Crafting a CV that simultaneously showcases your strategic planning acumen and your prowess in fostering robust client relationships is a key challenge for a business development executive. Our guide will provide you with tailored tips and industry-specific language that can highlight your unique skill set, ensuring your CV stands out to potential employers.
- Design and format your professional business development executive CV;
- Curate your key contact information, skills, and achievements throughout your CV sections;
- Ensure your profile stays competitive by studying other industry-leading business development executive CVs;
- Create a great CV even if you happen to have less professional experience, or switching fields.
When writing your business development executive CV, you may need plenty of insights from hiring managers. We have prepared industry-leading advice in the form of our relevant CV guides.
Structuring and formatting your business development executive CV for an excellent first impression
The experts' best advice regarding your CV format is to keep it simple and concise. Recruiters assessing your CV are foremost looking out for candidates who match their ideal job profile. Your white space, borders, and margins. You may still be wondering which format you need to export your CV in. We recommend using the PDF one, as, upon being uploaded, it never alters your information or CV design. Before we move on to the actual content of your business development executive CV, we'd like to remind you about the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS). The ATS is a software that is sometimes used to initially assess your profile. Here's what you need to keep in mind about the ATS:- All serif and sans-serif fonts (e.g. Rubik, Volkhov, Exo 2 etc.) are ATS-friendly;
- Many candidates invest in Arial and Times New Roman, so avoid these fonts if you want your application to stand out;
- Both single and double column CVs can be read by the ATS, so it's entirely up to you to select your CV design.
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For certain fields, consider including infographics or visual elements to represent skills or achievements, but ensure they are simple, professional, and enhance rather than clutter the information.
The top sections on a business development executive CV
- Professional Summary highlights career achievements, indicating expertise in business development and the ability to drive growth.
- Core Competencies section showcases specific business development skills such as market analysis, strategic planning, and relationship management.
- Professional Experience details past roles and successful projects, underlining experience in client acquisition and partnership building.
- Key Achievements spotlight quantifiable successes such as revenue growth or market share expansion, emphasising impact.
- Education and Professional Development present relevant degrees and training, affirming the knowledge base in the field.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight your ability to identify and develop new business opportunities by showcasing successful partnerships or deals you've initiated and closed, including the financial impact of your actions.
- Feature your expertise in strategic planning by describing your experience in creating effective business plans or sales strategies that have resulted in revenue growth or market expansion.
- Emphasise your communication and negotiation skills by providing examples of complex contracts you've negotiated or high-level relationships you've fostered with stakeholders, clients, or partners.
- Demonstrate your knowledge of market analysis and competitive intelligence by outlining your experience in using these insights to inform business decisions or strategy adjustments.
- Include metrics and quantifiable achievements, such as percentage growth in sales or the number of new accounts secured, to provide a tangible measure of your contributions to business development.
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How to present your contact details and job keywords in your business development executive CV header
Located at the top of your business development executive CV, the header presents recruiters with your key personal information, headline, and professional photo. When creating your CV header, include your:
- Contact details - avoid listing your work email or telephone number and, also, email addresses that sound unprofessional (e.g. koolKittyCat$3@gmail.com is definitely a big no);
- Headline - it should be relevant, concise, and specific to the role you're applying for, integrating keywords and action verbs;
- Photo - instead of including a photograph from your family reunion, select one that shows you in a more professional light. It's also good to note that in some countries (e.g. the UK and US), it's best to avoid photos on your CV as they may serve as bias.
What do other industry professionals include in their CV header? Make sure to check out the next bit of your guide to see real-life examples:
Examples of good CV headlines for business development executive:
- Business Development Executive | Strategic Planning Specialist | MBA | 8+ Years of Market Expansion Experience
- Senior Business Development Lead | Expert in International Sales | Negotiation Pro | 10+ Years in Tech Sector
- Junior Business Development Officer | B2B Relationship Builder | Social Media Savvy | Recent Graduate with Honours
- Business Growth Strategist | Lead Generation Expert | P&L Management | 5 Years Driving Revenue Growth
- Key Account Manager | SAAS Sales Professional | Certified Negotiator | Bringing 7 Years of Proven Results
- Client Acquisition Specialist | Innovative Campaign Designer | BA Hons Business Management | 3+ Years of Dynamic Sales Career
Opting between a business development executive CV summary or objective
Within the top one third of your business development executive CV, you have the opportunity to briefly summarise your best achievements or present your professional goals and dreams. Those two functions are met by either the CV summary or the objective.
