24 Resume Examples for Business Development Manager

Businesses are always keen to grow, improve their profits, and expand their customer base. And the role of a business development manager is to help a business achieve these goals. If you are a manager of business development , you must be innovative and creative, have persuasion skills, and communicate well. However, even with all these abilities and traits, if you are seeking employment in a particular company or business, you need to know how to write a proper resume.

Your resume must be compelling to attract the hiring manager. Whether you are an experienced candidate or a beginner, your primary focus should be tailoring your resume to match the job position you are applying for.

You will learn more about writing a perfect and compelling resume for this job, as well as the best practices to follow, in this article.

Resume Examples and Samples

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Responsibilities of Business Development Manager

Here are some of the responsibilities of this manager:

• Dealing with business operations, products, marketing, and finance to optimise business development.
• Convert potential customers into profit-making customers using leads from inbound marketing, a cold call, or a conference meeting.
• Focus on pitching business products to customers to make sales. The managers always say the right things to get customers to make purchases.
• Conduct proper research on customers to ensure that they adopt the right interpersonal skills during conversations with the customers while identifying and satisfying the needs of these customers.
• These managers are also responsible for persuading and influencing customers  to purchase products from them instead of from competitors
• Analyse activities and market changes to evaluate the effectiveness of the company’s channels to increase the customer base.
• Handle negotiation processes relating to customers and company clients.
• Deliver presentations while dealing with the company’s legal documents regarding business development.
• Strive to secure new customers while keeping the old customers by providing high-quality services that will interest the customers in coming back to purchase more. 

Basic Guidelines

There are specific guidelines that you must observe when writing your business resume. Below is a detailed guide on how to write your resume:

Choose the best format

You need to choose an appropriate format when writing your resume. Depending on your level of skills, work history, and experience, there are three formats that you can choose from. First, you must select a format that highlights your most significant qualities as an employee.

There are three types of resume formats: functional, reverse-chronological, and hybrid. The functional format focuses on your skills as a manager of business development. It is best used if you have employment gaps.

The reverse-chronological format is best used to highlight your career growth. It focuses on your work experience, from the most recent to the oldest. This will inform the hiring manager about your professional progress. This format is the most common one, and the recruiters are therefore most familiar with it.

The final format is the combination or hybrid resume. This one incorporates the structure of both the reverse-chronological and functional formats. It is considered an ideal resume format when applying for most job positions. This format can highlight your skills, qualifications, and experience properly.

However, when choosing the format, you should always select one that focuses on the employer’s needs and highlights your most valuable qualities. If you have been employed for most of your working years rather than being an independent consultant, the reverse-chronological format is best for you. While self-employed individuals, contractual workers, freelancers, and highly skilled professionals should use a functional resume.

Keep your resume well-organized and structured

Once you have chosen a format, you can proceed to write your resume. It is crucial that the resume is well-organized and presented neatly by using a proper structure and making it easy to read. If your work is disorganised, the recipient might not pay attention to your accomplishments, abilities, and qualifications. As a result, make sure to neatly arrange your resume so that the recipient will be motivated to read it. 

Do not make the text technically dense

Another important guideline is that you should make sure your text can be easily understood. If the recipient cannot understand your resume, they will set it aside. Therefore, use technical words sparingly to ensure that your resume is recognized by the ATS but is also understandable for the hiring manager.

It is also advisable to reduce the use of heavy terminology in your resume. Instead, make your resume simple yet professional. Also, use bullet points to avoid having dense paragraphs of text that will discourage someone from reading them. Bullet points help the hiring manager quickly review your resume and easily identify your skills and qualifications.

Incorporate statistics and complicated numbers into your resume, and make sure they are bolded.

Choose appropriate formatting and layout style

It is essential to observe the following to have a professional resume:

• Maintain the ½ to 1-inch standard margins.
• Use professional fonts such as Times New Roman and Arial.
• Maintain your font size to 24 point for your name, 20 points for your job position, and 10 to 12 points for the resume details.
• Ensure that your resume is exactly one page in length.
• You can use bold letters for the header section, making it easy to read.
• Use the reverse-chronological resume format when writing your resume, as it is easily recognized by both ATS systems and hiring managers. 

