10 Business Development Resume Examples for 2023

Formatting your business development resume correctly is more important than you might think. Good formatting ensures your resume is readable, logical, and complete. When your resume isn’t formatted well, it can be difficult for hiring managers to read, hard for ATS to understand, and just not visually appealing. Let’s start by reviewing the key elements of resume formatting, including: 

Applicants’ preferences for formatting change over time. In 2023, the most popular resume formats are reverse-chronological, functional, and combination/hybrid.  

Specific pros and cons for each type of format:

For business development resumes, we always recommend the use of reverse-chronological formatting. Although the combination format might seem like the best choice, it’s not common, so it can become confusing. Reverse-chronological is the preferred format for hiring managers due to its popularity, readability, and logical flow. 

You should list your name at the top of your resume in the header. Make sure to center it, and use the largest font (around 24-point). Right below your header, include the job title you’re seeking in a slightly smaller font (around 20-point font). Your header is also a great place to have some color, whether it’s for your font or as a pretty background. 

On the right or left side of your resume, somewhere just below the header, you’ll want to include the following in a list using standard font size: 

It can be hard to visualize what this will look like on your resume, so check out the visual below, or check out other resume examples for inspiration on achieving a professional yet visually appealing header. 

It’s not uncommon for a single business developer job posting to receive more than 200 applicants. Hiring teams couldn’t possibly give each applicant careful consideration, so they use ATS, aka applicant tracking systems. This software was created to help hiring teams during the explosion of online job applications.

Hiring managers use ATS to track keywords in your resume and match them to pre-selected words that the hiring team is seeking. If ATS doesn’t think an applicant is a good fit for the job, their resume can be thrown out before any person has a chance to read it.  

Make the changes above while you’re building your resume to help you format your resume correctly for the ATS!

We know that writing an effective resume can feel like a daunting task. However, it’s not that bad if you go section by section, which is what we’ll help you with in this guide.

We’d recommend having this article open in one tab and your resume in another, so you can go back and forth while making revisions. Now, let’s get into the bulk of actually writing your resume: 

Many prospective business developers are rightfully confused by the resume objective and summary. What are they, why are they important, and when should you use one?

This section will answer all of those questions and give you some examples of both resume objectives and summary statements. 

An objective is essentially an opening paragraph for your resume. It includes the job title you’re seeking, your years of experience, specific skills that make you a good candidate, and which company you’re applying for. Although objectives aren’t required, it’s a good idea to include an objective if you have limited work experience or are going through a significant career change. 

On the other hand, a summary is a short synopsis of your work experience. The summary emphasizes your skills and how they were used at previous jobs successfully (using metrics). A summary is best-suited for applicants with at least 10+ years of experience in business development. 

Focus on including two to four job experiences on your business developer resume. We know it can be tempting to include every work experience you’ve ever had. Still, including irrelevant jobs from your teenage years isn’t useful when you have many years of relevant work experience. When you’ve held several job titles, be choosy about which two to four you include on your resume. 

Make your work experience examples professional, interesting, and impressive. Use action verbs such as “spearheaded,” “orchestrated,” or “developed” to start each of your bullet points, and use active voice throughout (rather than passive). This will ensure that you take ownership of your resume and display confidence. 

You also want to avoid personal pronouns, such as “me” or “I,” in your work experience. The hiring manager knows you’re writing about yourself, so avoid taking up the extra space and dooming your resume to the “unprofessional” pile. You’ll also need to decide on punctuation. You can either end all of your bullet points with periods or leave them off. It’s up to you; just be consistent. Finally, pay special attention to using consistent verb tenses. All of your past experience needs to be in the past tense, and you can choose whether you want to include your current experience in the past or present tense. 

Here are some examples of good business developer resume bullet points that incorporate all of the above advice: 

One of the most important things you include on your business development resume is metrics. Numbers showcase your job impact in a way that words alone cannot.

Aim to have metrics on at least 50 percent of your bullet points, but don’t be afraid to add more if you can. Here are some of the best ways to leverage metrics when you’re discussing your previous business development roles: 

Using these types of metrics, we created work experience bullet points that could fit any strong business development resume: 

You must choose the right skills on your resume if you want it to be seen by a hiring manager. A successful business development skills section provides insight into your areas of expertise and ensures ATS can find matching keywords on your resume. 

We’d recommend mostly including hard skills, like “CRM” and “Sales Pitches,” because they’re job-specific, easy to quantify, and focus more on learned abilities. These are the types of skills that demonstrate a clear understanding of the job, and hiring managers actively seek these applicants. These resume skills are some of the best, most sought-after in the business development industry.

Soft skills, such as “time management,” “organization,” and “collaboration,” can play a supporting role in your skills section. They’re important, but harder to quantify and demonstrate, so you should include a few (but not too many) soft skills on your business development resume.

In the field of business development, there are no standardized job qualifications. However, many hiring managers will expect you to have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as business, management, or marketing. Some jobs may require applicants to hold an MBA or other graduate degrees, but that’s not the norm. 

On the other hand, certifications are incredible inclusions on your resume. Though they’re often not required, Certified Marketing Professional, Blockchain and Digital Marketing Professional, Digital Marketing Specialist, and other credentials as shown in the example below can give you an extra edge with hiring managers. 

We typically don’t advise business developers to include interests and hobbies on their resumes, but there are some times when it may be appropriate.

This candidate hints at soft skills with spot-on activities.

Remember to tailor your business development resume for every job to which you apply. It will help ATS recognize keywords and show the employer that you’re genuinely interested in the job. Pay special attention to customizing your resume objective or summary with a specific job title and company name.

Your skills section should also be customized, which you can do by carefully reading the job description. Finally, every bullet point you include should be carefully edited to highlight the most important skills and job duties listed in the job posting. Hopefully, you won’t have to make too many edits, but even if that is the case, this step is essential!

You may be tempted to submit your business development resume the second you finish writing it, but stop for a second!

Give yourself a day or two to rest your eyes and brain so that you can proofread your resume with fresh eyes. Send it off to friends and family for edits before checking your resume for one final time. You may be surprised to realize you misspelled a few words or used inconsistent punctuation! 

You should be proud of yourself for reading through this entire resume guide! The hardest part of working on your resume is getting started, and now you’re ready to put in the work and get your dream business development job in 2023. Use our resume checker to upload your completed resume and check it against our AI-powered tips. On the other hand, if you haven’t started on your resume or want to begin from scratch, use our resume builder, which has built-in AI-powered tips and proper formatting to help set you in the right direction.