Writing a business development resume is a tough task because there are many things employers expect from candidates applying for this kind of job (especially, if we are talking executive level here). The thing is that those job seekers who wish to demonstrate their value to prospective employers need to be very selective in regard to those experiences and credentials that must be highlighted on a resume. Instead of writing a long article on how to create a powerful business development resume, we decided to show how we turn run-of-the-mill documents of this type into powerful marketing tools (seeing something once is better than reading about it a hundred times).
Below you will find two samples: one is a raw document that we received from one of our clients (obviously all personal data, as well as the names of companies and some details, were changed due to our privacy policy); the second one is the final product we have developed after multiple phone consultations with the client. This makeover is meant to show the difference between an average resume and an effective one. Besides, we believe that demonstrating this makeover process may help the readers of our blog more than a lengthy article with tips on how to transform a resume effective. Please note that even though there is no gap between the before and after resume samples in this article, there is actually an enormous amount of work that is done in the transformation process (i.e. identifying key relevant requirements and relevant skills, talking over the resume content, clarifying the details with the client, formatting and proofreading, etc).
Business Development Resume [Before Makeover]
As you can see on the resume above, James has over 15 years of experience which makes him a qualified candidate equipped for a wide range of opportunities. However, his resume doesn't really help employers to quickly understand what makes his application different from the bunch of other candidates. 15 years of experience isn't something employers want to hire people for (it is about what you do and what you achieve during those years rather than just the number). Besides, the formatting of the document doesn't encourage the reader to go through the entire document. Although this business development resume has a decent structure, it is missing a couple of important ingredients:
- Specific accomplishments to prove that James was able to make a difference for his past employers
- A clear and brief value proposition in the summary section
- Well-formulated statements in the work experience section outlining both achievements and responsibilities (lack of specifics in many statements)
- Consistent formatting
The aforementioned mistakes will probably result in employers ignoring his resume. He will wonder why would hiring managers choose to ignore his applications and prefer some other candidate but this is the reality of a job market: not always the strongest candidate gets the job. It is the one who takes time to carefully prepare his application to deliver the message the employer wants to hear. Now we have taken the resume and did the makeover.
Business Development Resume [After Makeover]
Before we share the edited version of the business development resume, we would like to outline a couple of things we did along the way (essentially, this happens every time a customer places an order with our resume makeover service):
1. Review of the client's information. The very first step is to review and analyze all the information James provided. From there, we developed a list of additional questions to ask the client both in regard to his past experiences as well as his career objectives.
2. Phone consultation. The ultimate purpose of the phone conversation was to extract additional information in order to then develop a rich storyline of the resume. In the course of our talk with James, we discovered a couple of things that helped us better understand James' background and his goals.
3. Storyline development. After talking directly to James about his career goals and former experiences, we determined which credentials best tell his story, the arrangement of the resume sections and the length of the document.
4. First Draft. After we developed the storyline for James' resume, we proceeded to write the first draft. It was sent to James for review so that he could provide his feedback about the document. The first draft serves a great foundation for creating a well-polished marketing tool.
5. Minor edits. James has provided a couple of comments in regard to the first draft. He had a couple of questions as well as some suggestions. We talked these things over with him, did some minor edits, and sent him the final version of his brand new business development resume.
Here is what James got as a result of the process outlined above.
If you want our experts to transform your resume, please don't hesitate to place your order or contact us to find out more about how we can help you overcome your career challenges.
