Business Development Résumé Ideas
Dear Deb,
Q. I recently spoke to a recruiter who suggested that I contact you for résumé help. I am a business development executive with over 20 years of experience. The recruiter said my résumé lacked details regarding tangible results. What sort of improvements should I make to attract potential hiring managers and get more interviews? - JL, Illinois
A. This is an excellent question and one that pertains to all job seekers, not only business development professionals. A résumé is a marketing piece. It is not enough to tell a reader you are adept at forming new business relationships. You must prove this. In order to do so, you should provide concrete examples that explain what you did and how it definitively impacted the growth of the business. For example, if you say you created new relationships with 30 value added resellers (VARs), this is interesting, but incomplete. You must quantify not only what you did, but how it resulted in a positive outcome.
A more comprehensive achievement, would read like this, ‘Developed strategic relationships with 30 value added resellers (VARs) over a 2-year time period, resulting in new revenues of $18M+ annually.’ Most people remember to explain the situation and the action on their résumé, but neglect to include the result. When hiring managers decide who they will call for an interview, they are going to choose those business development candidates who provide the most detail surrounding the value they bring.
By making it clear you have created relationships that have resulted in specific bottom line revenue generation, you will enhance your résumé dramatically; this will generate more interest from hiring managers and recruiters. It is fine to say you are great at growing business, but you have to give more detail and back up your statement. You must present facts that are verifiable to impress hiring managers. The proof, they say, is in the pudding.
Do you have a question for Deb? If so emailDebra@careersdonewrite.com. The Ask Deb blog appears weekly every Friday at http://www.careersdonewrite.com/blog