knowledge for the role. Include details in your work experience section that match the skills listed in the job description. This can be a previous experience involving similar duties or an experience involving relevant skills or knowledge. List the name of your employers and your period of employment. Using bullet points, detail your routine duties and any workplace achievements.

Related: How to Describe Your Work Experience on a Resume

5. Mention relevant skills

Skills refer to values, behavioural traits, or knowledge that enable employees to perform their duties more effectively. Your skills are an essential part of your resume as they determine how well you can execute your work duties. A hiring manager looks out for both technical and soft skills in every resume. While soft skills refer to behavioural traits and values, technical skills refer to knowledge about tangible aspects of your work. You can demonstrate your skills through your work experience section by highlighting how you used them in performing your duties. You can also create a separate section to highlight essential skills.

Related: 12 Skills for Effective Supervisors

What to include on your resume as a supervisor

Here are some tips on what to include in your resume for a supervisor role:

Relevant education

The education that is relevant depends on the organization and the details of the supervisor's role. A high school diploma is usually sufficient when applying to smaller companies. Larger companies often require a bachelor's degree in business or a course related to the organization's activities. For example, a bachelor's degree in marketing is helpful when applying for a marketing supervisor role. Similarly, when applying to large corporations, include a master's degree in a relevant subject, if possible.

Leadership roles

The role of a supervisor is in leadership, so including any past leadership roles can help convince the hiring manager that you're a suitable candidate. If you have any experience heading a team, project, or department, you can include it on your resume. Ensure you're specific about your duties as a leader, the composition of your team, and how you achieved your goals.

Relevant experience

Having previous experience as a supervisor can increase your chances of success when applying for a supervisory role. Beyond direct experience as a supervisor, having experience in the field you're supervising is also important. For example, a candidate with several years of experience being an accountant can apply for the accounts manager role. Understanding the activities of the department you're leading is important to be a good supervisor.

Skills

Supervisors require certain skills to perform their roles effectively. They can benefit from technical skills such as budgeting, inventory management, and knowledge of relevant software. Soft skills like leadership, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and customer service skills are also important for supervisors. When you include these relevant technical and soft skills on your resume, you demonstrate your competence for the role.

Related: What To Put In a Resume

Tips for a relevant resume

You can follow these tips for an impressive resume when applying as a supervisor:

• Quantify your achievements: As a supervisor, the hiring manager wants to know how effectively you achieve results with a team. Quantifying your achievements using figures and percentages makes them more impressive and memorable.

• Be honest: Your resume is a formal document that needs to follow the highest standards of professionalism. Being honest ensures you get roles that suit your qualifications while maintaining your integrity.

• Use simple language: The hiring manager spends limited time on each resume. Using simple language makes your resume easier to understand, improving your chances of success.

• Be specific: Being as specific and detailed as possible is essential for a good resume. Rather than using generic words and phrases, opt for action words that communicate specific activities.

• Keep it brief: For entry and mid-level roles, the appropriate length for a resume is a single page. As a supervisor is usually a professional in the later stages of their career, you can use a two-page resume if you need.

Related: 280 Resume Action Words for an Impactful Impression

Template of a supervisor resume

Here is a simple supervisor resume example to guide you in creating your own:

[First and last name]
[Phone number, email address]
[City, province/territory]

Professional summary

[The first bullet point summarizes you as a professional. You can include years of experience or relevant certifications]

[Second and third bullet points are to describe any relevant qualifications/specialties/skills]

[Fourth bullet point can highlight any achievements, notable work experience, or employers]

Education

[Name of the institution]-[Date of graduation]
[Degree or program]

• [Degree classification/Results/Grade point average]

• [Relevant coursework or projects]

Work experience

[Employer/company name]-[Period of employment]

[Job title/role]

• [Description of work duties]

• [Highlight any workplace achievements or relevant projects]

Skills

• [Relevant skill]

• [Relevant skill]

Additional information

[As a supervisor, you can consider additional sections like languages, certifications, or special training programs]

Supervisor sample resume

Here is an example of a supervisor resume that you can reference when writing your own:

Sarah Jameson
233-344-4556, sarahjameson@gmail.com
Kitchener, Ontario

Professional summary

• Thorough supervisor with over eight years of experience directing the activities of organization staff.

• Two human resource certifications and experience supervising organizational recruitment processes.

• Familiar with relevant management software, including project management, task management, sales CRM, and teleconferencing software.

• Two-time manager of the year award winner.

Education

Wimbledon College, Kitchener, ON-2011-2013
Business Administration (master's degree)

• Distinction honours

• Relevant courses include sales, marketing, and budgeting.

Wembley College, Kitchener, ON-2007-2011
Accounting

• First-class honours (3.85/4.0)

• Relevant courses include business strategy, cost accounting, corporate reporting, and accounting information systems.

Work experience

Delish Fastfood Stores, Kitchener, ON-2017-2021
Branch Manager

• Directed and supervised the activities of over 50 restaurant staff, including cooks, waiters, and greeters.

• Designed and implemented restaurant schedules and policies.

• Improved restaurant patronage by 40% within the first year and 145% after four years.

• Established trusted relationships with vendors and suppliers in procuring resources for the restaurant.

HER Clothing Retail Store Ltd, Kitchener, ON-2013-2017
Accountant

• Managed a $350,000 budget for the store, reducing costs by over 12% by eliminating operational waste.

• Used quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze data and produce accurate financial projections for stakeholders.

• Evaluated, compiled, and stored financial records and other sensitive financial information.

• Supervised a team of accounting interns and provided thorough training on general duties.

Skills

• Familiarity with the principles of GAAP accounting

• Knowledge of financial and human resources software.

• Leadership skills

• Problem-solving skills

• Customer service skills

Professional membership

• Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR)

• Human Resources Professional Association

• Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada