COO CV Guide + Tips + Example
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A well-written CV is a great place to start if you want a Chief Operations Officer (COO) job. Not sure where to begin? Don’t worry! Our guide to crafting an effective COO CV will help you make the most of your strong leadership and decision-making skills to get the job you want.
Start by editing this COO CV example or browse our library CV templates to find the best COO CV template for you.
COO CV example (text version)
JOSEPH GONZALEZ
Atlanta, GA 30006
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Summary Statement
Forward-thinking chief operations officer with a passion for making companies the best they can be. Over 15 years of experience overseeing staff, budgets and daily operations at large and small businesses. Extremely detail-oriented and knowledgeable of the analytics necessary to evaluate a company’s performance, as well as the means to apply those analytics to drive the company forward and maximize profit. Committed to innovation in the field of business operations and endlessly curious to find new and better ways to improve a business’s day-to-day functions and to meet its yearly goals.
Core Qualifications
- Organizational alignment
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Project management
- Workflow planning
- Management information systems
- Problem-solving
- Communication
- Leadership
Education
- Georgia State University Atlanta, GA
Master of Science Business Management - Quantitative Risk Analysis & Management
- Georgia State University Atlanta, GA
BBA Finance
Work Experience
November 2015 – Current
Staff Financial Group – Atlanta, GA
Chief Operations Officer
- Direct and oversee all budgets, ensuring financial goals are met each year.
- Analyze the needs and financial objectives of 12 clients and develop strategies for meeting those needs more efficiently.
- Evaluate all aspects of business performance and present findings to stakeholders.
- Oversee quality assurance programs.
- Improve employee satisfaction rating by realigning and enforcing policies, resulting in a 7% increase in participant retention from 66% to 73%.
September 2010 – October 2015
Fusion Connect – Atlanta, GA
Financial Officer
- Met yearly profit goals, increasing annual profit by three to eight percent each year.
- Conducted in-depth analysis of costs and profits and implemented improved methods for tracking and measuring financial performance.
- Wrote quarterly and yearly budgets of over $10.6 million for all company departments.
- Reduced 35% of costs by implementing new budgetary strategies across several departments.
June 2005 – August 2010
American Management Services – Atlanta, GA
Business Manager
- Oversaw staff of 30 employees.
- Designed and implemented an improved training program for all new hires, improving productivity by 25%.
- Developed initial sales roadmaps and market strategies to promote successful product launches.
- Reviewed and revised budgets to maximize efficiency and reduce cost.
Research Experience
- Validated incoming data to check information accuracy and integrity while independently locating and correcting concerns as research lead in “Operations Management Today” (2018), at Georgia State University
- Worked and participated in thesis assessment as a research assistant in “Budgeting and Forecasting Techniques for Stronger Businesses” (2016), at Georgia State University
Conference Presentations
- Operations Analysis and Risk Management Conference, Atlanta, GA – (2022)
- Operations Management Consulting Conference; Opportunities and Challenges, virtual conference – (2021)
- Process Improvement, Tactical Support and Investment Advisement Expo, Georgia State University – (2019)
Conference Attendance
- ICMA Annual Conference 2022, Austin, TX – (2023)
- Operations and Technology Conference, virtual – (2023)
- Financial Management Association (FMA) Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA – (2022)
- 2nd Annual Financial Markets Conference, Atlanta, GA – (2022)
- Operations Management Conference, virtual conference – (2021)
- TOPO Summit (2019): “Reflecting, Rethinking and Redefining
- Strategies and Tactics to Grow Revenue Faster” – (2019)
Professional Affiliations and Memberships
- Association for Operations Management (APICS) – (2023)
- Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) – (2022)
- Financial Management Association (FMA) – (2021)
- Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) – (2021)
- American Finance Association (AFA) – (2019)
Certifications and Licenses
- Certified Association Executive (CAE) – (2021)
- Operations Management Certificate – (2019)
- Project Management Professional (PMP) – (2018)
- Certified Business Professional (CSP) – (2016)
Profession Relevant Skills
- Effective speaker and writer, practiced at public presentations and interpersonal communications.
- Strong leader, experienced at managing a team and pushing them to meet company goals.
- Expert at budgetary analysis and implementation of budgetary guidelines.
- Skilled problem solver, experienced at troubleshooting all aspects of business management.
- Innovative thinker, always searching for new and improved methodologies to improve business operations.
Languages
- English
Native or Bilingual - Spanish
Full Professional
Hobbies and Interests
I enjoy spending my free time with my family. When I get out of the office, I like to leave it all behind and go out into nature to camp and fish with my wife and two boys. My wife and I enjoy nature photography and often spend our camping trips searching for the perfect shot. I’m the leader of my older son’s Boy Scout troop and regularly lead the group on camping trips and other outdoor activities, such as canoeing, skiing and swimming. Exposing the younger generation to nature is a passion of mine that I love sharing with my children.
5 essentials of a top COO CV
Contact details
Create a section at the top of your COO CV for your contact information. Without it, a potential employer cannot reach you to schedule an interview. Display your contact information as follows: Your full name, city, state and ZIP code, followed by your phone number and professional email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile and professional website, add those last.
Personal statement
A personal statement, also called a professional summary, is where you introduce yourself to the hiring manager and pitch your best skills and related work experience. Your COO CV should include job-relevant skills, the number of years you have been in the industry, and one or two of your most notable professional accomplishments. Your personal statement must be compelling and no longer than five short sentences to grab the hiring manager’s attention. If you are changing careers then it’s best to use an objective for your CV for a COO job.
Skills
Every hiring manager wants to know what skills you bring to the table. Create a separate section for your job-relevant skills and display them with bullet points to make them easy to read. Include a mixture of hard and soft skills that range from business development and planning to interpersonal skills, as our sample CV for a COO shows. If you are applying for your first job as a COO or are changing careers, include transferable skills.
