INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bid Manager positions are at a 17% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 681,700 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 118,200 to 799,900 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Bid Manager jobs was $134,180 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $70,830, and the highest 10% more than $208,000.
Our conclusion? The Bid Manager job market is wide open for candidates.
Top bid manager sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a bid manager resume experience section
Bid manager resume experience: checklist
- Use either chronological or reverse-chronological format when listing your previous jobs;
- Mention only relevant positions that add value to your resume;
- Briefly state the challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome them;
- Highlight the results from your efforts (for bonus points, add numbers, percentage rates, etc.);
- Forget about buzzwords! Use power verbs instead.
Use the examples below to build your own experience section!
- Leading Thales bid process, coordinating all bid activities under the given bid budget and the time schedule.
- Working with multi-disciplinary Bid Teams, typically involving contributions from: sales, engineering, procurement, delivery, finance and legal to deliver bids.
- Preparing and reviewing the commercial aspects of the bid & contributing to the written proposal and presentation.
- Arranging all the Internal bid reviews with senior management and post reviews with customer tell contract award.
- Working with the objective to increase the win and capture rate of the bids under the targeted profitability.
- Looking after bid management PAN India basis.
- Handle both e-tender and manual tender.
- Working with the various state Govt. and central Govt. e-tendering/ e-procurement portals.
- Developed and rolled out a structured project management approach to bid responses
- Enhanced proposal and presentation templates to decrease written content and increase visuals
- Developed a new library of diagrams that more effectively depicted solution designs and propositions
- Developed and delivered training to bid staff across Asia Pacific
- Managed 8+ Million USD deal with a 5 Year TCO for a customer in Africa from RFP Stage till Negotiation and Final Closure
- Handled Complex and Multi Business Unit RFP 's
- Ensured that response is in full compliance with RFP
- Management of the entire bid lifecycle with a clear focus to maintain a high "Win to Bid" ratio
- Manage and coordinate relationships into the Sales, Marketing and Delivery organizations
- Interact with management personnel and facilitate appropriate reviews for smoother submission of proposal
- Successful lead on a number of projects, developing core business for Integral's Midlands & East Regions
- Supporting Business Development and Operational Directors in shaping bespoke operational solutions
- Drive innovation and improvement through the creation of attractive and credible bid solutions in challenging, complex and competitive sectors
- Ensuring that bid solutions and business decisions are supported by reliable potential partner, market and competitor analysis
- Govern and lead effective bid processes, templates and kick-off meetings
- Effectively mentor Bid Coordinator and Administration team
- Deliver new business and retention projects across property development, housing and care services
- Work closely with Heads of Service and Regional Directors to prepare for, deliver as learn from selected bidding activity
- Protect Housing & Care 21 against risk of financial or reputation all loss through the application of robust, yet solution focused risk management
- Lead Competitive Tenders (RFP, RFQ, RFI etc)
- Analyse the customer's requirements and the competition within the given market segment
- Pull together and Lead Cross Functional Teams &Guide Inexperienced & Experienced Account Managers
- Finalize the offer strategy in line with the strategy of the unit and the Group (price and cost objectives, choice of products, technical solutions, action plans, industrial arrangements and partnerships, etc.)
- Draw up the quotation and the technical and commercial bid, present and promote the bid, working closely with the sales representative and contract manager
- Organize bid reviews and obtains internal approval, in particular on risks and profitability, following the unit methods and procedures
- Work Direct and/or Indirect with Channel Partners, SI & SP
- Use Industry Best Practice Processes and Tools
- Drive Teams to deliver against aggressive deadlines & to deliver complete, high quality bids
- Empirically increase sales chance of Winning
- Build winning tenders in terms of schedule, technical compliance, competitiveness and differentiation
- Participate in the negotiation process when necessary
- Create compelling content to ensure high quality answers
- Suggest and implement innovative initiatives to drive value for the team
- Retention and win of multi-million euros contracts at global level
- Pre-sale management with analysis of clients in retention and prospects in bid phase
- Unpack tenders and build tailor-made answers
- Coordinate and work closely with sales, financial, digital solutions and implementation departments
- Populate and use PMAPS (proposal software)
- Fulfilled the role of offer lead for mobile and utility bids.
- Organised bid teams; directories, meetings, actions and SharePoints.
- Completed customer documentation such as PQQs and RFIs and designed response templates.
- Reviewed and developed storage of UK&I/ global standard content. To enable management of validity and ease of use.
- Followed internal processes on the approval of different offer phases and recorded in Salesforce.
- Identified and managed registration of business development opportunities in line with product portfolios and market strategy.
- Total Value of Submitted Tenders: 600M+ EUR
- Managed Global Contributors
- Competitve Costing
- Total Value of Submitted Bids : 1B+ EUR
- Managed Global Actors for Tender/Bid Preperation.
