Business Administration CV Example
Successfully pursuing a career as a business administrator requires a CV that gives you the edge over other candidates and shows your skills and achievements in context. You'll want to showcase strong skills that are relevant to the role and reflect your experience, including analysing KPI performance and coordinating supply chain logistics. In this article, we'll provide all the tips and advice you'll need to create a business administration CV that gives you the best chance to progress to the next stage of the recruitment process.
A business administration CV that includes all the necessary details and is tailored carefully to the job description puts you in a great position. It can help you pass the ATS screening stage, make a strong impression with the employer and reach the latter stages of the recruitment process. We’ll now review the essential sections of a CV and outline how to write each for the strongest results.
Standard business administration CV sections
Your business administration CV strategy will depend on various factors, including your previous experience, your seniority and the details listed in the job description.
If you're lacking experience in the role or industry you're applying for, you may wish to select a CV format that reduces the emphasis on the work experience section and finds other ways to showcase your skills and achievements. As such, it's worth considering using a functional, or skills-based, CV format. This structure places the skills and education sections above your work experience in the order of sections. Optional sections such as volunteering, internships and hobbies and interests can also help you show you have the necessary skills.
Once you've got some relevant work experience under your belt, you'll want your CV to focus on this as much as possible, and show how you've developed your skills and put them to good use in the workplace. Employers will be keen to see the impact you've had in other roles, and for other organisations. In this situation, you'll probably want to choose a reverse-chronological CV format, placing the most emphasis on your work experience. List your most relevant previous roles and provide evidence of the impact you made.
As an executive or senior-level candidate, it's critical to focus primarily on work experience in your CV. This is because employers will be expecting candidates to have a wealth of relevant experience, and to have reached a prominent position within the industry. As such, a traditional, reverse-chronological CV format is typically the best option, but you may want to add more detail than the standard structure. You can also make space for publications, awards or professional memberships, all of which can help you prove your standing in the industry.
However, no matter where you are in your career, a business administration CV must present a clear, compelling narrative of your professional journey. To help you build that story, we’ll now break down the document piece-by-piece—from the initial contact header to your most significant career milestones.
CV Header
Start your business administration CV by adding a professional-looking header that contains all your relevant contact information. Include your name, email address, phone number and location (your full address isn't typically necessary for UK job applications). Additionally, consider adding a URL to your LinkedIn profile if you have one. This can help the reader to quickly access further information about your career and credentials that you haven't been able to add to your CV.
When you're applying for jobs in the UK, it's generally not advisable to include a photo or more personal details than are strictly necessary, such as your age, gender, ethnicity or nationality. Including these can jeopardise the recruitment process by introducing bias, and can fall foul of the Equality Act 2010.
Zachary Alvarez
zachary-alvarez@example.com
(111) 222 33 444 55
London
linkedin․com/in/zachary–alvarez–123
CV Summary
Below your contact information, a short, concise CV summary or CV objective can set the tone for your application and provide brief, basic information on your key skills and qualities that gives a strong indication to the reader about your suitability for the business administrator role. While the CV summary focuses on your key skills and achievements, a CV objective highlights your career ambitions, making it more suitable for junior candidates.
Both a CV summary and objective should be concise, with an ideal length of two or three sentences. List your key skills, personal strengths and career achievements or ambitions, taking care to ensure the content reflects the requirements listed in the job description.
A good CV summary will highlight one or two key skills that match those listed in the job description, and show how you've put them to good use in your career to date. You'll want to set yourself apart from other candidates by focusing on unique qualities or particular areas of strength that have shaped your career to date. Find an example below of a positive business administration CV summary, characterised by evidence to support your claims and well-structured, easy-to-read sentences.
Good example:
Dedicated Senior Business Administrator with five years’ experience driving operational efficiency in fast-paced environments. Strategically implemented process improvements that reduced costs by 15% annually. Holds a Bachelor of Business Administration.
