Crafting a CV that effectively showcases your project management skills and bid success rate is a common challenge for a bid manager. Our comprehensive guide provides tailored advice and examples on how to highlight your achievements and expertise, ensuring your CV stands out to potential employers.
- Answer job requirements with your bid manager CV and experience;
- Curate your academic background and certificates, following industry-leading CV examples;
- Select from +10 niche skills to match the ideal candidate profile
- Write a more succinct experience section that consists of all the right details.
Do you need more specific insights into writing your bid manager CV? Our guides focus on unique insights for each individual role:
Structuring your bid manager CV layout: four factors to keep in mind
There are plenty of best practices out there for your CV layout and design. At the end of the day, a clear format and concise CV message should be your top priority. Use your CV design to enhance separate sections, bringing them to the forefront of recruiters' attention. At the same time, you can write content that:- Follows the reverse chronological order in the experience section by first listing your most recent jobs;
- Incorporates your contact information in the header, but do skip out on the CV photo for roles in the UK;
- Is spotlighted in the most important sections of your CV, e.g. the summary or objective, experience, education, etc. to show just how you meet the job requirements;
- Is no longer than two-pages. Often, the one-page format can be optimal for your bid manager CV.
Before submitting your CV, you may wonder whether to export it in Doc or PDF. With the PDF format, your information and layout stay intact. This is quite useful when your CV is assessed by the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS) . The ATS is a software that scans your profile for all relevant information and can easily understand latest study on the ATS , which looks at your CV columns, design, and so much more.
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Incorporate a touch of colour in headers or section breaks, but keep it professional and ensure it doesn’t detract from readability, especially in more conservative industries.
The top sections on a bid manager CV
- Profile Summary should encapsulate your bid management expertise, as it provides a snapshot of your key achievements and skills relevant to managing complex bidding processes.
- Bid Management Experience is critical to showcase your history of managing successful bids, including the types of bids handled, industries covered, and the outcomes of those bids.
- Key Bid Wins highlight significant contracts secured through your efforts, demonstrating your ability to deliver tangible results and drive business growth.
- Leadership and Team Management is essential to indicate your experience in leading bid teams, coordinating cross-functional efforts, and driving strategic bid decisions.
- Relevant Qualifications and Training should detail your formal education and any specific bid management or related training that bolsters your expertise in this field.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight your experience in managing and coordinating complex proposals, detailing the size and scope of bids you have successfully overseen and the strategies you employed to win contracts.
- Emphasise your communication skills, showcasing instances where you have effectively liaised with cross-functional teams, clients, and stakeholders to align bid objectives and deliver consistent messages.
- Demonstrate your analytical abilities by illustrating how you conduct competitor analysis and market research to inform bid strategies and improve win rates.
- Include specifics about your project management capabilities, such as your proficiency with bid management software and your ability to meet tight deadlines while maintaining high-quality submissions.
- Feature your understanding of the industry by mentioning any relevant certifications, such as APMP, and discussing how you stay up-to-date with procurement regulations and best practices in bid management.
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What information should you include in your bid manager CV header?
The CV header is potentially the section that recruiters would refer to the most, as it should include your:
- Contact details - your professional (non-work) email address and phone number;
- Professional photograph - if you're applying hinting at the value you bring as a professional.
Many professionals often struggle with writing their bid manager CV headline. That's why in the next section of this guide, we've curated examples of how you can optimise this space to pass any form of assessment.
Examples of good CV headlines for bid manager:
- Bid Manager | Strategic Proposal Development | APMP Certified | 5+ Years' Experience
- Senior Bid Manager | Complex Tenders Expertise | MBA | Prince2 Practitioner | 10+ Years' Track Record
- Associate Bid Manager | RFI/RFP Leadership | Engineering Sector Focus | 3 Years Professional Experience
- Bid Management Specialist | IT & Telecoms Bidding Pro | 15+ Years' Success | APMP Member
- Lead Bid Manager | Public Sector Procurement Expert | Chartered Manager | 20+ Years' Experience
- Bid Coordinator | Junior Bid Strategist | Construction Bids | 2 Years Hands-On Experience
Choosing your opening statement: a bid manager CV summary or objective
At the top one third of your CV, you have the chance to make a more personable impression on recruiters by selecting between:
- Summary - or those three to five sentences that you use to show your greatest achievements. Use the CV summary if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience and wish to highlight your greatest successes;
- Objective - provides you with up to five sentences to state your professional aims and mission in the company you're applying for
CV summaries for a bid manager job:
Best practices for writing your bid manager CV experience section
If your profile matches the job requirements, the CV experience is the section which recruiters will spend the most time studying. Within your experience bullets, include not merely your career history, but, rather, your skills and outcomes from each individual role. Your best experience section should promote your profile by:
- including specific details and hard numbers as proof of your past success;
- listing your experience in the functional-based or hybrid format (by focusing on the skills), if you happen to have less professional, relevant expertise;
- showcasing your growth by organising your roles, starting with the latest and (hopefully) most senior one;
- staring off each experience bullet with a verb, following up with skills that match the job description, and the outcomes of your responsibility.
Add keywords from the job advert in your experience section, like the professional CV examples:
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Expertly led bid teams through the entire tendering process, from initial assessment to submission, ensuring all deadlines were met and documents were compliant with client specifications.
- Developed a comprehensive understanding of various bid management tools and software, tailoring each proposal to maximise win rates and client engagement.
- Successfully managed complex bids, coordinating between cross-functional teams, including sales, technical experts, and finance, to create compelling and cohesive offers.
- Implemented a bid/no-bid decision process which increased the efficiency of resource allocation and improved the success rate of selected tenders.
