Business Development Manager Resume Guide: 7 Winning Tips + Examples

Marcie Wilmot

Certified Resume Writer, Career Coach, and Business Owner

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Have you been cranking out the calls for a couple years now as a sales rep and feel like you’re finally ready to move up into a management position? If so, it’s time to put together a business development manager resume (or CV) that’s going to impress HR and land you your dream job. 

If you’re wondering how, then you’ve come to the right place. Continue reading for seven expert tips (and some helpful business development resume examples) that will help you achieve this goal.

Tip #1: Pick Relevant Sections

One of the first steps in building a professional business development resume is to choose how to break it down. In other words, select which sections to include. Not only will these sections add structure to your resume (thereby making it look more organized and visually appealing), but they will also convey necessary information to the person looking at it. 

While some sections are basic and included by most job seekers (like Contact Information, which is generally placed at the top of the resume, sometimes even in the header), you can also choose to include ones that are specific to you and your background. 

Some common section options are as follows:

• Work History
• Education
• Certifications & Licenses
• Technical Skills
• Professional Affiliations/Organizations
• Volunteer Experience
• Languages

Tip #2: Add a Strong Title

Sometimes people opt to put an objective or summary at the top of their business development resume. While this can be effective, it can also accidentally pigeonhole you (causing a recruiter or HR person to immediately disqualify you and throw away your resume). 

So instead, we recommend adding a title at the top of your resume that succinctly and powerfully conveys what you have to offer to an employer.

Here is a business development manager resume sample title for an experienced sales rep: 

Personable and Driven Business Development Representative w/ 5+ Years of Experience 

Tip #3: Highlight Your Experience & Qualifications  

The key to creating a business development manager resume that leads to interviews is to make sure the experience and qualifications you highlight within it are relevant to the position you’re targeting. This means that you should look at your target job ad and then shine a spotlight on the responsibilities you’ve had and qualities you possess that match it. 

For business development resumes, this likely includes skills and traits like:

• Building and maintaining relationships
• Managing a team of sales reps
• Identifying new business opportunities
• Generating more income for the company
• Solving problems quickly and creatively
• Having strong communication skills
• Being resilient, adaptable, and collaborative

Tip #4: Tailor Your Language    

Building on Tip #3, when you’re writing the skills section of your business development resume, make sure the language you use mimics the language you see in your targeted job description. This will help your business development resume get through ATS barriers (application tracking software that is frequently used by HR departments to filter incoming resumes) and make it more likely that the person looking at your resume sees you as a great fit for their open role.

Tip #5: Use Powerful Action Verbs

While tailoring the language in your resume to your desired jobs is crucial, so is using impactful action verbs to start each of your work experience bullets. See the business development manager resume example bullets below for some ideas:

• Identify new profitable business opportunities via Salesforce and networking.
• Oversee a pipeline of prospective clients throughout the entire sales lifecycle.
• Build strategic client relationships by assessing their needs and providing solutions.

Tip #6: Mention Hard & Soft Skills

Google “skills for resumes business development” and you’ll be able to quickly compile a list of free hard (technical training and knowledge) and soft (personality traits) skills that you should include on your business development resume. Employers will be looking for these so it’s vital that you mention the ones that apply to you. See below for some skills to get you started:

Hard Skills

• Microsoft Office
• Zoom
• Google Workspace
• Salesforce
• Slack

Soft

• Personable and friendly
• Resilient and persistent
• Organized
• Team builder
• Emotional intelligence 

Tip #7: Keep It Concise

Recruiters and HR folks look at a ton of resumes. You’ll want to keep yours concise – preferably at one page or two pages max – and to the point so their eyes don’t glaze over. Strive for your language to be tight with no unnecessary verbiage. By doing that and eliminating any bullets that don’t pertain to the job you’re trying to get, you should be able to fit it all on one or two pages.

Keeping these seven tips in mind as you build your winning business development manager resume will put you ahead of a lot of other candidates. If your resume is structured nicely, visually appealing with a powerful title at the top, kept concise, and written with strong, tailored language, it’s only a matter of time before you land the perfect job. Good luck!