How to write a CV for a Director of Operations

A director of operations oversees the operating procedures of a company. As such, their duties and responsibilities can often be broad and far-reaching, involving reviewing company documents, collaborating with HR, strategic planning and suggesting initiatives to improve business operations.

These tasks require a broad skillset; the best director of operations CV examples will impress the hiring manager by demonstrating you can perform the role’s duties.

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Recruiters will want to see that you have the business administration and business development expertise to excel in the role. They’ll be looking for a mixture of hard and soft skills to cover the broad range of activities related to the position. Since this is a leadership position, they’ll be hoping to see successful project management and leadership skills. They’ll also want to see evidence of mentoring and a proven track record of successful operations management.

Above all, your professional CV should build a picture of you as a beneficial addition to the company; you’ll need to share whatever relevant evidence you can to prove your worth as an asset.

The main CV formats are the chronological format which emphasises work history, the functional format, which showcases skills and the combination format, highlights both. You’ll use all the same sections; the only thing that may change is the order. The choice is yours here; candidates tend to put their strongest section first. So, if you have several years of experience in related roles, then you might go with that.

Header

Your CV header always sits at the top of your CV. You should include your contact information, including any links to social media and your LinkedIn profile. This information should be visible so the hiring manager can easily contact you.

Professional summary or career objective

Your professional summary is a clear and concise paragraph stating your career background and shouldn’t be longer than three sentences. Alternatively, you can opt for a career objective. This is slightly different in that it details your career goals and ambitions, the idea being that you can imply that your goals align with your potential employer. Check out our tips for writing a clear career objective.

Skills

Your skills section is your opportunity to list the soft and hard skills that will help you in your future role. To help you select the right skills it’s good to check the job description or job posting for some specifics. You can use that information to tailor your skills section and show that you are an ideal candidate. Hiring managers are looking for the following skills in a director of operations job candidate:

• Excellent leadership skills
• Time management skills
• Knowledge of industry regulations, company policies and operational guidelines
• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Knowledge of forecasting and performance evaluation metrics
• Negotiation skills
• Numerical literacy for financial management
• Microsoft proficiency

Remember that the skills you list should show that you can perform the role’s duties, whether it be upholding quality standards or implementing process improvements. If you have many skills that you want to share, then list them in bullet points to keep them neat and concise.

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Do:

• Ensure your CV is error-free. Many hiring managers will simply dismiss CVs if they are littered with mistakes. Take the time to inspect for punctuation, grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Use the job description provided. Director of operations jobs have many different duties, so you should check to see if there is an emphasis placed on a specific aspect in the job advert.
• Use relevant industry jargon and terminology to demonstrate your expertise.

Don’t:

• Write your CV without getting expert help. That’s what CVHelp’s CV builder is here to do.
• Overfill your experience section. Choose a select few relevant roles to establish your credibility. The recruiter can ask you more during the interview. The best CV will provide just the right amount of information for the hiring manager.
• Make claims you can’t provide evidence of achieving. If you lack leadership experience, then don’t make anything up; just focus on your strengths instead of falsifying information.

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