Poor example:
Dedicated business administrator with a strong background in overseeing operational tasks and supporting teams to meet organisational objectives through consistent performance, reliable support and effective communication in various professional settings
The CV summary above contains various red flags and things to avoid. While the differences are subtle, they can make all the difference. There are several factors that could make your summary less engaging. These include using long, poorly-structured sentences, failing to add evidence of your impact, being too generic with the skills you mention and not adapting your CV summary to specifically respond to the job description.
Work History
A CV's work experience section is usually its most important element. Employers will want to see how you've developed relevant skills in previous roles, and how you've put them to good use in successful projects and career achievements. Always tailor this section of your CV, focusing on keywords and phrases that match the job description, so employers can assess how you might put the same skills and qualities to good use in the future.
List only your most relevant jobs, and go back up to 10 or 15 years, depending on your experience levels. List your job title, the name of the employer, its location and the dates you worked there. Also include bullet points for each entry, highlighting how you used your skills to add value for the employer.
What differentiates an excellent work experience section from an average one is the use of action verbs and quantifiable evidence, showing how your actions led directly to positive results in previous roles. You'll also want to show how you've added relevant skills and increased your impact throughout your career progression. Take a look at an example of a strong business administration CV work experience section below.
Good example:
Senior Business Administrator, January 2023 - Present
Crestfield Associates, Manchester
- Streamlined invoicing process, reducing payment cycle time by 30 per cent through implementation of automated billing system.
- Coordinated cross-departmental project schedules, achieving 95 per cent on-time delivery and enhancing team collaboration across finance and operations.
- Negotiated vendor contracts, securing annual cost savings of £50,000 while maintaining service quality and vendor relationships.
Poor example:
Senior Business Administrator, January 2023 - Present
Crestfield Associates, Manchester
- Coordinated daily operations to support team objectives and enhance overall efficiency.
- Facilitated communications across departments to achieve goals and maintain productive working relationships.
- Organised administrative tasks to streamline processes and uphold organisational standards.
Above you'll find a less effective example of a business administration CV work experience section. A poor work experience section might look more like a generic list of responsibilities rather than an account of how you've used your skills to positive effect in previous roles. It might also include old or irrelevant job entries and lack tailoring to the job description.
Education and Qualifications
In your education section you'll want to list your highest and most recent qualifications, particularly if they're a requirement for the role.
Business administrator jobs tend to require a relevant university degree just to be eligible for the role, so you'll want to showcase this in your CV. If you have a Bachelor of Business Administration or another related degree that makes you an eligible candidate for the position, add it to your CV. You could also add other degrees or qualifications that highlight your key skills, like CRM software administration or financial data analysis.
When creating your education section, think about which qualifications are most relevant to the role, and list them in reverse-chronological order, starting with the most recent and working back from there. For each entry into your education section, add the qualification name and level, the institution or awarding body, its location and your dates of study or graduation. For extra emphasis on your education section, include bullet points showcasing projects you worked on, modules you studied, awards you won or societies you participated in, if they help you to prove you're a suitable candidate.
You might also wish to add specialist qualifications, certifications or licences that are required for the role. If you add any of these, include the expiry date, if the qualification requires renewal in the future.
Bachelor of Business Administration, 2018 - 2021
University of Warwick, Coventry
Key Skills
A CV's skills section is the place to show the reader, in an easily accessible format, that you have the necessary skills for the job. Read the job description to understand the most essential skills, and create a list of both hard and soft skills, ensuring you include some of your strongest, most unique characteristics and qualities to set you apart from the competition. For a business administration CV, it's essential to include relevant skills for the role that match your skill set, such as decision-making and excel spreadsheet modelling, to impress the reader and show you're qualified for the business administrator position.
Hard Skills
Hard skills and technical skills are the specialist skills required for completing the everyday duties of the role, such as the use of certain software or equipment, or specialist industry knowledge. You can develop these skills through study, training, on-the-job or through completing industry certifications. For business administrator positions, hard skills that match your abilities, such as excel spreadsheet modelling, and project management methodology tend to be valued by recruiters and hiring managers. After reviewing the job description, compile a list of four or five key hard skills for your business administration CV to show you're capable of carrying out the duties required for the role.
