Business Owner Resume Example

This article will provide actionable advice on how to create a business owner resume that showcases your career achievements, expertise and leadership skills. The article will provide actionable insights on showcasing your leadership skills, long-term vision, strategic mindset and ability to develop and maintain a healthy organizational culture. Read on to find insights from Jobseeker's career experts that can help you find success with your business owner applications.

Core sections to include in a business owner resume

Most resumes contain similar key sections, with a business owner resume being no different.

The order you present these sections can vary according to your career stage, but it's still essential to include each of the following:

Resume Header

The resume header is the place to add your name and contact details, along with your LinkedIn URL if you have a profile, so employers can find more information about your career journey and skills. You don't typically need to add a photo, or any other personal information to this section. Make sure your resume header is as brief as possible and doesn't take up too much valuable space. Choose a clear, professional design that sets the tone for your application.

Make sure your email address appears as professional as possible, and doesn't include anything like nicknames, inappropriate language or personal information. If it does, set up a new email account with an address based on your name or initials, and use that for your job applications. Always double-check your contact details are up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Summary

The next section is the resume summary. The section might also be called 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. This is a brief introduction to you, your key skills and your career achievements and ambitions. While a resume summary focuses on your career achievements and experience, a resume objective typically focuses on your ambitions for the future. Additionally, make sure your resume summary reflects the job description and focuses on qualities that are relevant to working as a business owner.

Alternatively, use this section to emphasize your career objectives and explain how and why this role is a suitable step for you at this stage of your career.

A good resume summary is short and snappy, and focused on the skills and experience listed in the job description, with evidence to back it up. It will also help the reader to form their first impressions of you by providing an insight into your personality and unique qualities. See below for some great examples of how to approach your business owner resume.

On the other hand, a resume summary can be ineffective if it lacks specific information about how your skills align with the job description, or fails to paint a picture of your unique qualities and talents. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your business owner resume summary.

Work Experience

In the next section, list your employment history focusing on the most relevant previous roles and achievements that showcase your business owner skills. Mention only the most appropriate and relevant jobs you've had in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent and working backwards. Add your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the role and your dates of employment.

For each job listed in this section, add some bullet points so the employer can understand the skills you developed, and your achievements. Focus on showcasing the impact you made on the organization, and show evidence of how you made a difference.

For business owner applications, a longer resume work experience section may be necessary. For a position at this level, employers will expect you to showcase a wide range of relevant work experience and achievements, so you may feel it necessary to focus more on your work experience than other resume sections. While established best practice suggests you should go no further than 10 to 15 years back in your resume work experience section, for a business owner resume, you might wish to go back further. This can help you prove you've got the necessary expertise in your field to take on a leadership or senior management position.

A good work experience section pulls the reader in with clear examples of where you've put the skills necessary for the job into good use in your career to date. This typically includes evidence of how your skills and activities contributed to positive outcomes for the organization. Take a look at the examples below for some guidance on what works best for your work experience section.

Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. Ineffective work experience sections tend to focus too much on everyday responsibilities over skills and achievements. If you use vague descriptions of activities and fail to back up your achievements with evidence, you're likely to fail to make an impact on the reader.

Education

The education section provides space to list your highest and most recent academic achievements that are relevant to working as a business owner.

Opportunities as a business owner and similar roles in the sector usually require a specialist degree. If you have a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree, be sure to mention this in your resume. You might also want to list any qualifications that highlight your data analysis tools or financial statement analysis.

List your relevant qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Add the name and level of the award, the institution, its location (if this isn't obvious from the name) and your dates of study. If you have space, include some bullet points outlining any specialist areas of study, awards or high grades, so the employer can learn more about your unique skill set and knowledge.

Membership or leadership of any societies, clubs or causes while studying can also make a positive impression on hiring managers. Consider adding these to your education section for more insight into how you used your time as a student.

Hard and Soft Skills

The skills section is one of the main ways to show employers you've got the skills required for business owner roles. Whether your skills include SEO and SEM, problem-solving abilities or any other useful skills for the role, you'll want to list them here. Again, refer to the business owner job description for an indication of the types of skills the employer is looking for, and make sure your skills section reflects these.

How to list hard skills on your business owner resume

In your hard skills list, include any specific abilities related to the role you're applying for. These could be technical skills or industry knowledge that showcases your expertise in your chosen profession. Furthermore, your list of hard skills provides a strong indication to the reader of your expertise in business owner roles, and how well you'll fit into the position. Include around four or five key hard skills that are listed in the job description. These skills will help to convince the hiring manager that you're a good fit for the position.

