Outcome over output. Lead the CV with the metric you moved, the user problem you solved, and the cross-functional team you ran. ATS-clean and recruiter-scannable.
Hiring managers read PM CVs for evidence of judgment. The bullet 'Shipped feature X' is output. The bullet 'Identified that 38% of new signups churned at the import step; ran a 6-week effort across design and engineering to add CSV upload, lifting day-7 retention 14 points' is outcome.
Every senior PM bullet should have a verb (shipped, killed, scoped, prioritised, ran, partnered), an artifact (the feature, the doc, the team), and a metric (the lift, the cut, the user behaviour change). Two of three is OK. Zero of three is the bullet that costs you the screen.
Killing the wrong feature is a stronger PM bullet than shipping the second-best one. Lead with kill decisions when you have them, with the reasoning intact.
Team size, revenue impact, user count. 'Led a 7-person pod across 2 designers and 5 engineers' beats 'Led product team'. 'Owned $4.2M ARR product line' beats 'Owned product'.
If your scope is small, frame the impact-to-headcount ratio. 'Drove 38% of company growth as PM #2' is a stronger signal than burying the headcount and inflating the team size.
Don't claim P&L ownership unless you actually own the P&L. The screen will check, and the misclaim is a one-way ticket to a rejection.
One page under 7 years of PM experience, two pages above. Senior PMs and directors get two pages because the cross-functional context (team size, scope, revenue) takes more room to articulate than an engineering bullet.
Yes, if you can write a specific one. Name the level (senior PM, group PM, director), the product area (growth, payments, internal tooling), the user scale (B2C 14M MAU, B2B enterprise SaaS), and the most defensible outcome (lifted X metric Y points).
80% hard outcomes, 20% process and team. Soft skills (stakeholder management, communication) are inferred from outcomes, not listed. List them in the Skills block only if you've got specific certifications or methodology training (CSPO, Pragmatic, JTBD).
Only if transitioning into PM from engineering, design, or data. Three product-style projects with user research, prioritisation framework, and shipped outcome beat a sparse work history. Skip projects past 4 years of PM tenure.
'Killed feature X after 3 weeks of beta, based on 28% adoption and 4 negative usability tests; redirected 4-engineer team to feature Y which shipped to GA in 6 weeks at 71% adoption.' The kill is the proof of judgment.
Free. Six sub-scores. The bullets that hurt you, highlighted.
Check my CV →