The ideal hard skills section will feature the most essential hard skills from the job description, while closely reflecting your own best technical abilities. The closer your strongest skills are to matching the job description, the higher your chances of success.
Take a look below to see the type of skills that are commonly listed in a business administration CV hard skills section:
- Financial data analysis
- Excel spreadsheet modelling
- Project management methodology
Soft Skills
Soft skills differ from hard skills because they tend to be more transferable and applicable to different roles. Soft skills are the personal strengths and qualities that define your style of working and determine how well you're likely to fit in with the team and wider organisation. Owing to the rapidly evolving nature of the work landscape, soft skills are growing in importance for a number of roles and industry sectors where technology is replacing hard skills. Additionally, soft skills are particularly valuable for junior and entry-level candidates, who might not have much work experience but have the right building blocks for a successful career.
Similar to your hard skills section, it's best to first review the job description to know which soft skills to focus on in your business administration CV. You'll want to include a combination of soft skills that you can provide evidence for throughout your CV. Draft a list of up to five key soft and transferable skills, combining the most essential skills from the job description with your strongest personal qualities.
Below is a selection of soft skills regularly featured in a business administration CV.
- Communication
- Leadership
- Time management
Foreign Languages
If you speak any additional languages, you might want to consider adding a languages section to your CV. Even if languages aren't a requirement of the job description, speaking a foreign language can reflect well on you as a candidate, and correlate with other soft skills that can increase your employability. In this section, include any foreign languages you speak to a standard that could be useful in the world of work, with an indication of your proficiency level.
There are several methods of confirming your foreign language skills on your CV. The simplest way is by assigning a basic descriptive word, such as:
- English: Fluent
- Spanish: Intermediate
You could otherwise use an internationally recognised language standard, such as the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). This assigns your language skills a standardised level of competence, as follows:
- A1: Beginner
- A2: Elementary
- B1: Intermediate
- B2: Upper intermediate
- C1: Advanced
- C2: Proficiency
Certifications and Training
Depending on the role you're applying for, and the type of qualifications you have, you might want to include a separate section for certifications, in addition to the education section. It can be a valuable way of differentiating yourself from other candidates and showing employers your dedication, motivation and commitment to professional development. Furthermore, a certifications section is particularly valuable if you're applying for a role that sets out required certifications or licences in the job description. These might include technical roles that require the use of specialist software or equipment.
Here is a list of some key certifications and licences that can be particularly useful for business administrator applications:
- Chartered Management Institute Diploma, 2023
- Six Sigma Green Belt Certification, 2023
- CIPD Level 5 Diploma, 2023
Pro Tip:
Barnet Council’s data shows that CVs beginning with a clear, strong personal statement stand out during the brief recruiter scan. (1)
Additional Information
Adding optional sections to the end of your business administration CV is a good way of showing you have the necessary skills for the job. If you're unable to show you have all the necessary skills for the job through your work experience, optional sections can be a valid way of providing further evidence of your suitability, to give you the chance of gaining an interview. If you're an entry-level candidate or a career changer, optional sections can be particularly valuable.
Explore our career resources for practical strategies to make your CV stand out and move you closer to landing an interview.
Hobbies and Interests
If you participate in hobbies and activities that are related to the role, or use some of the same skill set, you could include them in a hobbies and interests section. Additionally, hobbies and interests are an ideal way to show the employers some elements of your personality and interests beyond work, which can set you apart from other candidates. However, it's important to only mention hobbies and interests that are relevant, or related to, the role you're applying for. If your hobbies don't help you to show skills required for the role, that are missing elsewhere in your CV, it's best to leave this section out.
Key Achievements
Including an achievements and awards section is an effective way of showing the reader the value you've added for employers in your career to date. In your list, add any awards you've won, industry recognition or key career milestones that tell a story about your suitability for the role and place you ahead of other candidates.
Volunteering
Another way of showing employers your skills and experience is through volunteer roles. If you're struggling to show you have the necessary credentials through your work experience, volunteering can provide valuable examples of how you've put your skills into action. Your volunteering section should follow much the same structure as your work experience section.