- The summary is three-to-five sentences long and should narrate your best successes, while answering key requirements for the role. Select up to three skills which you can feature in your summary. Always aim to present what the actual outcomes were of using your particular skill set. The summary is an excellent choice for more experienced professionals.
- The objective is more focused on showcasing your unique value as a candidate and defining your dreams and ambitions. Think about highlighting how this current opportunity would answer your career vision. Also, about how you could help your potential employers grow. The objective matches the needs of less experienced candidates, who need to prove their skill set and, in particular, their soft skills.
Still not sure about how to write your CV opening statement? Use some best industry examples as inspiration:
CV summaries for a business development executive job:
- Seasoned Business Development Executive with 10 years' experience in IT solutions. Led a team that achieved a 150% increase in annual revenue. Specialises in market penetration strategies and key account management. Proficient in CRM software and fluent in French and Spanish.
- Dynamic Sales Leader with over 8 years' expertise in the pharmaceutical industry. Successfully expanded market share by 35% through strategic partnerships. Adept in negotiation, team building, and in-depth knowledge of regulatory compliance. Spearheaded a nationally recognized product launch.
- Ambitious financial analyst eager to apply analytical skills to new challenges in business development. Transferring 5 years of experience in investment banking, bringing in-depth knowledge of market trends and financial modelling, along with a proven record in portfolio management.
- Results-oriented Project Manager transitioning into business development, bringing 7 years of experience in engineering, with a flair for creating compelling proposals. Expertise in project lifecycle management and a passion for driving business success in technology sectors.
- Looking to leverage my enthusiasm for relationship-building and keen market insight as an entry-level Business Development Executive. Driven to learn quickly and contribute to achieving sales targets, armed with a recent MBA degree and an impressive track record in University-level business competitions.
- Recent marketing graduate with a strong academic background in market analysis and a commitment to pursuing a career in business development. Eager to apply theoretical knowledge and creative problem-solving skills to help a dynamic team exceed its sales and growth objectives.
More detailed look into your work history: best advice on writing your business development executive CV experience section
The CV experience is a space not just to merely list your past roles and responsibilities. It is the CV real estate within which you could detail your greatest accomplishments and skills, while matching the job requirements. Here's what to have in your experience section:
- Prove you have what the job wants with your unique skill set and past successes;
- Start each bullet with a strong, action verb, and continue with the outcome of your responsibility;
- Use any awards, nominations, and recognitions you've received as solid proof of your skill set and expertise;
- align your experience with the role responsibilities and duties.
For more help on how to write your CV experience section, check out the next section of our guide:
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Identified and pursued new business opportunities in targeted markets, leading to a 25% increase in client acquisition over a two-year period.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop customised proposals, resulting in a 15% improvement in proposal conversion rates.
- Managed a portfolio of key accounts, fostering long-term relationships which enhanced repeat business by 30%.
- Utilised CRM software to track client interactions and sales pipeline, ensuring accurate forecasting and a 20% reduction in sales cycle duration.
- Negotiated high-value contracts with major clients, securing deals that accounted for 35% of the company's annual revenue.
- Conducted market research to stay abreast of industry trends and competitor activities, informing strategic planning and market entry strategies.
- Delivered persuasive presentations at industry events and trade shows, effectively enhancing brand awareness and generating a 40% uptick in qualified leads.
- Coordinated with the marketing team to develop targeted campaigns, which expanded market share in key segments by 22%.
- Implemented sales training for new recruits, improving team performance and productivity by 25% within six months.
- Led a team-focused initiative to penetrate new markets internationally, increasing overall market share by 15% within the first year.
- Developed strategic partnerships with 5 industry-leading firms that complemented our service offerings, enhancing our product suite and increasing revenue by £2M.
- Spearheaded a digital transformation project that implemented CRM solutions across the sales department, boosting productivity by 30% and sales conversion rates by 22%.
- Orchestrated the launch of a new flagship product which captured a 25% market share within its first year and drove a revenue increase of £1.5M.
- Managed a portfolio of 50+ key accounts resulting in a sustained revenue growth rate of 20% annually through consistent engagement and upselling strategies.
- Initiated a cross-functional collaboration with the marketing and product development teams which led to the identification and closure of a £700K deal with a major enterprise client.
- Drove the regional sales campaign for new software products contributing to a 30% YOY revenue growth for the software division.
- Coordinated a customer-focused strategy that resulted in a 40% increase in customer retention over a 2-year span.
- Implemented market research tools to gather data on competitor strategies, which guided the reshaping of our own market approach and resulted in a 15% increase in competitive win-rate.
- Pioneered a new SaaS partnership programme which secured 10+ long-term partners within its first year, increasing the indirect sales channel revenue by 35%.
