Overview
Junior business development associates are the engine room of sales teams. They research prospects, send outreach, book meetings, and help close deals. Employers hiring at this level want someone who is comfortable with rejection, can write a decent cold email, and understands the basics of a sales pipeline.
This resume belongs to Marcus Campbell, a recent BA Entrepreneurship graduate from the University of Sunderland. He ran a small reselling business during university and completed a sales internship at a SaaS startup in Newcastle. His resume works because it treats his side hustle and internship as proof that he can actually sell, not just study the theory of it.
What Makes This Resume Work
The internship shows real pipeline activity. Marcus booked 23 discovery calls in 10 weeks through cold outreach on LinkedIn and email. He maintained a response rate of 14% on his cold emails, which is well above the industry average of around 8%. These are the exact metrics that sales managers look for when hiring junior BDRs.
His reselling business proves commercial instinct. Running a trainers reselling operation on eBay and Depop, Marcus generated £11,400 in revenue over 18 months with a 34% average margin. He sourced stock, managed listings, handled customer queries, and dealt with returns. This is not a hobby. It is a one-person business with real P&L accountability.
Outreach skills are detailed, not generic. Instead of saying "good communication skills," Marcus lists the specific tools he used (Apollo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, HubSpot) and the volume of outreach he managed (60 to 80 personalised messages per week). Hiring managers can picture exactly how he would slot into their team.
The degree supports the career direction. His Entrepreneurship modules covered sales strategy, negotiation, and venture finance. His dissertation analysed customer acquisition costs across 8 UK SaaS startups, which shows he understands the economics behind the outreach he was doing.
Key Takeaways
If you want to break into business development, you need to show that you have actually tried to sell something. A side hustle, freelance project, or even a charity fundraising campaign can work. Track everything: how many people you contacted, how many responded, and what resulted from those conversations. Pair those numbers with familiarity in CRM and outreach tools, and you will stand out from graduates who only have group project experience on their resume.
