Become an assistant manager today!

Landing an assistant manager role can be a fantastic stepping stone into higher management.

Whether you’re looking to move up to assistant manager in your current company, or you’re hunting down an opportunity with a new employer, you’ll want to have a firm grasp on the various responsibilities involved.

Let's take a closer look at the key assistant manager job responsibilities and discuss the skills you’ll need to develop to secure this kind of position.

What is an assistant manager?

The assistant manager is a mid-level or intermediate role, acting as second in charge to the manager.

This may be at the store level (assistant to the store manager) or the company level (assistant to the general manager).

In any case, the assistant manager’s role is to generally assist the manager with their duties.

Typically, an assistant manager’s duties are made up of:

• Tasks delegated by the manager

• Tasks completed in conjunction with the manager

• Duties that the assistant manager is solely responsible for

This varies somewhat depending on the structure of the company and the role of the manager that you are assisting.

What does an assistant manager do?

The role of the assistant manager is in many ways similar to that of the manager.

Though the manager has seniority (and likely some duties that sit outside of the responsibility of the assistant manager), in many cases both employees work together to satisfy the same end.

For example, the manager and assistant manager often work together to:

• Interview, hire, and train new employees

• Conduct performance reviews

• Create and implement effective strategies for the management of their store, branch, or office

Let’s review in more detail the most common assistant manager duties.

Assistant manager job responsibilities

As an assistant manager, you’ll have a fairly varied workload.

Much of what you do on a daily basis will be helping your team and manager run the branch, office, or store, solve problems as they arise, and generally keep things running smoothly.

You may also be required to:

• Hire and train employees

• Handle customer complaints

• Supervise your team

• Conduct performance reviews

• Organize and run team meetings

• Develop and implement new strategies

• Manage inventory and conduct store audits

• Help with budgeting and reporting

• Stand in for the manager when they are away

Assistant manager skills and experience requirements

Though every position is slightly different (for example, a retail store will have different job requirements than an office environment), the most commonly required skills and experience for an assistant manager’s position are:

• Strong communication skills

• Well-developed time management skills

• Interpersonal skills (such as being able to calm upset customers)

• Great problem-solving and decision-making abilities

• Leadership skills (including the ability to integrate new hires into the team)

• The ability to motivate your team members

• A high degree of organization

• The ability to multitask

• An understanding of team-building techniques

• Keen attention to detail

• Experience with scheduling and rosters

• Delegation skills

• Interviewing and hiring skills

• Ability to design and implement training programs

If you’re applying for an assistant store manager role, you’ll need to also be proficient in:

• Inventory management

• General store operations

• Stocktake processes

• Merchandising

Assistant manager salary and employment rates

In the U.S., the average hourly rate of assistant managers is $13.88.

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Some assistant store managers also receive bonuses and commissions based on their performance, which can bring your total salary to as much as $53,000 per year.

Naturally, more experienced assistant managers earn toward the top of the pay scale, with those with 20 years of experience typically earning above $16 an hour.

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Assistant manager resume tips

If you’re preparing your resume to apply for an assistant manager role, then read these four tips and double-check you've nailed them all.

1. Highlight previous management experience

If you’ve had a management or assistant management role in the past, then this should be front and center.

Companies are always looking for experienced leaders.

2. Discuss times when you’ve taken a leadership role

If you haven’t worked as an assistant manager before, don’t worry. Try to think of a time in the past where you’ve taken the initiative and stepped up into a leadership role.

Perhaps it was taking the lead on a group project. Maybe you’re the captain of your football team. Experiences like this help show that you’re qualified to be the head of a group of people.

3. Show you understand the requirements of the role

Demonstrate that you’ve carefully read the job description by using some of the same language as the recruiter.

For example, if they mentioned that they are looking for someone with great problem-solving skills, then make sure to write this down on your resume (an example of when you’ve used this skill wouldn’t hurt, either).

4. Be clear in your desire for growth

In many cases, the assistant manager job title is a stepping stone on the way to a full management position.

If that’s your goal, you can set yourself apart from the other job seekers applying for the role by making clear your ambitions for further development.

Assistant manager jobs hiring right now

So you’ve got your resume all sorted and double-checked it using the four tips we just discussed.

Now it’s time to apply for a couple of jobs. You can find current assistant manager job openings on Jobcase’s job board.

Ready to join the management team?

Does the idea of becoming an assistant manager inspire you? Do the responsibilities involved sound like a match made in heaven?

It sounds like you’re ready to get applying!

Check out assistant manager jobs near you or visit the Getting Hired Resource Center for more help with your job search.