- Analysed client requirements and competitor activity to provide strategic input into bid proposals, ensuring a competitive edge in our submissions.
- Maintained meticulous records of bid outcomes, feedback, and performance metrics, utilising this data to refine future bid strategies and processes.
- Continuously updated personal knowledge of industry trends, procurement methods, and regulatory changes to craft bids that adhered to the latest standards and expectations.
- Facilitated post-bid reviews to identify lessons learned and areas for improvement, fostering a culture of continuous development within the bid team.
- Nurtured strong relationships with key clients and stakeholders, gaining insights that informed tailored bid strategies and enhanced the value proposition of our proposals.
- Led and coordinated the preparation of robust bid submissions for major infrastructure projects, securing contracts over $50 million consistently year-on-year.
- Implemented a new strategic approach to the bid process that improved the win rate by 20%, utilizing advanced analytics for competitive insights.
- Managed a cross-functional team of specialists, including cost estimators and technical writers, for the completion of comprehensive proposals within strict deadlines.
- Cultivated relationships with key clients and stakeholders, resulting in an extended pipeline of projects valued at up to $30 million.
- Implemented a training program for the bid team that increased their efficiency by 35% in tender preparation and submission.
- Directed the bid strategy for international contracts, adapting proposals to meet diverse regulatory standards and cultural expectations.
- Oversaw the development of a centralized bid library, reducing response time by 25% while improving the quality of proposal documentation.
- Introduced a risk-analysis software that streamlined the identification of potential risks in bid proposals, enhancing the decision-making process.
- Collaborated with business development to identify and understand market trends, aligning bid processes with the company’s growth objectives.
- Managed complex bids with cross-border teams, orchestrating the successful handover of international construction projects worth $40 million on average.
- Spearheaded a bid best practices workshop series, which improved the company's proposal quality scores by 30% over a year.
- Championed the integration of environmental sustainability criteria into bid evaluations, aligning with corporate social responsibility goals.
- Pioneered the adoption of a bid scoring system, allowing for more objective and detailed proposal evaluations across all departments.
- Guided the bid team through a company-wide transition to digital proposal submissions, cutting administrative costs by 18%.
- Played a pivotal role in securing a landmark $80 million project by presenting a tailored bid response that matched the client's unique requirements.
- Managed the end-to-end bid preparation process for government contracts, increasing success rates by 22% across the board.
- Conducted comprehensive bid reviews that fostered continuous improvement, resulting in a reduction of submission errors by 40%.
- Coordinated with multidisciplinary teams to deliver a cohesive bid package, ensuring all technical, commercial, and legal aspects were thoroughly addressed.
Writing your CV without professional experience for your first job or when switching industries
There comes a day, when applying for a job, you happen to have no relevant experience, whatsoever. Yet, you're keen on putting your name in the hat. What should you do? Candidates who part-time experience , internships, and volunteer work.
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Talk about any positive changes you helped bring about in your previous jobs, like improving a process or helping increase efficiency.
Mix and match hard and soft skills across your bid manager CV
Your skill set play an equally valid role as your experience to your application. That is because recruiters are looking for both:
- hard skills or your aptitude in applying particular technologies
- soft skills or your ability to work in a team using your personal skills, e.g. leadership, time management, etc.
Are you wondering how you should include both hard and soft skills across your bid manager CV? Use the:
- skills section to list between ten and twelve technologies that are part of the job requirement (and that you're capable to use);
- strengths and achievements section to detail how you've used particular hard and soft skills that led to great results for you at work;
- summary or objective to spotlight up to three skills that are crucial for the role and how they've helped you optimise your work processes.
One final note - when writing about the skills you have, make sure to match them exactly as they are written in the job ad. Take this precautionary measure to ensure your CV passes the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment.
Top skills for your bid manager CV:
Proposal Writing
Project Management
Strategic Planning
Cost Estimation
Risk Management
Market Research
Competitive Analysis
Contract Understanding
Technical Writing
Compliance Management
Leadership
Communication
Collaboration
Problem-Solving
Time Management
Attention to Detail
Adaptability
Decision Making
Persuasion
Stress Management
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If there's a noticeable gap in your skillset for the role you're applying for, mention any steps you're taking to acquire these skills, such as online courses or self-study.
Further professional qualifications for your bid manager CV: education and certificates
As you're nearing the end of your bid manager CV, you may wonder what else will be relevant to the role. Recruiters are keen on understanding your academic background, as it teaches you an array of hard and soft skills. Create a dedicated education section that lists your:
- applicable higher education diplomas or ones that are at a postgraduate level;
- diploma, followed up with your higher education institution and start-graduation dates;
- extracurricular activities and honours, only if you deem that recruiters will find them impressive.
Follow a similar logic when presenting your certificates. Always select ones that will support your niche expertise and hint at what it's like to work with you. Balance both technical certification with soft skills courses to answer job requirements and company values. Wondering what the most sought out certificates are for the industry? Look no further:
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If there's a noticeable gap in your skillset for the role you're applying for, mention any steps you're taking to acquire these skills, such as online courses or self-study.
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Key takeaways
Write your professional bid manager CV by studying and understanding what the role expectations are. You should next:
- Focus on tailoring your content to answer specific requirements by integrating advert keywords through various CV sections;
- Balance your technical know-how with your personal skills to showcase what the unique value would be of working with you;
- Ensure your CV grammar and spelling (especially of your key information and contact details) is correct;
- Write a CV summary, if your experience is relevant, and an objective, if your career ambitions are more impressive;
- Use active language by including strong, action verbs across your experience, summary/objective, achievements sections.
