Head of Product CV example

You’ve worked in development and management and now you’re ready to take the next step in your product career.

If you want to become head of product, you need to successfully highlight your most impressive experience and skills on your application. This requires a bit of care and attention.

So, for a finished product that will wow the recruiter, make use of our writing guide and head of product CV example below.

 

 

 

Head of Product CV example

Head of Product CV 1

Head of Product CV 2

 

Unsure of what your Head of Product CV should look like?

Have a look at the CV example above to get familiar with the structure, layout and format of a professional CV.

As you can see, it provides plenty of relevant information about the applicant but is still very easy to read, and brief – which will please busy recruiters and hiring managers.

 

CV builder

 

Head of Product CV layout and format

The format and structure of your CV is important because it will determine how easy it is for recruiters and employers to read your CV.

If they can find the information they need quickly, they’ll be happy; but if they struggle, your application could be overlooked.

A simple and logical structure will always create a better reading experience than a complex structure, and with a few simple formatting tricks, you’ll be good to go.

 

How to write a CV

 

Tips for formatting your Head of Product CV

  • Length: Two sides of A4 makes for the perfect CV length, though one page is okay for less experienced applicants. This forces you to make sure that every single sentence adds value to your CV and ensures you avoid unnecessary  info.
  • Readability: To help recruiters quickly skim through your CV, it’s important to format your section headings with bold or a different colour font and break up lengthy paragraphs into short sharp bullet points. This enables them to easily identify important information and assess your suitability.
  • Design: When it comes to CV design, it’s best to keep things simple and sleek. While elaborate designs certainly command attention, it’s not always for the right reasons! Readability is key, so whatever you choose to do, make sure you prioritise readability above everything.
  • Photos: Headshot photos aren’t required in a CV by most employers, but some creative and artistic industries like to see them. If you decide to include one, make sure you look smart and professional in the picture.

 

Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.

 

CV formatting tips

 

 

CV structure

When writing your CV, break up the content into the following key sections, to ensure it can be easily digested by busy recruiters and hiring managers:

  • Contact details – Always list these at the very top of your CV – you don’t want them to be missed!
  • Profile – An introductory paragraph, intended to grab recruiters attention and summarise your offering.
  • Work experience / career history – Working from your current role and working backwards, list your relevant work experience.
  • Education – Create a snappy summary of your education and qualifications.
  • Interest and hobbies – An optional section to document any hobbies that demonstrate transferable skills.

Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.

 

Contact Details

Contact details

 

Start off your CV with a basic list of your contact details.
Here’s what you should include:

  • Mobile number
  • Email address – It’s often helpful to make a new email address, specifically for your job applications.
  • Location – Share your town or city; there’s no need for a full address.
  • LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – Make sure the information on them is coherent with your CV, and that they’re up-to-date

Quick tip: Delete excessive details, such as your date of birth or marital status. Recruiters don’t need to know this much about you, so it’s best to save the space for your other CV sections.

 

Head of Product CV Profile

Make a strong first impression with recruiters by starting your CV with an impactful profile (or personal statement for junior applicants).

This short introduction paragraph should summarise your skills, experience, and knowledge, highlighting your suitability for the job.

It should be compelling enough to encourage recruiters to read through the rest of your CV.

 

CV profile

 

CV profile writing tips:

  • Make it short and sharp: The best CV profiles are short, sharp and highly relevant to the target role. For this reason, it’s best to write 3-4 lines of high-level information, as anything over might be missed.
  • Tailor it: If recruiters don’t see your suitability within a few seconds, they may close your CV straight away. Your CV profile should closely match the essential requirements listed in the job ad, so make sure to review them before you write it.
  • Don’t add an objective: You only have a small space for your CV profile, so avoid writing down your career goals or objectives. If you think these will help your application, incorporate them into your cover letter instead.
  • Avoid generic phrases: If there’s one thing that’ll annoy a recruiter, it’s a clichè-packed CV. Focus on showcasing your hard skills, experience and the results you’ve gained in previous roles, which will impress recruiters far more.

 

Example CV profile for Head of Product

UKPC-Certified Head of Product with a successful 31+ year career creating and implementing product development strategy for a variety of leading manufacturing companies in the UK. Strategic product manager with an MBA from the University of Bristol and proven expertise in managing the product lifecycle and optimising growth potential. Highly skilled in team management and multi-agency working to achieve and exceed KPIs and execute projects.

 

What to include in your Head of Product CV profile?

