Product owner CV example

As a Product Owner you get to be the customer’s representative back to the development team, enjoying a critical role as the conduit between the two.

To land the best product owner jobs, you obviously need the best CV on the market

Included here is a Product Owner CV which shows you exactly what recruiters are looking for, as well as specific advice on tailoring your own CV.

 

Guide contents

  • Product owner CV example
  • Structuring and formatting your CV
  • Writing your CV profile
  • Detailing work experience
  • Your education
  • Skills required for your Product owner CV

 

 

Product owner CV example

Product Owner CV 1

Product Owner CV 2

 

This a good example of a Product owner CV which contains all of the information that an employer would need to know, and presents it in a well- structured, easy-to-read manner.

Take some time to look at this CV and refer to it throughout the writing of your own CV for best results.

 

 

Product owner CV structure and format

First impressions count, so a sloppy, disorganised and difficult-to-read CV won’t do you any favours.

Instead, perfect the format and structure of your CV by working to a pre-defined structure and applying some simple formatting tricks to ease readability.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this step; if your CV lacks readability, your written content won’t be able to shine through.

 

CV structure

 

Formatting Tips

  • Length: Whether you’ve got one year or three decades of experience, your CV should never be more than two sides of A4. Recruiters are busy people who’re often juggling numerous roles and tasks, so they don’t have time to read lengthy applications. If you’re a recent graduate or don’t have much industry experience, one side of A4 is fine.
  • Readability: Columns, lists, bullet points, bold text and subtle colour can all help to aid the readability of your CV. Your overarching goal should be to make the content as easy to read and navigate as possible, whilst also aiming to make your key skills and achievements stand out.
  • Design: It’s generally best to stick to a simple CV design, as funky or elaborate designs rarely add any value to your application. A clear, modern font and a subtle colour scheme work perfectly and allow your skills, experience and achievements to speak for themselves.
  • Avoid photos: Recruiters can’t factor in appearance, gender or race into the recruitment process, so a profile photo is totally unnecessary. Additionally, company logos or images won’t add any value to your application, so you’re better off saving the space to showcase your experience instead.

 

CV builder

 

Structuring your CV

Divide your CV into the following major sections when writing it:

  • Name and contact details – Head your CV with your name and contact details, to let the reader know who you are and how to contact you.
  • CV profile – A brief paragraph which summarises your skills and experience and highlights why you’re a good match for the role.
  • Core skills list – A snappy, bullet-pointed list of your most relevant skills.
  • Work experience – A structured list of your work experience in reverse chronological order.
  • Education – A summary of any relevant qualifications or professional training you’ve completed.
  • Hobbies and interests – An optional section, which should only be used if your hobbies are relevant to the jobs you’re applying to.

 

Now I’ll guide you through exactly what you should include in each CV section.

 

 

CV Contact Details

Contact details

 

Kick-start your CV with your contact details, so recruiters can get in touch easily.
Here’s what you should include:

  • Mobile number
  • Email address – Make sure it’s professional, with no silly nicknames.
  • Location – Your town or city is sufficient, rather than a full address.
  • LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – Ensure they’ve been updated and are looking slick and professional.

Quick tip: Avoid listing your date of birth, marital status or other irrelevant details – they’re unnecessary at this stage.

 

 

Product owner CV Profile

Grab the reader’s attention by kick-starting your CV with a powerful profile (or personal statement, if you’re a junior applicant).

This is a short introduction paragraph which summarises your skills, knowledge and experience.

It should paint you as the perfect match for the job description and entice recruiters to read through the rest of your CV.

 

CV profile

 

Tips for creating an impactful CV profile:

  • Keep it brief: Recruiters have piles of CVs to read through and limited time to dedicate to each, so it pays to showcase your abilities in as few words as possible. 3-4 lines is ideal.
  • 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: If you want to discuss your career objectives, save them for your cover letter, rather than wasting valuable CV profile space.
  • Avoid cliches: 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.

 

What to include in your Product owner CV profile?

  • Summary of experience: Recruiters will want to know what type of companies you’ve worked for, industries you have knowledge of, and the type of work you’ve carried out in the past, so give them a summary of this in your profile.
  • Relevant skills: Highlight your skills which are most relevant to Product owner jobs, to ensure that recruiters see your most in-demand skills as soon as they open your CV.
  • Essential qualifications: Be sure to outline your relevant Product owner qualifications, so that anyone reading the CV can instantly see you are qualified for the jobs you are applying to.