Work history
Whether or not you have work experience as a coo, your CV must have a detailed employment history section. List current and previous employers in reverse-chronological order and provide company names, locations and the dates you worked for each. Add three bullet points of measurable achievements for every job you list. If you don’t have work experience in the field or if this is your first job application, display extracurricular activities, volunteer experience, community service and professional and personal projects — anything that shows you have relevant work experience.
Education
Hiring managers want to see your education credentials, so a COO CV must include an education section. Add all the schools you’ve attended after high school if any. Use bullet points and display the name of the school and the year you graduated. Omit the year if you graduated more than 10 years ago. List your high school information and any post-high school classes taken if you did not attend college.
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Action words for a stand-out COO CV
Action words convey confidence and strengthen CVs because they tell the hiring manager exactly what you did. They pack a punch when combined with numbers.
Here’s a short list of perfect action words for a COO CV:
- Lead
- Manage
- Evaluate
- Spearhead
- Facilitate
- Execute
- Oversee
- Advise
- Spearhead
- Strategize
Need more inspiration? We have 300+ CV examples to help you create the perfect COO CV.
Need the perfect CV for a COO job now? Our CV Maker has all the tools you need to craft a professional CV in minutes! You can make edits on the fly, download your finished CV and save it as a PDF, .doc or plain text. Yes, it’s that easy!
Top skills for a COO CV
Review the job description carefully and match the required skills to your abilities and traits.
These might include:
- Decision making
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- People management
- Leadership
- Strategy
- Presentation
- Delegation
- Attention to detail
- Strategic planning
Certifications for a COO CV
You aren’t required to be certified for a job as a COO, but having one or more certifications can help you stand out from the competition.
A certification from a respected organization demonstrates a level of commitment and proficiency in project management that non-certified job seekers don’t have.
There are several certification options for coos, including
Pair your CV with a matching cover letter
COO CV FAQ
What does a COO Do?
A COO can be responsible for a variety of duties. Depending on the size of the company, the scope of the position can vary widely. In larger firms, operations executives often have one specific aspect of the company to oversee, such as finances or production. A COO for a small company is more likely to be in charge of all aspects of the business, including overseeing staff, finances, daily operations, production and distribution of goods, with junior staff in charge of some of the day-to-day operational activities.
Tailor your COO CV to the type of position you’re applying for, using our COO CV example as a guideline for duties and accomplishments to include that showcase your unique abilities.
What to include in a CV for a COO job?
A COO CV must always include five primary sections:
- Contact information
- Personal profile
- Skills
- Job history
- Education
After that, your CV can include any number of sections, including:
- Professional memberships or associations
- Presentations
- Publications
- Certifications and licenses
- Volunteer experience
- Related hobbies and interests
The easiest way to determine what sections to add to your CV and how to fill them out is by reviewing the job description. You must match the job requirements to your qualifications and add them to your CV. If you’re unsure where to start, use the COO CV sample on this page for guidance.
What’s the best format for a COO CV?
A CV for a COO job can be in any format that fits the industry, job and your work experience and goals. For instance, if you’re applying for your first COO job or are changing careers, it’s best to use a CV format that emphasizes your education or skills. However, if you have a steady career as a COO and have progressed through the ranks, you might want to showcase your work experience.
What are some tips for creating a great CV for a coo job?
Here are our top tips for crafting a perfect COO CV:
- Customize your CV for each job you apply to.
- Use keywords from the job description that match your qualifications to ensure your resume is applicant tracking system (ATS)-friendly.
- Emphasize extra training, certifications, awards, honors and memberships.
- Highlight presentations or speeches in a separate section.
- Showcase volunteer and community service activities.
- Create subcategories for your skills under the skills section of your CV. For example, you might want to display your project management and negotiation skills separately or your technical and soft skills.
Do’s and don’ts for building a COO CV
- Use measurable achievements to describe your coo skills and experience.
- Use action words to impact your COO CV.
- Tailor your CV to your target job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your COO CV.
- Format your coo CV so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your COO experience and skills.
- Boast about your “incomparable” COO abilities.
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that do not belong in a COO CV.
- Forget to proofread. A COO CV with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a coo interview
Learn about the organization first.
Before the interview, take the time to learn about the company’s history, goals, values and people. Being able to show that you have in-depth knowledge about your potential employer shows real interest, dedication and commitment, which hiring managers love to see.
Practice.
To practice for your interview, start by reviewing some of the most common questions, such as:
- What two or three things are most important to you in a job?
- How do you determine priorities?
- What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
Write down possible answers as you review potential questions and have a friend or relative practice your interview with you. This way, you can get comfortable with the questions and imprint the answers in your mind. Ask your interview partner to review your answers. You’ll feel confident and ready when it’s time for the real thing.
Ask questions.
Your interviewer will likely ask if you have any questions at the end of your session. And even if they don’t, it’s best to arrive equipped with questions about the job. Job candidates who ask questions are more likely to get hired than candidates who do not because it shows genuine interest and enthusiasm.
Some questions you might ask for a COO job are:
- What are the biggest opportunities available to someone in this position?
- What are the biggest challenges someone in this position might expect?
- How do you evaluate success in this role?
Gather references.
You’ll need professional references quickly if the hiring manager is interested in hiring you. Prepare a list of two former colleagues and a former manager willing to speak to your abilities to perform the COO job and who you know will give you a stellar review.
If you are applying for your first full-time job, ask a former instructor, volunteer coordinator, classmate or community leader who can vouch for your character and skills.
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COO CV Guide
Kellie is a Certified Professional Resume Writer with extensive experience in digital media. She is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She earned a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.
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