INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Director positions are at a 14% growth rate, which is faster than average. With that said, there are currently 907,600 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 124,400 to 1,032,000 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Business Director jobs was $87,660 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $50,990, and the highest 10% more than $156,840.
Our conclusion? The Business Director job market is wide open for candidates.
Top business director sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a business director resume experience section
Business director resume's job experience checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Business Director resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Team lead across the biggest accounts of the agency.
- Oversaw the development and implementation of an integrated digital campaign for C&G Baby Club.
- Helped restructuring the accounts with new hires, tighter ways of working and more rigorous finance. During my time, the agency billing across both Danone brands nearly doubled.
- Team lead across the biggest accounts of the agency.
- Oversaw the development and implementation of an integrated campaign for C&G Baby Club.
- Helped restructuring the accounts with new hires, tighter ways of working and more rigorous finance. During my time, the agency billing across both Danone brands nearly doubled.
- Team lead across the biggest accounts of the agency, managing a team of 4.
- Oversaw the development and implementation of an integrated digital campaign in the U.K.
- Helped restructuring the accounts with new hires, tighter ways of working and more rigorous finance.
- Planning and Executing all digital marketing activities for Clients like Godrej Properties, Kaya Skin Clinic, Piramal Health Care, Bluestar, Paragfoods, IOCL, NBA, IDFC MF, Allana Group
- Developing the GTM plan for new launches and determining the budget required to achieve business & media goals
- Keep track of digital trends and Drive innovation to engage with consumers
- Hands-on on tools like – Double Click, Google Analytics, Similarweb, Comscore, Adwords & FB dashboard
- Executing, measuring and reporting performance of campaigns – including e-commerce platforms, and assessing against goals (ROI and KPIs) > CPC, CPL, CPA, VTR, CTR’s etc.
- In charge of half of Agency's Group of Clients, including AMBEV, PepsiCo, Popeye's, Spotify, Comgas, among others;
- Responsible for building and managing a team of business focused on delivering most of the strategic projects and campaigns: Puma and Palmeira's launching Campaign, Skol Haters, Skol Mochilas (with Anitta for carnival), SOS Skol, Promoção Cheetos Partiu Festa, Spotify's first event for Podcasters in Brasil, and Comgas Campaign 2018 and 2019.
- Responsible for Budget control, Project's revenue and FEE management, and also New Business.
- 2 Effie Awards in 2019
- Full P&L responsibility
- Budget negotiation with international financial and commercial teams to meet local ambitions
- Co-work with Logistic international team to improve our delivery process and efficiency
- Lead marketing, sales and training teams to create and implement successful B2B and B2C strategic plans
- Lead the full team to set and develop relaunch strategy together, 100% based on brainstorming and teams insights (marketing, sales and beauty advisors) which doubled the revenue to more than 1M€ in two years
- Reorganize Training team and established a sales oriented training program that lead to 20% sell out increase in one year
- Redefine team organization, responsibilities and processes to better respond market's needs and challenges
- Follow up on currents clients : inventory listing, training of salespeople, commercial actions
- Acquisition of new customers
- Effective representation of society ; exhibitions, meetings
- Business Director, Sales Tools, Charlotte, NC (2016-Present)
- Manager, Sales & Marketing Technology, Charlotte, NC (2015-Present)
- Manager, Sales Training, Charlotte, NC (2014-2015)
- Senior Sales Training Consultant II E-Learning, Charlotte, NC (2013-2014)
- Senior Sales Training Consultant II, Bloomfield, CT (2006-2013)
- Business Consultant Technical Training Consultant, Hartford, CT (2002-2006)
- Service Consultant Team Leader, Hartford, CT (2001-2002)
- Account Manager Customer Service Representative, Hartford, CT (2000-2001) Successful leader, trainer and coach, promoted several times and transitioned into different leadership and training support roles throughout my career. Currently responsible for sales & marketing tools management at MassMutual, with special emphasis on Personal Financial View (PFV), MassMutual's branded version of eMoney's financial planning software. Additional responsibilities include vendor relationship management, software application & concepts design and delivery, team leadership, training & development and cross-functional collaboration. Direct and coach high-performing team to market sales tools to MassMutuak agency salesforce, training financial service representatives, financial planners, personal marketing assistants and financial planning support staff across all agency firms throughout the U.S. I work in cooperation with vendor partners and cross-functional employees, and have created high-impact processes and procedures, developed an interactive training approach, and led project teams that consistently deliver strong results. Recent career accomplishments include implementing innovative learning technologies, designing and developing online e-learning content, directing and coaching sales trainers and instructional designers, and continuously improving the end-user experience. Earlier career achievements included designing, developing and rolling out initial online sales learning university and eLearning curriculum, utilized to deliver field sales, product training and much more.
- Delivered +20% revenue in 2014-15
- Developed the communication campaigns for 3 new innovations
- Led the team through the Agency merger, transitioning from G2 to Geometry Global
- Grew Agency retainer by +10%
- Managed the brand communication across 15+ countries
- Network management with global team and other regional teams to deliver a consistent brand strategy and implement learnings
- Digital Performance Lead for Specsavers account, grew online volume by +44% in 2 year period
- Responsible to setting, meeting and stretching trading targets across multi-objective performance structure; online bookings and online sales
- Responsible for Digital Development within agency collective structure
- Managed team of 20 Digital Specialists
- Heading up a team of 8 individuals, and offering management support to Unilever's eCom team of 6. Ensuring growth and development plans are in place.
