Team Lead Resume Example & Writing Guide

An effective team lead has the power to drive staff forward to reach — and exceed — their goals. If you have a natural flair for leadership, this career is calling your name. Before you can land the managerial position, you need to perfect your team lead resume. 

Inspiring a team of workers every day takes energy, passion, and dedication. If you’re bursting at the brim with all of the above, how can you get that across to employers? In an interview scenario, demonstrating your skills is easy. However, before you can get there, you first need to ‘wow’ them with a stellar resume that ticks all of the boxes. 

Resume.io is an expert career resource with resume examples for 350+ professions combined with an easy-to-use resume builder. Showcasing your leadership skills and turning employers’ heads doesn’t have to be difficult. We’re here to help you shine a light on everything you have to offer a company. 

Within this resume guide, we will take a look at an interview-winning team lead resume example, and cover the following topics: 

• What does a team lead do?
• How to write a team lead resume (tips and tricks)
• The best format for a team lead resume
• Help for each section of your resume (summary, work history, education, skills)
• Effective resume layout and design hints.

What does a team lead do?

First, let’s talk about what a team lead does. Your main focuses will be overseeing the staff, scheduling shifts, delegating, motivating, and managing any conflict. Team leads are often managers or supervisors. Your everyday tasks will vary depending on the size of the department and company.

Employers are looking for candidates who can take the bull by the horns. The right team lead can make or break a department’s success. You need to show that you have what it takes to move the team forward and continually reach Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). 

It doesn’t end there. As a golden rule, team leads need to be good with people. You will be managing a variety of professionals from all different walks of life. The ability to effectively get your message across to each of them is a major bonus. Should you have a talent for talking, you may find that this career path suits you. 

How to write a resume for a team lead

Before you can get moving and write your team lead resume, you need to understand what to include. There’s a simple formula you can use when creating a head-turning application. With that in mind, here are the key elements you will need to feature: 

• The resume header (or your contact information)
• The resume summary (i.e. the profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

Tailoring your resume to each employer is vital. The team lead role in a department store will look extremely different from the same role in an accountancy firm. When you’re ready to apply for your next job, be sure to investigate the company thoroughly. What does the company do? What clients does it aim to serve? What are the business values? The more information you can gather, the better it will be for your resume. 

Take a closer look at the team lead job posting. Note down any keywords or phrases that the advert includes. Using the same terminology will help you get past the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The software filters applications — looking for specific keywords — and ranks them. The applications that best match the job description land on the hiring manager’s desk. However, those that fall short, will end up straight in the trash. 

If you’re hoping to write a team lead that sparks an employer’s interest, here are some pointers to keep in mind: 

• Showcase your key talents: communication, leadership, and dispute management.
• Tailor your language to suit the employer. Don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Create a clean and concise resume that an employer can easily understand.
• Quantify your accomplishments, adding extra weight to your application.

Choosing the best resume format for a team lead

As a rule, team lead resumes should be written in reverse chronological order. When writing your education section, you should start with your most recent experience at the top. Should you lack experience in the field, dedicate space to your skill-set and any training.

Keep in mind that the resume format needs to be easy to digest. Recruiters spend just seven seconds looking at each resume that comes their way. Make their job straightforward by not overloading your resume. Prioritize the most valuable information, and showcase it front and center. Take a moment to consider what they need to know. 

Resume summary example: leading the way

The resume summary (also known as the profile or personal statement) is likely the first thing a recruiter will see. This blurb sits below the header of your team lead resume and gives the hiring manager the main points they need to know. 

The summary should take up between four and five sentences and include the main reasons you deserve the job. If you’re struggling with writer’s block, take a look at our resume summary writing guide.

Resume real estate is valuable. That means that you don’t want to waste space or include information that won’t land you an interview. For example, if you already have a large education section that is dominating the page, you may want to opt for a shorter summary. Including a few well-structured sentences that sell your skill-set is a savvy move. 

Flex your creative muscles. The resume summary is the most free-form aspect of your resume. Use powerful adjectives, such as ‘effective’, ‘motivated’, and ‘driven’ to pique hiring managers’ interest. Waiting for inspiration to strike? Check out an adaptable team leader resume sample summary below.

Employment history sample: tell your story

Your most recent team lead experience should lead the way. As we have mentioned, you will be using the reverse chronological method for your employment history. Simply start with your current/most recent role at the top of the page and work your way backward. 

Don’t waste your words. Beneath each job title and the dates, briefly cover what the role entailed. You’re not writing your memoir. Lose the word ‘I’ and get straight into the meat of your duties. Wherever possible, quantify your experience using numbers or statistics. For instance, you may point out that you increased sales by 30%. Look at the resume example below.

CV skills example: showcase your talents 

There’s an art to crafting your team lead CV. To land that all-important interview, you need to show employers that you have the perfect mix of both hard and soft skills. You can pepper this part of your application with the keywords you’ve noted from the job posting. 

When it comes to a team lead CV, the soft skills are just — if not more — important than the hard skills. It’s your job to inspire and engage your team. For that reason, you should be bubbling with charisma and charm. However, you will also need to be well-schooled in managerial processes, risk management, and measuring performance metrics. Below you’ll find the skills section for our team lead resume sample.

Team lead resume education example

Much of the time, team lead applicants will have a bachelor’s degree in business or a similar field to place in the resume education section. Of course, if you don’t have that, you may just list your high school diploma or equivalent GED information. The above is an excellent starting point. 

Additional training and certification shows employers that you have invested in your career. If you’ve taken an online course in leadership, for instance, now is the time to shout about it. You can list any on-the-job training, certificates, or awards below your main education. You may want to use a bullet-point format. Take a look at our resume example below.

Resume layout and design: first impressions

Looks aren’t everything, but they may matter more than you think. When you’re creating a team lead resume, you want to make the right first impression with your layout and design. Hiring managers have limited time, and so favor attractive and uncomplicated resumes. Be sure to opt for a reader-friendly approach including white space to break up the various sections. 

While you may be tempted to go for an uber colorful and jazzy look, it’s unlikely to do you any favors. Gimmicks won’t win you interviews. It’s far more important to make sure that hiring managers can easily glean the information they need. That means keeping things simple, to-the-point, and neat. Choose a visually attractive yet minimalist design. Choose from one of our many pre-formatted resume templates to kick things off. 

Key takeaways for a team lead resume

1. Team lead professionals need a balance of soft skills and hard skills combined with the unique ability to motivate their staff.
2. You should aim to tailor your team lead resume to the company. It’s worth taking the time to do your research before applying.
3. Aside from experience, your resume gives you the opportunity to showcase any additional leadership training you may have.
4. Check out our adaptable team lead resume sample for more ideas on creating a great layout and design.