  • Experience overview: Showcase your aptitude for the job you are aiming for by giving a brief summary of your past work history, including the industries you have worked in, the kinds of employers you have served, and the roles you have held.
  • Targeted skills: Ensure that your profile highlights your key skills that are most relevant to your Head of Product, and tailor them to match the specific job you are applying for. To do this, refer to the job description to closely align your skills with their requirements.
  • Key qualifications: Be sure to outline your relevant Head of Product qualifications, so that anyone reading the CV can instantly see you are qualified for the jobs you are applying to.

 

Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.

 

Core skills section

In addition to your CV profile, your core skills section provides an easily digestible snapshot of your skills – perfect for grabbing the attention of busy hiring managers.

As Head of Product jobs might receive a huge pile of applications, this is a great way to stand out and show off your suitability for the role.

It should be made up of 2-3 columns of bullet points and be made up of skills that are highly relevant to the jobs you are targeting.

 

Core skills section CV

 

Important skills for your Head of Product CV

Product management – Managing the product development process from ideation to launch and maintenance, as well as maintaining a product roadmap and prioritizing features to align with company goals.

Strategic thinking – Analysing market trends and competitive landscape to develop and execute product strategy that drives revenue growth and market share.

Data analysis – Analysing customer feedback, user data, and market research to identify opportunities for product improvements and new feature development.

Team management – Managing and leading cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality products on time and within budget.

Agile methodologies – Utilising agile development methodologies, including Scrum and Kanban, and ability to lead teams through the agile process.

Product design – Utilising knowledge of design principles and collaborating with design teams to create compelling user experiences that meet customer needs.

Product marketing – Utilising knowledge of product marketing tactics and strategies to effectively position and promote products to target audiences.

Technical acumen – Utilising strong understanding of technology and ability to work closely with engineering teams to translate customer needs into technical requirements.

Financial management – Managing product budgets, forecasting revenue and expenses, and ensuring that products are profitable.

Stakeholder communication – Effectively communicate product vision, goals, and progress to executive leadership, cross-functional teams, and external stakeholders.

 

Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.

 

CV builder

 

Work experience section

By this point, employers will be keen to know more detail about you career history.

Starting with your most recent role and working backwards, create a snappy list of any relevant roles you’ve held.

This could be freelance, voluntary, part-time or temporary jobs too. Anything that’s relevant to your target role is well-worth listing!

 
Work experience
 

Structuring each job

If you don’t pay attention to the structure of your career history section, it could quickly become bulky and overwhelming.

Get in recruiters’ good books by creating a pleasant reading experience, using the 3-step structure below:

 
Role descriptions
 

Outline

Provide a brief overview of the job as a whole, such as what the overriding purpose of your job was and what type of company you worked for.

 

Key responsibilities

Follow with a snappy list of bullet points, detailing your daily duties and responsibilities.

Tailor it to the role you’re applying for by mentioning how you put the target employer’s desired hard skills and knowledge to use in this role.

 

Key achievements

To finish off each role and prove the impact you made, list 1-3 stand out achievements, results or accomplishments.

This could be anything which had a positive outcome for the company you worked for, or perhaps a client/customer. Where applicable, quantify your examples with facts and figures.

 

Sample job description for Head of Product CV

Outline

Lead the product team at a leading renewable energy solutions company with annual turnover of £32 million, developing and implementing the product development roadmap for wood pellet boilers and ground source heat pumps.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead the development of proof of concepts to establish feasibility
  • Engage with the executive team to establish key organizational initiatives, metrics, and high-level fiscal plans with views to optimize growth
  • Track and coordinate the end-to-end delivery of the product lifecycle from ideation, development, growth, and end of life
  • Coordinate with the Infrastructure and Development teams to ensure product sprints are executed within budget and in a timely manner

 

Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.

 

 

Education and qualifications

Although there should be mentions of your highest and most relevant qualifications earlier on in your CV, save your exhaustive list of qualifications for the bottom.

If you’re an experienced candidate, simply include the qualifications that are highly relevant to Head of Product roles.

However, less experienced candidates can provide a more thorough list of qualifications, including A-Levels and GCSEs.

You can also dedicate more space to your degree, discussing relevant exams, assignments and modules in more detail, if your target employers consider them to be important.

 

Hobbies and interests

This section is entirely optional, so you’ll have to use your own judgement to figure out if it’s worth including.

If your hobbies and interests could make you appear more suitable for your dream job, then they are definitely worth adding.

Interests which are related to the industry, or hobbies like sports teams or volunteering, which display valuable transferable skills might be worth including.

 

CV builder

Creating a strong Head of Product CV requires a blend of punchy content, considered structure and format, and heavy tailoring.

By creating a punchy profile and core skills list, you’ll be able to hook recruiter’s attention and ensure your CV gets read.

Remember that research and relevance is the key to a good CV, so research your target roles before you start writing and pack your CV with relevant skills.

Best of luck with your next application!