- Defining best practice and ways of working
- Leading key digital projects in areas of focus for Unilever such as SPO, brand safety, and Trusted Publishers
- Negotiating and securing trading deals with key partners over and above GroupM deals
- Defining test and learn road map for my channel, along with measurement frameworks
- I am responsible for delivering spend forecasts back to the business on a monthly basis
- Currently Unilever is undergoing a restructure and I am working closely with the Client Leads to deliver this. This has included building a programmatic scope for my team to ensure that we have the right resource in place
- In 2018 I lead the transition of the central programmatic hub to a local model in the UK with GroupM programmatic services from a UK perspective, which meant that we had more control over campaigns and better market knowledge from the local traders.
- Ibis: Digital portfolio mgmt & due diligence. New venture consultant.
- Latitude: Set up London and Paris offices. Led rebrand. Sold £20M. Awarded No.1 Search Engine Marketing agency in Europe. MBO & exit.
- Novartis: Digital transformation of its global clinical trials platforms.
- Agency.com: Business director for Mobile. Trained 14 offices. Sold $10M.
- PKF: Analyst. Digitisation of the Hilton H-Honors member reward program.
- BBC: 1 of first 10 employees to join Beeb Online. Digitised AutoTrader.
- Transformed a siloed account team (digital, brand, loyalty etc) into an integrated cross-functional team, developing their individual skill sets
- Developed, produced and launched McDonald's Canada's first brand centric strategic platform, increasing brand affinity and trust scores across the national portfolio
- Drove record high QSR traffic share, while protecting category gains during the 2020-2021 pandemic
- Built and managed the annual production scope ($20M+) finding and maximizing budget efficiencies
- Global strategy & planning of all media for national airline carrier across EMEA and North America including; AV, OOH, Radio, Display, Social, Search, SEO & Affiliate Marketing.
- Local strategy & planning across retail, automotive, education & charity brands.
- Co-ordination of multiple markets & internal teams (30+ people).
- Project Manager of data visualization dashboards and data strategy.
- Ensuring all contractual obligations are fulfilled as efficiently and profitably as possible.
- Key Account Planning & Growth Strategy to increase revenue across the group.
- Process and Efficiency Planning to increase Profitability.
- Lead 3-people sales team to achieve annual department sales target.
- Managed 10 key accounts, undertook 60% sales task.
- Formulated & adjusted sales strategic.
- Lead 7-people sales team to achieve annual sales target.
- Manage 10 key accounts, undertake 60% sales task.
- Formulate & adjust sales strategic.
- Global brand impression establishment & maintenance.
- Market research & development.
- System of cost management establishment.
- Database of technical product establishment.
- Internal training.
- KPI formulation, execution, supervision & optimization.
- European business strategy fomulation & execution.
- Data collection & analysis, optimization lead.
- 60% sales task undertaken, lead subordinate to achieve sales target together.
- B2C website management.
- Global brand impression establishment & maintenance, guide the composition of promotional material.
- Market research guidence, B2B clients development.
- Technical & product development participation.
- Global logistics management.
- System of cost management establishment.
- Database of technical product establishment.
- Product specification defination & review.
- Thinking, technology and marketing training.
- KPI with supervision & execution fomulation.
- Media Lead across three key brand pillars of large financial services brand.
- Continuously develop strategic relationships with senior and junior brand managers.
- Responsible for new business and account growth across clients.
- Oversaw an 8% increase in profitability across my accounts in first 12 months.
- Lead and manage team of 5 people working across the three brand pillars.
- Inspire team to deliver media strategies that deliver business results for the client and also deliver on our innovation and efficiency goals.
- Manage ongoing profitability of my team within Starcom.
- Internal agency role that focuses on Starcom's profitability across all clients.
- Strategic media lead across Procter & Gamble (P&G) portfolio including traditional & digital media channels.
- Responsible for managing and aligning P&G brand portfolio with our sister agency, Publicis UK.
- Responsible for new business and account growth to increase revenue. Delivered 18% increase on profit target in 2021.
- Strategic digital lead for Vhi health insurance, responsible for the co-ordination and profitability of internal teams including Social, Search & SEO.
- Responsible for client data visualization dashboards.
- Continuously develop strategic relationships with senior clients and stakeholders.
PRO TIP
Don't make the same mistake everyone else does. What we mean is, don't list your Business Director job responsibilities instead of your achievements. Recruiters know what you do. They want to know what kind of difference you can bring to their company. Focus on what you've accomplished.
Action verbs for your business director resume
Recommended reads:
Business Director Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume skills section checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top skills for your business director resume
SQL
Microsoft office
Tableau
Salesforce
Jira
Google Analytics
Project Management
Time Management
Interpersonal Communication
Decisiveness
Delegation
Patience
Creativity
Self-motivation
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Business director resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your business director 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 policies about identifying information like photos on your Business Director resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Business director resume summary best practices
Checklist: What to include in your business director resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
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Listing your education, certifications and courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for Your Business Director Resume
Stress management for business owners, directors & managers
Reduce & manage stress at work & in business & build stress resilience, with 50+ practical stress management strategies
Time management for business owners, directors & managers
Practical time management & productivity strategies to be more efficient, effective & productive at work & in business
Resilience for business owners, directors & managers
Learn how to increase your resilience in life & work & to build the resilience of your business or workplace
Global MBA Online
Entire MBA Course Online with Resources, Books, Articles, Exercises, Case Studies and More
Get the Career You want, by Managing Up, Be The Rising Star
Manage upwards, better relationships, better rewards. From an business director who knows how to make you stand out.
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PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Business Director. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
How to write a business director resume
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
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PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Business Director resume:
Business director resume: How to make yours more creative & stand out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Business Director resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What makes a great business director 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.
