An office manager keeps the whole operation running — ordering supplies, managing vendor contracts, coordinating facilities, and making sure the 9am all-hands actually has a working projector. They typically report to a COO, CFO, or senior partner depending on the company size. Most days involve juggling HR admin tasks, onboarding new hires, and fielding requests from every department. Law firms, real estate agencies, tech startups, and professional services companies all rely heavily on this role.
Karen O'Brien
Office Manager
📍 London, UK✉️ karen.obrien@email.com
Summary
Proactive Office Manager with 6 years of experience running large-scale commercial office spaces. Expert at vendor negotiations, facility operations, and creating productive work environments.
Work Experience
Office Manager at WeWorkJun 2021 — Present
Managed daily operations for 3-floor coworking space with 400+ members and 15 staff
Negotiated vendor contracts saving £45K annually on cleaning, maintenance, and supplies
Assistant Office Manager at RegusSep 2018 — May 2021
Oversaw facility operations including HVAC, security systems, and emergency procedures
Coordinated health and safety compliance achieving zero incidents across 3 consecutive audits
Office Manager CVs need to demonstrate that you can run an entire office operation independently. Recruiters look for budget management, vendor relationships, health and safety compliance, and the ability to support multiple departments.
Key Skills to Include
Office operations, vendor management, budget control, health and safety compliance, facilities management, procurement, HR support, and team coordination.
Common Mistakes
Treating the role as purely administrative. Office Managers are operational leaders. "Negotiated 3-year cleaning contract saving 45K annually" is much stronger than "managed office cleaning."
Formatting Tips
One to two pages depending on experience. Include a Key Achievements section highlighting your biggest wins. Make sure your H&S certifications are visible.
Average Salary — Office Manager
United States
$52,000 – $78,000
United Kingdom
$38,000 – $56,000
Germany
$36,000 – $52,000
UAE / Dubai
$40,000 – $62,000
Canada
$48,000 – $70,000
Australia
$55,000 – $75,000
Figures in USD. Ranges reflect mid-level experience (3–7 years). Senior roles and major metro areas typically sit at the top of these bands.
Top 5 Interview Questions — Office Manager
1Tell me about a time you had to manage competing priorities with limited resources.
Pick a real example with a deadline conflict. Walk through how you triaged, what you delegated, and what the outcome was — interviewers want to see calm decision-making under pressure.
2How do you handle a team member who consistently misses internal deadlines?
Show you address it directly and early. Mention a structured conversation, setting clear expectations, and following up — not just hoping it fixes itself.
3Walk me through how you would set up office operations for a 50-person company moving into a new space.
This is your chance to show process thinking. Cover vendor sourcing, IT setup coordination, health and safety, and the onboarding communications — being specific scores far better than being general.
4What software tools do you use to manage schedules, facilities requests, and budgets?
Name actual tools: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Asana, Notion, Slack, or dedicated facilities tools like Robin or OfficeSpace. Specificity matters here.
5How have you reduced costs in a previous office operations role?
Give a concrete example — renegotiating a supplier contract, cutting a redundant subscription, or consolidating services. A specific dollar or percentage figure is far more convincing than a vague answer.
How to Tailor Your CV
WeWork, Deloitte, CBRE, Goldman Sachs, and fast-growing Series B startups all hire office managers regularly. Corporate firms like Deloitte and Goldman want to see experience managing multi-floor or multi-site operations and vendor SLAs. Startups want someone who built processes from scratch and is comfortable being the only admin function in the building. Real estate and facilities-heavy companies like CBRE value health and safety certification and experience managing contractors.