Looking to land a career-boosting account manager role?
You need an impactful CV which effectively sells you to recruiters and hiring managers.
Check out these 6 real-life winning account manager CV examples to inspire you to job-search success.
Guide contents
- Account Manager CV examples
- Structuring and formatting your CV
- Writing your CV profile
- Detailing work experience
- Your education
- Skills required for your Account Manager CV
Account Manager CV example
Sales Account Manager CV example
IT Account Manager CV example
Technical Account Manager CV example
Advertising Account Manager CV example
National Account Manager CV example
The document above is a great CV example for an experienced account manager who has worked in a range of roles across multiple firms.
It should give you a good idea of how you can best structure and format your CV to showcase your skills and experience in a way which makes it easy for recruiters to pinpoint your value.
Let’s take a closer look at how to write a CV for your unique situation and career level.
Account Manager CV structure & format
With recruiters often having to sift through hundreds of CV’s for account manager positions, it’s vital to make your experience and skills stand out in a simple, easy-to-read manner.
Therefore, the way you choose to structure and format your CV immediately sets the tone for its success.
Following a defined, simple structure – like the one shown in the below infographic below – will help you to ensure that your CV is comprehensive yet easy to navigate.
Formatting Tips
- No matter how much account management experience you have, your CV shouldn’t be above 2 A4 pages in length. An overly-lengthy CV will quickly become tedious and is likely to turn recruiters straight off your application.
- Steer well clear of fancy fonts, bright colour palettes or over-complicated designs. The written content commands the focus here, so it’s generally best to stick to a simple, size 12, black font.
- Don’t try to overload your CV with information. Utilise headers, bullet points and short paragraphs and ensure there’s white space between sections to create a pleasant reading experience.
- Avoid including images, logos or profile pictures in your CV. They’ll add no value and will merely take away focus from the all-important content.
Structuring your CV
Working to this clearly defined structure will make the CV-writing process much less daunting and ensure all the most vital information is included.
- Name and contact details – Include your telephone number, a vague location and a professional email address. There’s no need to include your full address or date of birth.
- Profile – An introductory paragraph which seamlessly summarises your relevant skills, experience and qualifications. The aim here is to entice recruiters to read on by coherently showcasing why you’re the perfect fit for the role in question.
- Work experience – List your previous roles in reverse chronological order, pinpointing your responsibilities and key achievements for each position.
- Education – Note down your qualifications or courses and their respective grades, especially those related to account management roles or the specific industry you’ll be working in.
- Interest and hobbies – This section is optional, but you may want to use it to document interests that could be of benefit in an account management position.
Now, I’ll go into further detail and show you what specifically needs to be included in each CV section:
CV Contact Details
This is the shortest section of your CV – but it’s still extremely important.
Recruiters need to be able to contact you for an interview, so begin your CV by listing your contact details.
There’s no need to go into huge details – keep it simple and save the space to showcase your offering.
- Name & professional title– For example, David Smith | Global Account Executive
- Phone number – Make sure this is a number you’re easily contactable on, so you don’t end up missing out on an important phone call.
- Email address – Keep it professional.
- Location – There’s no need to include your full address – just include a general location such as ‘Manchester’ or ‘Gloucester’.
- As an account manager, it’s important to add a link to your LinkedIn profile, which you’ll ideally use to further exhibit your value.
Account Manager CV Profile
Your CV profile (or personal statement for junior and graduate candidates) is arguably the most important aspect of your CV.
Recruiters are busy people and may initially only read the top of your CV before deciding whether your application is worth their time. This might be your only chance to hook them in, entice them to read further and seamlessly prove that you’re an excellent match for the vacancy.
Aim to create a short, snappy paragraph (5-10 lines is ideal) which summarises your most impressive skills, experience and achievements.
Tips to consider when creating your profile:
- Don’t waffle. Ensure your profile is concise yet impactful by sticking to the 5-10 lines guideline. You can add further detail in the later sections.
- Sell yourself – if there’s a time to brag, this is it! Fill your profile with your most impressive results and achievements, backing them up with facts, figures and values to add that ‘wow factor’.
- Keep it relevant to the role. Your profile should effortlessly prove that you hold all the key requirements listed in the job description.
- Avoid clichés at all costs. Every other candidate is sure to claim they’re ‘hardworking’ or a ‘great communicator’. Prove your value with tangible results and examples instead.
What to include in your account manager CV profile?
- Industries you have experience in – Many account manager recruiters prefer applicants with relevant industry knowledge, such as marketing or finance.
- Products/service knowledge – Which products and services do you sell to your clients? Are you an expert in any particular area.
