Business Development Manager CV Example & Writing Tips for 2024

Ensure your CV format is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.

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How to write a business development manager CV

Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.

As a business development manager, you’ll need a resume that shows your competence in identifying growth opportunities, building client relationships, and driving sales to achieve company objectives.

Here’s how to write a business development manager CV that showcases your professional acumen, successful track record, and previous contributions to growing businesses.

1. Demonstrate strategic experience in your personal statement

As the introduction to your CV, your personal statement should catch the employer’s attention by showing off your ability to find opportunities, set long-term goals, and develop actionable plans to achieve them.

Do this by highlighting specific accomplishments you made when you were in a key decision making role, such as how you identified a new market opportunity and developed a strategy to enter that market successfully.

Business development manager personal statement — example

Results-driven Business Development Manager with 10+ years of experience in the energy sector, specialising in strategic market entry and revenue growth. Demonstrated success in identifying and capitalising on emerging trends, particularly in the renewable energy sector, where I led a strategic market entry into the EMEA region that increased revenue by 20% within the first year. Proven ability to drive business growth through market analysis, strategic partnerships, and cross-functional leadership. Eager to apply my expertise in strategic planning and market expansion to support [Company Name] in achieving its ambitious growth objectives.

2. Outline your business development manager work experience

Employers will look for evidence of your ability to drive growth, build profitable relationships, and strategically expand the organisations you work with.

Some key details that will help your business development work experience stand out include:

• Examples of revenue growth
• Your client acquisition and retention rate
• Market expansion and development experience
• Industry knowledge and experience

Business development manager job description example

Business Development Manager
Barclays Bank PLC, London, January 20XX – Present

• Developed and executed strategic sales plans that led to a 25% increase in new business accounts over three years
• Leveraged data-driven market analysis to penetrate new financial markets, resulting in a 15% growth in market share
• Negotiated multi-million-pound contracts with corporate clients, driving a £2 million increase in annual revenue
• Spearheaded the adoption of new CRM tools, reducing client onboarding time by 30% and improving overall client satisfaction

3. List your business development manager skills

Your skills section should draw the employer’s attention to any areas of specialised knowledge that make you a great fit for business management.

Focus on listing hard skills in your skills section, such as sales strategy or market research. Ordering your skills by relevance will help you tailor your CV to the specific job opportunity and show the hiring manager that you understand their organisation’s needs and skill gaps.

Best skills for a business development manager

4. Lay out your education history

Many business development manager roles require you to have a relevant bachelor’s degree or higher diploma, but this is less important than proven work experience.

Put your education section after your work experience and skills, including only the essential details.

How to lay out your qualifications on a business development manager CV

BA (Hons) Business Studies
University of Swansea, Sept. 20XX – July 20XX 

5. Add relevant certifications

Business development manager certifications show that you have the technical knowledge to help the employer achieve their strategic goals.

You can list your certifications as part of your education section, or separately in their own sections. Both approaches are appropriate for a business development manager CV. Listing your certifications separately will make them stand out more, but it will also take up more space on the page.

Format your certifications in the same way as your education entry.

Here are a few of the most popular certifications for business development managers, formatted as they should appear on your CV.

Example business development certifications

Diploma in Professional Marketing
Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) | Completed: [Month, Year]

 

Diploma in Sales and Account Management
Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) | Completed: [Month, Year]

 

Certified Sales Professional (CSP)
Association of Professional Sales (APS) | Completed: [Month, Year]

 

PRINCE2® Foundation/Practitioner
AXELOS | Completed: [Month, Year]

 

Certified Business Development Professional (CBDP)
Institute of Sales Management (ISM) | Completed: [Month, Year]

 

Need more ideas?

Our library of CV examples has hundreds of tailored CVs you can use to fine-tune your job application and stand out from other applicants.