Team Leader Resume: Examples, Job Description & Skills

A team leader is more than a project manager or supervisor. You guide, inspire, provide expertise, and a sage word of advice. And you don’t just become the team lead overnight. It takes hard work on the lower rungs to prove you’ve got a leader’s chops. 

What if you can’t prove that well enough on your team leader resume? Don’t worry—

This guide will show you:

• A team leader resume example that’s better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a team leader resume that will land you more job interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills, education, and achievements on a team leader resume.
• How to compose a team leader job description for resumes that shows off your true potential. 

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Team Leader Resume Example

Let’s show you how to write a team leader resume:

1. Format Your Team Leader Resume Correctly

Team leaders coordinate the tasks done by a group of people. Their specialization will depend on the industry, of course, but on the whole, a team leader resume needs to prove good teamwork and management skills, plus sufficient knowledge in the right field.

Regardless of industry, however, one thing remains the same:

A poor resume isn’t worth the trouble.

If you fail to observe that, you will experience getting snubbed by recruiter after recruiter first-hand.

Don’t let that happen to you, and format your resume the right way:

• State your current contact information at the top of your resume.
• Your resume should be divided into sections, the main ones being work experience, education, skills, and miscellaneous. Make sure that, at a glance, this division is clear. Use distinct headings and white space. 
• Within each section, stick to the reverse-chronological resume layout. This means listing your most recent experience first, then working your way back in order. 
• A good resume font will go a long way. Arial or Calibri in 11 or 12 points will do just fine. 
• Write a chronological resume to show off major team-leading achievements front and center.

And hey—

As a team leader, you may need to coordinate and delegate than take care of all the minutiae yourself. Consider using a modern resume template that’s already formatted and ready to fill in. 

Pro Tip: One of your most important skills should be time management. Show them you’re adept at it by sending in an efficient job application—keep your resume length down to one page.

2. Write a Team Leader Resume Summary or Objective

If you want something done right, better do it yourself.

I’m sure there are times when you wish you could just copy yourself and run a team of you’s.

Sadly, no can do. And even though you really want the recruiter to read your resume from top to bottom for themselves, there’s no guarantee they actually will. In fact, our HR stats show they’re far more likely to skim it, sparing it just a few seconds of their time. 

On the contrary, actually—our HR stats show that they might only spend a few seconds on it, at best.

The trick?

Making them read it all with a great resume profile—a 3–4 sentence paragraph at the top that shows how much of an all-star you are.

Resume objectives work best for newcomers with no more than 2 years of experience leading others. Emphasizetransferable skills and exceptional performance in other jobs while stressing how that could translate to team leading.

Team leads with experience will instead prefer a resume summary. Paint as full a picture of your professional skill set as you can, but focus on showing team leader achievements and use numbers to convey the true meaning more effectively.

Pro Tip: Save yourself the trouble of stressing over this section if you’re drawing blanks. Your resources are best diverted to the other sections first, and you can always come back and finish later on.

3. Write an Outstanding Team Leader Job Description for Resumes

You could be leading teams to success with expert problem-solving and leadership.

Slashing budgets, always on time, a shining beacon of true productivity.

But—

Present all of that work experience inadequately, and you’ll look like a green-faced noob.

Here’s how to write the perfect team leader job description:

• State your job title as you list your past jobs.
• In reverse chronological order, list where you worked and for how long.
• For each one, try to include up to 6 bullet points of relevant experience. Keep it interesting, though: focus on professional achievements rather than listing every responsibility you had. Show your performance, not a list of duties. 
• Utilize action words to their maximum potential and synergize them with numbers that quantify your achievements.
• Use the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) formula to show you can identify, solve, and future-proof problems in one fell swoop.

Pro Tip: Look, if there’s one thing you need to take away from this, it’s that tailoring the resumeevery time is your number one priority. Recruiters read hundreds of resumes, and if you look and sound generic, your application will only lead the way to the trash can.

4. Make the Most of Your Education on a Team Leader Resume

When applying for team leading roles, it’s true that your work experience will matter a lot more than your education. But don’t mistake that for an excuse not to have an education section on your resume.

Even if you’re applying for jobs that don’t require a specific degree, it’s best practice to always show your education. 

• Are you a fresh team leader, with less than a few years of professional experience? Elaborate on your education by adding items such as extracurricular activities, your majors and minors, or relevant coursework. The idea is to show your relevant skills, like leadership and communication. 
• However, with over 5 years of experience, simply listing your school’s name, location, and your year of graduation will be plenty.

Read more: How to List a Degree on a Resume

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5. Present Your Team Leader Skills Adequately

Want to find out what are the best skills for a team leader?

Look no further.

Team Leader Skills—Resume

• Communication Skills
• Approachability
• Feedback
• Inspiring Others
• Fostering Growth
• Delegating Tasks
• Innovation
• Product Knowledge
• Industry Expertise
• Consistency
• Emotional Intelligence
• Computer Skills
• Decision-Making
• Problem-Solving
• Conflict Resolution
• Leadership Skills
• Synergizing Team Members
• Establishing Rules
• Defining Goals
• Teamwork Skills
• Coaching & Guidance
• Performance Review

Only problem with that is, nobody will believe you if you claim to be a jack of all trades like that.

Take the smarter approach instead, and search out the specific resume keywords the company lists in the job ad. Compare them with all of your own skills, and make sure to only use up to 10 of those that actually match their requirements.

Read more: What Skills to Put on Your Resume

6. Add a Miscellaneous Section on Your Team Leader Resume

A team leader has to inspire, but can you?

If all you do is clock in, work, eat lunch, then clock out, the hiring manager won’t be convinced you can lead much of anything (or anybody).

Through the use of extra resume sections, you can avoid making that kind of an impression.

Here are some ideas on what else to include on a team leader resume:

• Language skills
• Hobbies and interests
• Certifications and licenses
• Noteworthy achievements
• Volunteer work
• Extra projects you helped coordinate
• Freelance work

Pro Tip: This section will be highly context-dependent. Applying for a job in an ITSec company? Brag about hackathons, or list the programming languages you know. Want to run logistics? Previous experience as a long-haul trucker will definitely impress.

7. Wrap up by Including a Team Leader Cover Letter

What is a cover letter even for? 

Well, it serves as a signal to the recruiter that you care, and shows more of your competencies. So even when you don’t have to include it, it’s a good idea to send one in anyway. 

This is how to write a cover letter for a team leader:

• Use a cover letter template that doesn’t resemble something from the Stone Age. Ideally, match it with the style of your resume. Identical headers on both documents will make you look professional and organized. 
• Poke around and find the name of the recruiter responsible for filling the position you’re applying for, and then address the cover letter directly to that person. It makes a far better impression than the outdated “Dear Sir or Madam”. 
• Write a cover letter intro paragraph, Lead with an exciting fact about yourself to keep them reading with interest.
• In the next paragraph, highlight more of the best parts skills portfolio.
• Finish with a cover letter ending that offers something to the company.

Read more: Manager Cover Letter: Writing Instructions + Examples

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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That’s it!

You just saw how to write a phenomenal team leader resume.

Is any aspect of writing a team leader still lost on you? We’ll be glad to help, so please let us know in the comments!

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