10 Small Business Owner Resume Tips to Help You Return to Work in 2023
Showcase your small business in a compelling resume.
It is often quite natural to tend towards drafting out a lengthy business resume for a small business owner profile. However, what matters is not the sheer amount of details but how smartly you can intersperse key details on your resume!
A small business owner resume requires a very specific set of information to be furnished which is why it is necessary to break down each of the sections and understand what is the distinguishing factor.
In this blog we shall discuss the following topics:
- Significance of a small business owner resume
- Key sections of a small business owner resume
- Importance of a cover letter
- Small business owner resume format
Who is a Small Business Owner?
Small business owners are entrepreneurs who run private business that has fewer employees and less annual revenue in comparison to regular-sized businesses.
Typical Small businesses:
- Grocery stores
- Bakeries
- Restaurants
- Website design
- Accountants
- Consultants
- Medical practitioners
Small Business Owner or Entrepreneurs Job Description
A small business owner or entrepreneur job description is always unique depending on the industry and the peculiarity of the business.
Hence, it is important to describe the job responsibilities in a very effective way. The format, however, must be the same as any other job profile. Briefly describe the nature of the job and how you contributed to the business.
Use action verbs effectively while highlighting your achievements. A good choice of action verbs will go a long way in communicating your intent and the impact you had on your business. The overall small business job description must also convey the impact it had on the local economy.
Multiple Businesses
If you are a veteran businessman or if you have a fair amount of experience owning multiple businesses, ensure that this comes across as an advantage on your resume and not otherwise.
Even the most competent business owners frequently face enormous challenges running their businesses, which are usually out of their control. However, when you put that on your resume, you will have to ensure that you come across as resilient and persistent rather than a failure.
Multiple Industries
As if multiple businesses aren’t easy enough to explain, working across industries and trying to run a business with limited resources is even harder to put on a business resume. How to overcome this hurdle?
Firstly, do not be on the back foot or try too hard to justify. The best possible way to put it on a business professional resume is to give the right context and highlight that you are truly versatile in many fields.
Small Business Owner Education
While furnishing your academic accomplishments, it is pertinent to bear in mind that small business owners are typically inspired by an idea that need not necessarily be from education borne in universities.
Hence, it is very much desirable for a small business owner's resume to align his/her educational qualification with the small business.
Whether you are seeking to emphasize your formal education or any other qualification, it is best to list out all the certifications and courses that you have undertaken.
There is always a story behind any small business enterprise which is why your complete academic credentials will provide the context to that story.
Small Business Owner Key Skills
Enumerating key skills properly on your small business resume is of paramount importance on a small business owner resume. Your key skills must reflect on your job description and responsibilities.
This is because your key skills must be kept contextual and relevant rather than spamming keywords on your business resume.
Here are some most commonly used key skills on a small business owner resume -
- Sales and marketing
- Financially savvy
- Customer satisfaction
Hard Skills
The above-listed soft skills should be clubbed with hard skills as well because no business can be run effectively without the knowledge of essential technical skills.
When it comes to small businesses, any skill that is responsible to drive the business efficiently would be your top technical skill. However, knowing additional technical skills will be an added advantage that gives you an edge.
Keywords
On a small business owner resume, it is wise to take cognizance of the keywords that are to be used. The best possible way to determine what keyword to be used is to thoroughly go through the job description.
This will give you an idea of the right keyword matches. The more your small business resume matches the job requirement, the better your chances.
ATS
Another criterion for choosing the right keyword is the applicant tracking system or ATS which is an automated application that will assess the resumes.
If the number of applicants is more and if there are fewer positions to fill, then the proper usage of keywords will play a major role in getting your business professional resume shortlisted.
Hence, ensure that your resume is ATS compliant.
Small Business Owner Summary
A resume is a brief description of your professional achievements. However, even your resume needs to be summarized well for the recruiter to be interested in assessing it.
The summary section will sit at the very top of the small business owner resume which is why it has to be compelling. You can look at the many resume summary samples for inspiration.
How to write a compelling summary of your small business owner resume?
Quantify. Whether it be the work experience or your qualifications or certifications or milestone, quantify everything. You can always refer to the many professional summary examples that are available.
Next, demonstrate what you are capable of achieving by mentioning the appropriate skillset. This will be immediately followed by your job description section where the recruiter will be able to assess all those things in detail.
Small Business Owner Cover Letter
Writing a cover letter along with your small business owner resume is a great way to introduce yourself. A cover letter helps the employer to see how distinct you are in comparison to other applicants.
So a well-written cover letter can potentially be the factor that determines the approval or rejection of your candidature.
What is a Cover Letter?
A thoughtfully written cover letter is a document that explains why you are suitable for the job to which you are applying and what is the motivation behind seeking the particular job.
Writing a cover letter can be optional depending on the job you are applying for. However, for a small business owner resume, it is an unwritten rule to attach a cover letter with your resume.
Considering the uniqueness of the profession, it is all the more useful to provide a good context by writing an awesome cover letter.
Small Business Owner Resume Format
There are three types of resumes depending upon which portion of your professional experience you like to emphasize first. A chronological resume will highlight everything right from your education to your latest profession in a chronological fashion.
A functional resume will highlight your current profession at the very beginning and the rest of the information is furnished later in the resume.
How to choose the right format?
Ideally, a functional resume is best suited for small business owner resumes. However, this need not be true for everyone. It entirely depends on what section will hold more weight and which resume format will make the best case for you.
Small Business Owner Miscellaneous Sections
Apart from all the key sections already mentioned above, a small business owner resume should also contain other important sections that are important in the context of the job you are applying for.
Some examples of it are - Rewards and Recognition, Collaborations, Certifications, and Internships. All these sections are intended to strengthen the business resume and not weigh it down by the sheer amount of information. So the concept here is to avoid anything and everything redundant.
On the other hand, all the information that is valuable and adds value to your profile should be mentioned.
Hiration Cover Letter
If you need help in drafting your cover letter, look no further than Hiration.
Hiration has everything you ever need to prepare for an interview and ace it.
You can make use of the following features from Hiration's Interview Preparation:
- Database of 20,000+ interview questions and sample answers
- An overview/objective of each question
- Know what the interviewer is expecting
- Easy search for job interview questions and answers
- Job interview Questions and Answers for 150+ work profiles
- Search for specific questions, key strengths, focus areas... and more
- Link to additional information for specific job and question
- Professional summary examples
- Professional profile examples
Key Takeaways
In conclusion, a small business owner resume is unique and hence the effectiveness of the resume depends entirely on what you choose to emphasize.
To summarize what we have discussed so far, we have defined who is a small business owner and what distinguishes a small business from a regular business.
We have also seen what are the key sections in a small business owner resume and how to design it. Further, what needs to be emphasized is specified. The key skills, summary, and entrepreneur's job description section can win you the job if drafted as suggested above.
We trust that this information was thorough and helpful to you. We would love to hear your thoughts on this and if required, we are willing to help you better.
Go to Hiration's ChatGPT-powered career platform which has 24/7 chat support and get professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries. You can also write to us at support@hiration.com and we will make sure to reach out to you as soon as possible.