How to Create ATS-Compliant Resume?

Most companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to filter the applications before they reach the hiring manager. That means you need to draft a resume that is ATS compliant. This way, your resume will get a chance to be reviewed and evaluated by the hiring manager, who is actually responsible for the hiring process.

To ensure that your resume is ATS-compliant, use complete phrases instead of acronyms and abbreviations. Also, try to incorporate your contact information into the resume. 

Including keywords and relevant terms used in the job description will also help your resume pass through the ATS filter since the program will recognize it as relevant to what the employer is looking for in a manager. Employer-specific keywords may differ, so you should always tailor your resume to match their requirements.

What Should be Included in a Business Development Manager’s Resume?

You must include all essential details in your resume to ensure that it attracts the attention of the hiring manager.

Ensure that you include the information mentioned below to improve your chances of being shortlisted for an interview:

Start your resume by adding your contact information to the header section. The most important details you will need to include are as follows:

• Name: Ensure that you write your name using a bigger font than the rest of the details in your header section. Your name should appear at the top of the document.
• Address: Ensure you include the city and state you live in for your address details. Do not include your street name or house number.
• Email address: Ensure that you include a professional email address that is not the same as your current work email address. This professional email address should be meant for job searches only.
• Social media account: Do not forget to include your official LinkedIn profile if you have one. You can also include other social media pages that share more details of your professional background and relevant skills.

Begin with resume summary

Once you have written your header section, proceed to add your resume summary. A summary statement is typically two to three sentences long and describes your most notable accomplishments to the recruiter. Make sure to craft a compelling summary statement because it will aid the hiring manager in deciding whether to read your CV in more detail.

Your resume summary statement should show your employer your abilities to connect with clients, customers, and business partners. Also, you should focus on the communication skills that will help you during negotiations for business deals.

Finally, it should mention some of the education details, experience levels, and accomplishments that you will mention later in the document.

Enlist your work experience history

The following section is the “work history” or “experience” section. This section is vital, as hiring managers usually review it to determine your level of experience and expertise as a candidate.

Using the reverse-chronological format, you can easily highlight your work history by starting with the most recent and working your way back. Then, use bullet points to list your most impressive job duties and achievements from your past workplaces.

This section requires concrete numbers, as the hiring managers will use such information to determine your competence. You can include estimates of your percentages and figures, but ensure that your information is factual and can be proven in case the hiring manager decides to confirm with your previous employers. Also, only include relevant achievements that align with your job position and the job descriptions.

Add relevant education section

You also need to include a relevant education section. You will need to mention the name of your school, the date of graduation (month, year, or only year), and the name of your degree. If your graduation was more than 15 years ago, do not mention the graduation date to prevent age discrimination.

In your education section, there are other details you can include that are optional. They include:

• Academic awards (Dean’s List, Latin honors, etc.)
• GPA 
• Extra certifications
• Academic projects (thesis, dissertation, etc.)

Your education section should always be after your experience section. Always list your education details in a reverse-chronological manner, which means that you should start with your most recent degrees before mentioning your high school achievements. 

Provide your skill set

The following section is where you should provide a detailed list of your skills as a manager. Ensure you incorporate some of the keywords mentioned in the job description when listing your skill set. For this section, you need a list of about 6 to 12 skills written as bullet points. Also, ensure that you include hard and soft skills relevant to your job.

Hard skills are those technical skills that inform the employer of your experience, expertise level, and job knowledge.

For manager of business development , some examples include:

• Resource allocation
• Performance monitoring
• Data analysis
• Product demonstration
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management software) such as Oracle Eloqua, Salesforce
• Project management software (Confluence, Microsoft SharePoint, Oracle Primavera)
• Business development
• Database management
• Sales management
• Account management
• Business-to-Business (B2B)
• Marketing strategy
• Sales Process
• Business strategist
• Sales operations
• Lead generation
• Web development tools (Drupal, CSS, HTML)

Soft skills are valuable, transferable skills that improve one’s ability to work with others and can have a positive influence on furthering your career.