Quick tip: Your CV is your first impression on recruiters, so it’s vital to avoid spelling and grammar mistakes if you want to appear professional. Use our quick-and-easy CV Builder to add pre-written content that has been crafted by recruitment experts.

 

Core skills section

Underneath your profile, create a core skills section to make your most relevant skills jump off the page at readers.

It should be made up of 2-3 columns of bullet points of your relevant skills.

Before you do this, look over the job description and make a list of any specific skills, specialisms or knowledge required.

Then, make sure to use your findings in your list. This will paint you as the perfect match for the role.

 

CV core skills

 

CV builder

 

Work experience/Career history

By now, you’ll have hooked the reader’s attention and need to show them how you apply your skills and knowledge in the workplace, to benefit your employers.

So, starting with your most recent role and working backwards to your older roles, create a thorough summary of your career history to date.

If you’ve held several roles and are struggling for space, cut down the descriptions for your oldest jobs.

 
Work experience
 

Structuring your roles

Recruiters will be keen to gain a better idea of where you’ve worked and how you apply your skill-set in the workplace.

However, if they’re faced with huge, hard-to-read paragraphs, they may just gloss over it and move onto the next application.

To avoid this, use the simple 3-step role structure, as shown below:

 
Role descriptions
 

Outline

Start with a solid introduction to your role as a whole, in order to build some context.

Explain the nature of the organisation you worked for, the size of the team you were part of, who you reported to and what the overarching purpose of your job was.

E.g.

“The Publishing Firm has a portfolio of 400 STM journals and receives over 10,000 submissions a year. As a Product Owner for The Publishing Firm, I manage development priorities and backlog prioritisations for the internal Product Development team, working on the company’s new publishing platform.”

 

Key responsibilities

Use bullet points to detail the key responsibilities of your role, highlighting hard skills, software and knowledge wherever you can.

Keep them short and sharp to make them easily digestible by readers.

E.g.

  • Driving the conception, launch and fine-tuning of the new company-wide publishing platform
  • Acting as a key contact point for users, handling implementation requests and troubleshooting
  • Coordinating priorities for sprints, assigning work and handling queries from product development

 

Key achievements

Finish off by showcasing 1-3 key achievements made within the role.

This could be anything that had a positive effect on your company, clients or customers, such as saving time or money, receiving exemplary feedback or receiving an award.

E.g.

  • Launching the publishing platform to budget, on time, and to 95% positive user feedback
  • Rectifying 85% of reported technical issues within first two sprints post-launch
  • Identifying fundamental workflow issue a week ahead of launch and rectifying in 48 hours

 

 

Education

After your work experience, your education section should provide a detailed view of your academic background.

Begin with those most relevant to Product owner jobs, such as vocational training or degrees.
If you have space, you can also mention your academic qualifications, such as A-Levels and GCSEs.

Focus on the qualifications that are most relevant to the jobs you are applying for.

 

 

Interests and hobbies

The hobbies and interests CV section isn’t mandatory, so don’t worry if you’re out of room by this point.

However, if you have an interesting hobby, or an interest that could make you seem more suitable for the role, then certainly think about adding.

Be careful what you include though… Only consider hobbies that exhibit skills that are required for roles as a Product owner, or transferable workplace skills.
There is never any need to tell employers that you like to watch TV and eat out.

 

CV builder

 

Essential skills for your Product owner CV

Tailoring your CV to the roles you are applying for is key to success, so make sure to read through the job descriptions and tailor your skills accordingly.

However, commonly desired Product owner skills include:

  • Project management – Concisely explain your product project management knowledge spanning product backlog, Scrum, Agile, user stories and interfaces with stakeholders.
  • Stakeholder management – Highlight how you use your skills to meet stakeholder and manage expectations.
  • Initiative – Demonstrate that you can go beyond the basics of what a stakeholder expects, which may be limited by their own knowledge, to bring them full potential and functionality, specifically using your storytelling skills.
  • Delegation – Explain how you use delegation to practically manage a complex and busy role.
  • Development skills – Detail your core developer knowledge demonstrating your ability to build products from the ground up

 

 

Writing your Product owner CV

When putting together your Product owner CV, there are a few key points to remember

Always tailor your CV to the target role, even if it means creating several versions for different roles.

Additionally, remember that the structure and format of your CV needs just as much attention as the content.

Remember to triple-check for spelling and grammar errors before hitting send. If you’re unsure, use our quick-and-easy CV Builder to add pre-written expert content with one click.

Good luck with your job search!