If you want to make a strong impression with your hard skills list, focus on hard skills that align with your specific industry expertise, and that reflect the job description. For inspiration on the right type of hard skills for a business owner resume, see below.

Listing soft skills on your business owner resume

Your soft skills are the core qualities and personal characteristics that make you a good employee. They tend to apply to multiple professions and jobs, though the soft skills you'll require may change as you move from junior to senior positions. In fact, as technology develops, soft skills are growing in importance for recruiters and employers, so be sure to add several of these to your resume.

Think of your best soft skills and add up to five that match the requirements of the job description. Your business owner job application should focus on soft and transferable skills that showcase your credentials as a leader.

Your soft skills section should make the most of your unique personal qualities and strengths, while also reflecting the requirements laid out in the job description. See below for some examples of useful soft skills for a business owner resume.

Certifications

In your certifications section, list any professional certifications or licenses that are relevant to working as a business owner. Add any official certifications or accreditations that increase your level of qualification and suitability for working as a business owner. Therefore, list any official licenses and certifications, along with their dates, so employers can assess whether you've got the necessary qualifications to work as a business owner.

Below you can find several examples of certifications for a business owner resume:

Optional Sections

If you need to provide further evidence of your suitability for the job, optional sections can be useful for a business owner resume. Pick from the optional sections below to help show the employer you have the skills and experience for the job.

Hobbies and Interests

Including your hobbies and interests can be a valuable way of showing your key skills and qualities. These are particularly useful for your resume if you're short of work experience and need to showcase a particular skill or experience. Don't include hobbies and interests in your resume unless they showcase a specific interest or aspect of your personality. You'll want them to add something to your application that you can't add elsewhere.

Volunteering

Voluntary work can help you develop useful skills, so it's a valuable addition to your business owner resume. Add any voluntary roles, including your position, the name of the organization, the dates of your voluntary work and a brief explanation of your responsibilities and achievements.

References

It's not typical to include references in a business owner resume, but some employers might ask for them. Don't add references unless requested by the employer. Only include referees that you've had prior approval from, and notify them to expect contact from the employer.

Best words to use in a business owner resume

Add strong verbs to your work experience section to show the hiring manager the impact you made in your previous roles. Choose from the list of words below to increase the impact of your work experience section.

For business owner roles, your resume length can often be longer than the standard of one to two pages. You'll want plenty of space to prove you've got the necessary experience and standing to take on such a senior position. As such, it's not unusual to submit a resume longer than two pages. If you need help creating a resume that impresses HR managers, take a look at Jobseeker's professional resume templates. You can also access beautiful cover letter templates that help your application stand out.

Example of a business owner resume

Using each of the sections above, we've created this example business owner resume, to help guide you when creating your own:

Making an ATS-friendly resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are increasingly taking responsibility for the management and processing of job applications, helping hiring practices to become more efficient. This can include screening resumes by scanning and ranking each application according to how closely it matches the job description. If you follow a few simple tips when writing your business owner resume, you'll give yourself a better chance of ranking highly in the ATS screening and progressing to the next stage.

Here are a few quick tips for creating an ATS-friendly resume:

• Use a traditional resume format, such as reverse-chronological or functional. These will give your resume a structure that's easier for ATS systems to scan.
• Include keywords throughout your resume that align with the job description. ATS software tends to compare your resume to the job description for points of similarity, so careful, considered use of keywords should help your chances of success.
• Include clear headings that make it easy to identify each section of your resume. This will help any ATS software navigate your resume during the scanning process.
• Use a resume design that includes clean, professional design elements to give your content space to breathe. This might include clear, readable fonts, subtle color accents and simple design elements.
• Keep your resume as concise as possible, to make it easier to read, and for ATS software to scan.

Key takeaways for your business owner resume

The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Choose the most suitable resume format for your experience levels, and focus on tailoring your resume based on the requirements listed in the job description.

Jobseeker has a wealth of resume tools, including resume templates and examples, to help you create a winning job application. Sign up today to get started. Jobseeker's expert-designed cover letter generator can help your applications make a strong first impression on hiring managers. Find detailed cover letter examples to complement your resume and get your application noticed.

Sources:

(1) Overcoming the Most Common Challenges in the Executive Job Search, MIT Career Development Office: https://cdo.mit.edu/blog/2024/10/15/overcoming-the-most-common-challenges-in-the-executive-job-search/

(2) How to Impress an Executive Recruiter and Break Into the C-Suite, Harvard Division of Continuing Education: https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-impress-an-executive-recruiter-and-break-into-the-c-suite/