Some examples of such skills for this job position include the following:

• Leadership skills
• Active listening
• Contract negotiation
• Cold Calling
• Direct Sales
• Sales presentations
• Strategic planning
• Solution selling
• Organizational skills
• Customer service skills

Highlight your relevant certifications

Before the final section of your resume, you need to highlight your relevant certifications related to the job position. These certifications will further strengthen your resume.

Some examples of the certifications you can list in your resume as a manager include the following:

• Professional Certified Marketer (PCM)
• Certified Manager (CM)
• Certified Sales Professional (CSP)
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)
• Certified Energy Manager (CEM)
• Certified Economic Developer (CEcD)
• Sales Management
• Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
• Master Project Manager (MPM)

Include interests and hobbies

The final section of your resume should entail your interests and hobbies. Try to make these details relevant to your job position. The information provided here, however, should be primarily focused on describing your personality as a job candidate. 

Include your passions, interests, and extracurricular pursuits that are relevant, such as volunteer work and projects, especially if you are a manager of business development  with little experience.

Best Practices

Whether you choose to use a template or write your own resume, there are some best practices that you should observe to ensure that you have a compelling resume.

Some of these include the following:

Use action verbs

When describing your knowledge, skills, and qualifications, you should start your sentences with action verbs. Action verbs make the language more engaging; hence, they help capture the recruiter’s attention.

For instance, while describing your past achievements as a manager, using action verbs at the start of the sentence will make a strong impact on the reader. However, refrain from using them in your resume as they make it tedious to read.

Some examples of the action verbs that can be used in your resume include:

Add numbers to your achievements

Including numbers in your resume when listing your achievements is essential. The hiring manager will only consider your application if you can demonstrate measurable success, such as data and statistics indicating your client base and sales. This will also show the hiring manager how valuable you can be to the company.

Use a targeted resume

Always prepare a targeted resume for any job application. Such a resume highlights those skills and experiences that are relevant for a specific job opening.  For this purpose, you must read the job description thoroughly. Identify and use the keywords that will be recognized by ATS, and tailor your resume to demonstrate your passion for the job.

For the skills section, focus on highlighting the most important ones that should be relevant to the job position. Similarly, use relevant keywords in your summary statement as well. 

Edit and proofread your resume

Editing and proofreading your resume before sending it to the required recipient is crucial. After you’ve finished writing, take a break and review your paper again. If it is urgent, ask for help from a colleague, friend, or family member.

Correct any spelling and grammar mistakes, plus any incorrect punctuation, to ensure all the information in the resume is accurate. This way, your resume will present you as a professional who pays attention to detail.

Key Takeaways

• Ensure your resume is written professionally and effectively to leave a good impression on the hiring manager.
• Make sure that you write an effective summary that includes relevant keywords. 
• You must include qualifications and experiences relevant to the employer’s projects or the requirements mentioned in the job advertisement.
• When listing your skills, ensure you include hard and soft skills with specific examples that portray how you applied those skills.
• Use a proper resume layout that is professional to make your resume stand out.
• Finally, use the templates to guide you when writing your specific business development resume.

About This Article

Authored by:

Adam M.

Resume Writing, Career Counseling, LinkedIn Professional

Adam M. stands as a seasoned expert in the realm of resume writing and career counseling, boasting an impressive track record that spans over 18 years. Throughout his esteemed career, he has meticulously crafted 5,500+ resumes and optimized 2,000+ LinkedIn profiles, ensuring that each one resonates with recruiters and stands out in the competitive job market. Holding a Master's degree in Career Counseling, Adam's holistic approach goes beyond mere resume writing; he delves deep into an individual's career trajectory, offering invaluable guidance to navigate the professional landscape successfully.