Add a description of the volunteer role or a job title if you had one, the name of the organisation, its location and the start and end date of your volunteering. List bullet points that show how you put relevant skills to good use to create positive results for the organisation.
Data Insight:
When reading a CV, more than 4 in 5 hiring managers go straight to the work experience section. (2)
Most effective action verbs for a business administration CV
Using strong action verbs in your work experience bullet points is a great way to focus this section and show the impact you've made in your career to date. Starting each bullet point with an action verb that reflects the skills required for the role will help the reader to easily cross-reference your skills to the job description. Remember to always back up the action verbs you use with quantifiable evidence that shows the impact you made. You can use past tense for any action verbs describing previous jobs, with present tense for action verbs to describe your current role and responsibilities.
- Analyse
- Coordinate
- Delegate
- Implement
- Strategise
- Oversee
- Negotiate
- Evaluate
- Facilitate
- Administer
Business administration CV example
Now we've shown you everything that needs to go into your business administration CV, we can take a look at how it comes together in its final form in the following example:
London
•
zachary-alvarez@example.com
•
(111) 222 33 444 55
•
linkedin․com/in/zachary–alvarez–123
Resourceful Business Administration Manager with 5 years’ experience optimising operational workflows and leading cross-functional teams. Increased departmental efficiency by 20% through process redesign. Holds a Bachelor of Business Administration.
Business administration officer
2023
-2026
Barclays (London)
- Led cross-departmental project to digitise records, reducing processing time by 35% and cutting paper costs by £5,000 annual.
- Streamlined invoice approval process by implementing automated workflow, decreasing payment delays by 40% and improving vendor relationships.
- Introduced staff training programme for administrative best practices, boosting team productivity by 25% and elevating service quality.
Bachelor of Business Administration
2018
-2021
London South Bank University (London)
Financial data analysis
Excel spreadsheet modelling
Project management methodology
Communication
Leadership
Time management
Chartered Management Institute Diploma
Six Sigma Green Belt Certification
English - Native
French - Advanced
If you're not sure what your one-page, finalised CV design might look like, check out our examples.
Dos and don'ts for a winning business administration CV
Tips to follow
- Use a reverse-chronological timeline for listing your previous jobs, starting with your most recent relevant roles and working back from there.
- Use strong action verbs that reflect the impact you've made for employers in your career to date.
- Tailor your CV to match the job description of the role you're applying for, highlighting your strongest skills and career achievements.
- Keep it concise, aiming for a length of one side of A4 for junior candidates, or two for more experienced applicants (only go longer for senior, executive-level roles).
- Proofread your CV carefully before sending, as any spelling or grammatical errors could seriously undermine your chances of success.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Don't swamp your CV with industry jargon and acronyms that may confuse the reader, when simpler, clearer language can do the job.
- Don't add any unnecessary personal information, such as your age, gender, marital status, or a personal photo, unless it's required for the role.
- Don't add too much irrelevant or unrelated information to your CV regarding work or other experience – it takes up valuable space and doesn't help your chances of success.
- Don't add a hobbies and interests section unless they include skills and experience directly related to the role, and help you showcase qualities you can't prove through work experience or other CV sections.
- Don't overburden the reader with too much information but stick to the most relevant, concise and focused content possible.
A well-designed and concise cover letter can make a big difference to your job applications. Match your cover letter to your CV's design and styling with our HR-approved cover letter templates.
Tips for optimising your CV for ATS
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are a valuable tool for many recruiters and employers, helping them manage the recruitment process by scanning and assessing CVs based on their likely fit to the job description. By taking on this task, the systems can save hiring managers the time and effort of reviewing every CV in detail. With vacancies regularly receiving hundreds of applications, this can increase the efficiency of the recruitment process.
The growing prevalence of ATS apps requires a shift in approach by jobseekers, to prepare a CV with the best chance of passing the ATS screening stage. That's why we've put together a list of key ATS CV tips, to maximise your chances of success:
- Include keywords and phrases that match the job description, making it easy for ATS apps to identify a strong fit for the role.