- Sales skills – Sales is a key element of account management so ensure that you add plenty of sales abilities, such as lead upselling, cross-selling, relationship management and closing
- Previous companies worked for – Summarise your relevant work experience, whether it’s with major corporations, small agencies or not-for-profits.
- Level of your experience – Off the bat, recruiters want to know whether you’re a recent graduate or an experienced account manager with years of experience.
- Key achievements – What are your most impressive achievements in your account manager career to date? Where possible, use metrics to back them up.
Core skills section
Another great way to grab recruiters attention is to include a core skills section which lists your relevant skills.
First, take a good look at the job description and research your sector to find out which skills are most desirable in candidates.
Then, note them down in a short, bullet-pointed list just underneath your profile. This allows recruiters to gain an overview of your abilities in just a short glance.
Work experience/Career history
Now that recruiters understand what skills and abilities you can bring to the table, they’ll be eager to find out more about your account management work experience.
Working in reverse chronological order (ie, start with your most recent roles), begin listing your previous, relevant roles, along with responsibilities and key achievements for each.
If you have years of experience, prioritise space for your current and/or recent roles and include less detail for your older or irrelevant positions. Don’t leave glaring gaps, though – if you’re really struggling for space, you should still note down the company and dates employed for your older roles.
You can also include project, contract and freelance work, as well as voluntary positions, in this section – but do make sure it’s all relevant to the role you’re applying for.
Structuring your roles
A busy recruiter’s worst nightmare? Huge blocks of text which take obvious effort to read.
No matter how much information you’re itching to get across about your work experience, it’s vital to stick to a clearly-defined structure. Not only will this help recruiters to pinpoint whether you have the experience they’re seeking, but it’ll ensure they have a pleasant reading experience in the process.
The structure below will ensure your career history is impactful yet easy-to-read:
Outline
Summarise the role, including a brief description of your position and the department you were part of.
E.g.
“Working within a team of 4 Account Managers to deliver client training and support on the use of company products and services; assisting with the training of new employees and reporting to the Team Lead.”
Key responsibilities
List your key responsibilities and duties within the role, utilising bullet points to ensure the information is punchy and easily digestible.
E.g.
- Ensuring the provision of reliable account support and guidance to key clients to upsell products and inspire the consistent achievement of sales targets.
- Cultivating and strengthening lasting client relationships in order to effectively and concurrently manage a large number of clients and opportunities.
- Overseeing the problem-free implementation of new major accounts and the retention of existing accounts.
Key achievements
Prove the value you brought to the company by finishing with some impressive accomplishments and achievements.
It’s always beneficial to quantify your examples by using relevant facts, figures and metrics.
E.g.
- Singlehandedly restructured the sales function and grew annual revenue from $5000 to $750k in the 1st year and then to an average annual income of $1.5m year on year.
Education
You may have mentioned your most relevant qualifications in your CV profile, but you’ll also need to list your qualifications towards the bottom of your CV.
If you’re a highly-experienced candidate, you generally only need to include your highest relevant qualification, such as a degree or masters. However, if you’ve completed any sector-specific vocational courses which may further prove your ability to fulfil the role, they’re well-worth including, too.
Graduates and school-leavers seeking an entry-level account executive role should include details of their degree, A-levels, GCSE’s and diplomas, along with their respective grades.
Interests and hobbies
This is an entirely optional section, so whether or not you include your interests and hobbies is ultimately down to you.
For experienced account managers, it’s probably in your best interests to skip this section and use the space to detail your vast experience, skills and qualifications instead.
On the other hand, lower-level candidates may benefit from listing certain hobbies and interests, as long as they add further value to the application. For example, socialising or watching films won’t impress recruiters, but a creative pursuit such as blogging or photography might, as they paint you as a highly-motivated and dedicated individual.
Whatever you choose to do, make sure to keep your hobbies section brief and include quantified achievements if applicable.
Essential skills for your Account Manager CV
Although each company will require a slightly different skill set depending on the industry, you can generally expect account managers to require the following skills:
Communication/people skills – Effectively communicating and building rapport with people across the supply chain, from clients to directors.
Sales and negotiation skills – Identify opportunities, onboard new clients and secure and negotiate profitable contracts.
Relationship management – Building rapport with clients in order to gain trust and sell more relevant products or services
Industry knowledge – Account managers need to understand their client’s needs, which normally requires some sector-specific knowledge.
Writing your Account Manager CV
Whether you’re seeking your first account management role or are an experienced professional looking for your next step up, a well-structured, effective CV is essential.
Formatting and structuring your CV in a way which allows your most valuable assets to jump out and allows for easy reading, is key to impressing recruiters. Always remember to tailor your CV to the role, include plenty of quantified achievements and triple-check it before hitting the send button – there’s no going back!
By following this account manager CV guide, you’ll be well on your way to securing an interview.
Good luck with your job search.