- Restructured the sales pipeline, improving lead qualification processes and reducing the sales cycle length by 20%, thus accelerating revenue recognition.
- Championed an account-based marketing initiative that resulted in a 50% uptake in premium-tier products amongst our top accounts.
- Realised a 200% increase in annual revenue by formulating and executing a new B2B sales strategy for our bespoke software solutions.
- Delivered a custom training programme for new recruits, elevating the team's sales proficiency and contributing to a 25% improvement in sales performance across the board.
- Executed detailed market analysis that identified and tapped into three underserved niches, yielding an additional £300K in revenue streams.
- Cultivated relationships with C-level executives resulting in successfully closing deals averaging £500K, which was a 50% increase over the prior average deal size.
- Implemented a revamped sales presentation directly addressing client pain-points, contributing to a closure rate improvement of 30% for large accounts.
- Led the due diligence and negotiation process for a merger with a competitor that successfully expanded the company's product line and customer base.
- Expanded the company's operations into four new international markets, increasing global revenue streams by over £3M within two fiscal years.
- Orchestrated a licensing deal with a local distributor in the Middle East, which significantly lowered the barrier to entry and generated a 200% ROI.
- Negotiated and secured a £2M government contract for our consulting services, anchoring our position in the public sector market.
- Created and led a digital marketing campaign for e-commerce partnerships, which drove an increase of 40% in partner-driven sales within the first six months.
- Designed and implemented a comprehensive SEO and content marketing strategy that elevated our website traffic by 150% and qualified leads by 80%.
- Facilitated the adoption of AI-driven analytics tools for sales forecasting, resulting in a 25% decrease in stock surplus and enhanced supply chain efficiency.
Lacking professional expertise: how to write your CV to highlight your best talents
Don't count on your lucky stars when you're applying for a role, where you happen to have less (or almost none) professional experience. Recruiters sometimes do hire inexperienced candidates if they're able to present their unique value from the get-go. So, instead of opting for the traditional, CV experience section:
- List any applicable expertise you happen to have - no matter if it's a part-time job, internship, or volunteer work. This would hint to recruiters that your profile is relevant;
- Focus your CV on your transferrable skills or talents you've obtained thanks to your whole life and work experience. In effect, you'll be spotlighting your value as a candidate;
- Separate more space for your applicable academic background and certificates to show you have the technical know-how;
- Ensure that within your objective, you've defined why you'll like the job and how you'll be the perfect match for it. Always ensure you've tailored your CV to individual applications.
Looking for more good examples for your first job? We'll show you how other candidates, with less professional experience, have created their job-winning CVs.
Recommended reads:
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If applicable, briefly mention a situation where things didn’t go as planned and what you learned from it, demonstrating your ability to learn and adapt.
Describing your unique skill set using both hard skills and soft skills
Your business development executive CV provides you with the perfect opportunity to spotlight your talents, and at the same time - to pass any form of assessment. Focusing on your skill set across different CV sections is the way to go, as this would provide you with an opportunity to quantify your achievements and successes. There's one common, very simple mistake, which candidates tend to make at this stage. Short on time, they tend to hurry and mess up the spelling of some of the key technologies, skills, and keywords. Copy and paste the particular skill directly from the job requirement to your CV to pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment. Now, your CV skills are divided into:
- Technical or hard skills, describing your comfort level with technologies (software and hardware). List your aptitude by curating your certifications, on the work success in the experience section, and technical projects. Use the dedicated skills section to provide recruiters with up to twelve technologies, that match the job requirements, and you're capable of using.
- People or soft skills provide you with an excellent background to communicate, work within a team, solve problems. Don't just copy-paste that you're a "leader" or excel at "analysis". Instead, provide tangible metrics that define your success inusing the particular skill within the strengths, achievements, summary/ objective sections.
Top skills for your business development executive CV:
Lead Generation
Market Research
Sales Strategy Development
Financial Modelling
CRM Software Proficiency
Contract Negotiation
Analytical Skills
Proposal Writing
Product Knowledge
Marketing Techniques
Networking Abilities
Communication
Persuasion
Strategic Thinking
Adaptability
Problem-Solving
Project Management
Team Collaboration
Initiative
Time Management
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Use mini case studies or success stories in your CV to demonstrate how your skills have positively impacted previous roles or projects.
Further professional qualifications for your business development executive CV: education and certificates
As you're nearing the end of your business development executive 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 you have received professional endorsements or recommendations for certain skills, especially on platforms like LinkedIn, mention these to add credibility.
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Key takeaways
Write your professional business development executive 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.