- Key Skills, Technical Costing, Maintenance Planning, Supply Chain, Project Execution at Global Business.
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action verbs for your bid manager resume
Recommended reads:
Bid manager resume: the skills section!
How to write a strong bid manager resume skills section?
- Make sure to include all types of skills - soft, hard, technical;
- Focus on skills that show your expertise in the field;
- Check the job description for keywords and make sure to add them to your resume – this will help you pass ATS;
- Leave room for discussion – elaborate on some of your strongest skills in other sections of your resume
Top skills for your bid manager resume
Microsoft Office
SAP
Excel
Salesforce
Data Entry
Quickbooks
Project Management
Customer Service
CRM
Communication
Negotiation
Critical thinking
Problem solving
Collaboration
Flexibitly
Resilience
Dedication
Empathy
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
Recommended Reads:
Bid manager resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your bid manager resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Bid Manager resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
A career summary for your bid manager resume
Things to include in your bid manager resume summary:
- Your total years of experience in the industry;
- 2-3 of your most remarkable achievements so far;
- How your experience relates to the position you’re applying for;
- A very brief description of your strengths.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Read the job description carefully and understand what the hiring company is exactly looking for. After that, write your summary accordingly while highlighting your potential and ability to be the best at that job.
Recommended reads:
Bid manager resume: the education section
Things to include in your resume's education section:
- Your highest education degree – including course, year of graduation, institution;
- Awards received as part of your education;
- Extracurricular activities that have helped you gain relevant skills;
- Certifications that have helped you master new skills and increase your expertise;
- Entry-level applicants only: relevant courses and projects.
Top certifications for your bid manager resume
Facebook Ads: Business Manager And Facebook Ads Retargeting
Advanced Facebook ads with Facebook Pixel, custom audiences, lookalike audiences & do Facebook retargeting ads that sell
Facebook & Instagram Dynamic Ads: Dynamic Retargeting Course
Unleash the Power Of Retargeting: Learn Facebook Dynamic Ads, Business Manager, Pixel Events, Catalog & Commerce Manager
Facebook Page & Facebook Ads Made as Fun: 10 Days Challenge
Set Up your Facebook Business Page & Business Manager. Use Facebook Creator Studio. Launch Facebook Ads. Generate Leads.
Facebook Ads & Facebook Marketing MASTERY 2022 | Coursenvy ®
Facebook Marketing from beginner to advanced! Join 100,000+ students who MASTERED Facebook and are Facebook Ads experts!
Solo Ads Manager
Learn how to be a solo ads manager without investing. Simple step-by-step course on the solo ads industry.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Choosing the right format for your bid manager resume
In general, there are three basic formats for your resume:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Some things to consider when choosing the right format for your Bid Manager resume include the stage of your career, whether you have all the right skills required for the job or are looking for an industry change, and what field you’re looking to grow in.
The reverse-chronological resume format is the most common one. It lets you describe your most recent job and then move backward. This makes it great for people who have around or less than 10 years of experience and are looking to highlight only their work-related skills and qualities.
If you’re just starting your career journey and reverse-chronological resumes sound too demanding, go for the functional resume format. It’s ideal for showcasing your strengths, personal qualities, skills, education, and the courses you’ve taken, without putting too much pressure on experience and expertise.
Don’t worry if neither of these sounds suitable for you – the hybrid or combination resume format will surely match your needs. It’s similar to the reverse-chronological, but with a catchy twist. Combination or hybrid resumes are great for showcasing both your experience and work-related skills and your personal qualities. Add a “What my day looks like” section for enhancing the jaw-dropping experience!
Here are some more things worth remembering when it comes to formatting your Bid Manager resume:
- Choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for traditional resume fonts sized 10-12p;
- Match the length of your Bid Manager resume with your experience – choose a one-page template if you have less than 10 years of experience, and be careful with two-page templates – use them only when applying for executive positions;
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid formatting issues and potential unauthorized editing.
Tired of getting rejected? Check out this article on how to craft a resume that stands out!
Recommended Reads:
PRO TIP
Test your draft Bid Manager resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Other sections suitable for your bid manager resume
Depending on the position and the industry, you can spice your resume up by adding some more sections. They will help the recruiter get a glimpse of who you are as a person, besides all your job-related skills and qualities.
Here are some examples:
How to add creativity to your bid manager resume
Gone are the days when creative resumes were frowned upon by recruiters!
What’s more, the right amount of creativity will make recruiters remember you and want to learn more about who you are – both as an individual and as a professional.
There are two ways to build a creative resume - add creative sections or go for a more creative design approach in general. Go for whatever suits you, the position, and the industry most!
What makes a great bid manager resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
