What Skills Do You Need to Land a Job as an Account Manager?

If you have a career in account management, this article is for you! For a job in this field, you need a very specific set of account manager skills. You will learn everything about key account manager skills, how much time you need to develop them for your accomplishments, and how to craft a winning resume for this position.

Who Is an Account Manager?

Let’s start from the beginning. So what does this job mean exactly? And what do account managers do? There are many opportunities to show off your skills in this position. Basically, you accept the role of a link between a company and their clients (accounts). 

Your priority is to improve the working process between these two sides. Another responsibility of this job is to manage all communication between the employer and the accounts. Usually, a good manager can work with many client profiles at the same time!

Account Manager Technical Skills

Just like with any other job, you will need strong soft and hard skills to succeed. Here, let’s talk about the technical account manager skills needed to be the best at your job!

• Problem-solving.
• Strategic thinking.
• Attention to detail.
• Multitasking or switching between different profiles in the client base.
• Task-management.

As a manager, you will have to apply some of these technical skills daily. Don’t forget that you will create reports regarding your accounts. Don't forget to include this skills in your account manager resume. You would need to include different metrics, such as client satisfaction levels, forecasts for future collaboration, and other specific aspects.

Account Manager Non-Technical Skills

Now let’s discuss some of the soft skills account manager might need. In general, these abilities include everything in regards to interpersonal communication. At the same time, this whole job is about communicating with clients and executives, so there is a fine line between technical and non-technical skills in this case.

• Listening.
• Empathy.
• Leadership.
• Ability to negotiate.
• Passion.
• Communication in general, like asking the right questions or giving good advice.

Top Skills to Achieve Maximum Results

So, now you know what key account manager skills and competencies will get you far. Of course, so much depends on your ability to present your hard and soft skills to recruiters and clients.

• Communication. Here, you can use any messenger that you prefer, like Skype or Zoom.
• Leadership. Show your ability to plan ahead and inspire through Freshsales.
• Interpersonal skills. With LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you can practice finding new clients just like recruiting firms!
• Negotiation. Milanote is a great tool for taking some comments during meetings.
• Organization. With Calendly, you can easily track every meeting or planned event.

Communication

Some say that this is one of the most important skills for account manager. You will be constantly talking to the clients, so make sure that you have the appropriate set of tools for that! 

It’s also your personal responsibility to keep the shareholders updated about all the important customers. You would need to hold presentation meetings, give out reports, and many other things that require clean articulation! So you need to learn to communicate before anything else.

Leadership

Sure, this might not be the most obvious one out of all account manager skills and competencies. Still, you need to interact with all members of your team! Inspiring them to work on some issues is something that you need to do if you want to impress the shareholders.

A great representative of this profession needs to show enough leadership and passion to show the possibilities to everyone! The customer has to see the potential of working together, and your colleagues need to be guided in the right direction.

Interpersonal skills

This one will be very useful in your account manager skills for resume crafting. You will be constantly putting out fires and handling all sorts of problems for your company! So, being able to talk to clients and workers without losing your temper is critical in this position.

Also, it’s your duty to provide a service to important shareholders. Professionals in this field have to use an empathetic approach. After all, everybody has their own issues. With interpersonal skills, you can better understand people around you!

Negotiation

This is a natural continuation of all previously discussed skills of an account manager.The negotiation part implies that there will be some situations where nobody seems to be happy with an outcome. It’s the nature of your job to regulate some conflicts and come up with a solution to any problem. 

It’s also your responsibility to protect the interests of the company and of the clients. Your negotiation abilities come into play here as well! Coming up with a productive and cost-effective resolution might be pretty tough. An expert in this field will do everything to achieve this goal!

Organization

It will be a huge part of your responsibilities to organize the workflow and other processes. You can safely say that this is one of the crucial account manager skills and qualifications. A lot of factors will depend on your ability to create an efficient environment for everybody involved in your daily operations.

Also, a good expert in this field needs to understand the priorities of the customers to set correct tasks. Sharing a goal with your client is also a form of organizing your workflow! just make sure to include the customer in this part and everything will be great!

How to Improve Account Manager Skills

You need to sharpen every ability that you have to fit an account management definition! Actually, the best way to improve your expertise is to excel at your job every day to keep up with the industry challenges.

Writing an excellent resume with all your achievements and responsibilities is the first and the most important step of getting the job! Most companies today use an ATS to choose from thousands of candidates. Expert writers at Skillhub will create a perfect resume for you that will beat any ATS!

An ATS system is software that checks your resume and cover letter examples for job application for industry-related keywords. These professional keywords allow a recruiter or a hiring manager to understand whether you’re the right candidate for the job. Hence, use them in your resume wisely.

Account Manager Education Requirements

Similarly to many other professions, education is very important if you want to excel at your job. This is also true for account manager job requirements, where recruiters often look at your diploma before looking at your experience. 

So, let’s see what account manager education you need to have to get the job! Here are the three most relevant courses that guarantee the best results for the chosen position.

• Bachelor’s degree in sales or advertising. Often, you will have to pitch something to the customers.
• Bachelor’s degree in communications. This will give you all the necessary know-how to communicate with clients.
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration. It's very important to have a full grasp of all business operations and how they work from the inside.

How to Showcase Your Skills

If you want to beat an applicant tracking system, your account manager skills resume needs to be perfect! There are some general tips about creating a CV that will be appealing to the recruiters. 

First of all, you need to list only relevant points that are applicable to your job. Most ATS bots overload their resume with unnecessary info. Also, try to create visually appealing sections with your abilities clearly divided into bullet points.

Account manager skills in a resume skills section

This is a very important part of your job hunt if you want to look like a qualified candidate. For an entry level account manager, it is critical to find as many job-related qualities as you can, because you don’t actually have lots of experience in the field. So, the section with your account manager qualifications needs to look like this to the employer:

• Professionalism. For me, my job and customer satisfaction come first.
• Communication. I can be a great part of the team!
• Problem-solving. I will try to find an effective solution to every issue!
• Organization, punctuality, and attention to detail. I believe that discipline plays a huge role in my success.

How to show your previous work experience in your account manager resume

Your CV will definitely look fuller when you already have some working experience. It’s critical for a hiring manager to see that you actually have some relevant abilities! So, here is an example of how to frame your previous account manager job in the best way possible:

• Served as the contact point between the clients and the company;
• Maintained an effective line of communication;
• Negotiated contracts and offered reports on them.

To Sum Up

So now you know everything about the account manager skill set and how to put it into your resume! Remember that even if you have the key account manager qualifications, a lot depends on your ability to engage the recruiter. 

So, don’t hesitate to hire a resume writing service to beat the ATS and get more interviews! Our expert writers know how to work with applicant tracking systems. Your CV will be in good hands! Just remember to provide all relevant information about your experiences and abilities.