IT and product
Product owner CV: example and template
This example is for product owners at product companies, banks, e-commerce and software houses, and for business analysts, project managers and business specialists who are moving into the product owner role.
The employer wants to know which product you manage, how you set priorities, how you work with the team and the business and what your decisions achieved. We show you how to describe this on your CV.
How to write a product owner CV
Professional summary
Write which product you manage, for whom, at what scale and with how many teams. Add one business result, because a product owner is judged by the value of the product, not by the number of closed tasks. If you moved from analysis or the business, mention it.
Business analyst with 3 years of experience in e-commerce who for a year has stood in for the product owner in a Scrum team. I run the backlog, write user stories and talk to customers. I hold PSPO I and I am looking for work as a product owner.
Experience: duties and achievements
Describe the product, users, teams, decisions and their results. Show how you set priorities and who you reach agreement with: business, legal, sales, customers. Add the research and data you base decisions on.
Weaker: Running the backlog.
Better: Backlog and priorities for 2 Scrum teams, 14 people in total.
Weaker: Developing the product.
Better: A new account opening flow in the app, 30% more new customers.
Weaker: Roadmap.
Better: A quarterly product roadmap presented to the board and stakeholders.
Skills worth listing
List backlog management, prioritisation techniques, research, metrics and tools. In your soft skills show negotiation, decision making and saying no, because a product owner chooses every day what not to do.
Professional skills
- Backlog
- Priorities
- Requirements
- Scrum
- Research
- Metrics
Personal skills
- Negotiation
- Decision making
- Assertiveness
- Communication
- Customer focus
Certificates
List product owner certificates, for example PSPO or CSPO, and courses in research, product analytics or product management. A certificate helps, but product results count more.
How to become a product owner
People usually move into this role from business analysis, testing, project management or the business. On your CV show the product decisions you have already made and your work with an IT team.
Get a certificate and describe one project from the customer's problem to the result. It is better proof than a list of training.
Tailoring your CV to the job offer
A bank looks for work with regulations and many stakeholders, a product company for data, experiments and growth, and a software house for work with a client and their budget. Move to the top what the job ad is about.
Questions and answers
What should a product owner put on a CV?
The product, users, teams, decisions and their results, how you set priorities, research, metrics and certificates.
How does a product owner differ from a project manager?
A product owner is responsible for product value and priorities, a project manager for a project's scope, time and budget.
Is the PSPO certificate needed?
Not always, but it helps, especially for a first job in the role.
How do you become a product owner with no experience?
Most often through business analysis, testing or work in the business on IT projects.