- Use clear, standard CV headings that are easily recognisable, such as 'work experience', 'education' and 'skills'.
- Choose a simple, straightforward CV layout with clear, consistent formatting, that avoids text boxes, graphics or other special design elements, as these can make your CV harder to scan.
- Select a font that can enhance the readability of your CV, such as popular serif and sans serif fonts, with size 10 to 12 for body text and 14 to 16 for headings.
- Use bullet points in place of full sentences and paragraphs. This can reduce the overall length of the document, make the keywords stand out and make it easier for ATS apps to scan.
You might feel there are a lot of steps to creating an ATS-compatible business administration CV, but with just a few small changes, you can ensure your CV passes this stage. Use one of our ATS-compatible CV templates, which are designed by experts to give you the best chances of success.
If you want to impress recruiters with your CV, use Jobseeker's ready-made CV templates, which are HR-approved for maximum chances of success.
Business administration CV FAQs
How do I create an accompanying business administrator cover letter for my CV?
A cover letter that makes a positive impact with the reader can be just as important as your CV. For the best impact, choose a formal, professional letter layout and a cover letter template that reflects the look and feel of your CV, reinforcing your application's design language.
The typical cover letter includes three key sections of content. Firstly, introduce yourself, confirm the role you're applying for and explain why you're applying for the position. Next, outline some relevant key skills and achievements from your career without repeating the details in your CV. Finally, express your gratitude to the employer for considering your application and leave a call to action that encourages them to contact you for an interview, or to establish dialogue.
Alternatively, if you're applying for the role via email, you may want to send a less formal cover note. This simply includes a brief introduction, confirming the role you're applying for and directing the reader to the relevant attached documents, rather than following the traditional professional letter conventions. Remember to include your contact details in your email, so the employer can follow up with you if necessary.
Jobseeker's cover letter examples for business administrator jobs and key management industry roles offer valuable insights from HR experts on how to write a compelling cover letter.
How do I write a business administration CV without experience?
Even without work experience that fits the job description, there are ways to write a business administration CV that leaves a strong impression on employers.
Choose a CV format that places greater emphasis on your skills over your work experience, such as the functional format. In this CV layout, your skills section and education typically come before your work experience.
For entry-level roles, employers tend to look more for candidates with the right soft skills to show they can learn and develop on the job. As such, place extra emphasis on your soft skills for an entry-level business administration CV.
How do I write a business administration CV headline for maximum impact?
A CV headline can be an effective way of introducing yourself in your CV and setting the tone, so the reader can quickly identify whether you're likely to be a good fit for the role.
Aim for a short, snappy sentence that includes the job title and introduces one of your strongest, most relevant skills or qualities.
For an impactful CV headline, focus on the most critical keywords and phrases from the job description, as this will mark you out as a strong fit for the role and give you a strong ranking in the ATS screening stage.
The examples below show best practice for writing a CV headline at different experience levels:
- Ambitious Junior Business Administration Professional
- Experienced Results-Oriented Business Administration Professional
- Experienced Senior Business Administration Expert
What's the best CV format for a business administration CV in 2026?
The best business administration CV format for success in your 2026 job hunt might vary according to your experience levels, the type and level of the role, the company and standard industry practices.
For candidates with work experience, the traditional reverse-chronological CV is typically the best choice. This layout focuses mainly on your work experience, providing examples of key achievements, and how you've used your skills in your career to date.
Conversely, for candidates without relevant work experience (such as recent graduates or career changers), a functional format can be beneficial, as this emphasises skills and qualifications over work experience.
Key takeaways for a winning business administration CV
To stand out from the crowd with your CV, tailor your approach to each individual application, incorporating keywords and phrases that match the job description. Choose the most fitting CV format for your experience level, and focus on showcasing how you've developed the necessary skills for the role, and used them to positive effect in previous roles.
Finally, using a clean, professional CV template like those offered by Jobseeker, can help your CV stand out among its competitors and give you the best chance of success with your applications.
References:
- Barnet Council (UK local government), Recruitment tips: How to write a supporting statement
- Jobseeker, Hiring Trends
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