How to hire a business development officer

How to hire a business development officer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business development officer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a business development officer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new business development officer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a business development officer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your business development officer job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a business development officer for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a business development officer to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a business development officer that fits the bill.

   This list presents business development officer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Business Development Officer	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Development Officer	Top executives devise strategies and policies to ensure that an organization meets its goals. They plan, direct, and coordinate operational activities of companies and organizations.	$22-60
   Business Manager	A business manager is responsible for directing the overall operations of the company, ensuring that all employees do their tasks efficiently and accurately. Business managers' duties include developing strategic solutions, evaluating employees' performance, identifying business opportunities to grow, monitoring the company's expenses to meet its budget goals, implementing techniques to boost the company's revenue and profitability, and adhering to the company's legal policies and procedures... Show more	$22-69
   Business Partner	A business partner is an individual who is involved in a legal business partnership with other individuals to manage a business as co-owners. Business partners invest their money into the business, and each partner benefits from any profits and sustains part of any losses... Show more	$31-67

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Business Administration
   • Financial Services
   • Workplace
   • SBA
   • Bank Products
   • Customer Relationships
   • Sales Process
   • Financial Statements
   • CRM
   • BDO
   • Loan Portfolio
   • Product Knowledge
   • Cash Flow Analysis

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Accomplish business development professional - successfully grow revenue by conduct outside sales prospecting and lead generation for new SBA loans.
   • Follow up on the progress of leads that are generated from origination to conversion, assisting bankers to win business.
   • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
   • Collaborate on entire business model, from lead generation, custom CRM creation/implementation, sales presentations, and employee compensation.
   • Network with commercial lenders, mortgage lenders, professional bankers, treasury management, and government bankers.
   • Involve and learned about PNC s full product set including derivatives, foreign exchange, treasury management, and international trade.

   More business development officer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your business development officer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A business development officer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a business development officer in Hawaii may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level business development officer usually earns less than a senior-level business development officer. Additionally, a business development officer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average business development officer salary

   $77,778yearly

   $37.39 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level business development officer salary

   $47,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average business development officer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$107,780	$52
   2	District of Columbia	$105,517	$51
   3	California	$105,308	$51
   4	Colorado	$100,835	$48
   5	Minnesota	$98,815	$48
   6	Maryland	$97,419	$47
   7	Illinois	$96,795	$47
   8	New Jersey	$94,422	$45
   9	Washington	$92,924	$45
   10	Nevada	$88,861	$43
   11	Pennsylvania	$87,965	$42
   12	Rhode Island	$87,706	$42
   13	Massachusetts	$84,542	$41
   14	Ohio	$78,758	$38
   15	Virginia	$77,400	$37
   16	Arizona	$76,156	$37
   17	Missouri	$74,077	$36
   18	Indiana	$73,123	$35
   19	North Dakota	$72,696	$35
   20	Oregon	$70,971	$34

   Average business development officer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	MUFG EMEA	$131,756	$63.34
   2	Santander Private Banking International	$130,918	$62.94	10
   3	BNP Paribas	$129,887	$62.45	1
   4	CTBC Bank	$121,595	$58.46	10
   5	Franklin Templeton	$119,480	$57.44	13
   6	BMO Capital Markets	$116,036	$55.79	120
   7	Signature Bank	$113,681	$54.65
   8	Frost Bank	$111,271	$53.50	3
   9	Citi	$108,032	$51.94	63
   10	Westmount	$104,345	$50.17	2
   11	Commonwealth	$103,093	$49.56	21
   12	BOK Financial	$101,074	$48.59	46
   13	GBC International Bank	$100,939	$48.53
   14	Commerce Bank	$97,444	$46.85	15
   15	Old Second Bank	$95,641	$45.98
   16	Glenmede	$95,012	$45.68	12
   17	Grandbridge Real Estate Capital	$94,732	$45.54	208
   18	Santander Bank	$94,300	$45.34	5
   19	HCL Technologies	$94,011	$45.20	1
   20	Enterprise Bank	$93,633	$45.02	11

4. Writing a business development officer job description

   A good business development officer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a business development officer job description:

   Business development officer job description example

   This position is responsible for developing new commercial business and assessing needs of members and their businesses to determine appropriate product/service solutions, and ensures delivery. Generates commercial loan applications, negotiates loan structures with members, delivering pre-screened applications to CUSO. Manages loan quality and profitability and assesses risk of Credit Union commercial portfolio. Performs any functions within the scope of authority and expertise to provide the highest level of service and responsiveness to members, businesses and coworkers.
   ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS Manages sophisticated commercial relationships requiring a high level of technical commercial and financial expertise. Acts in an advisory capacity with respect to commercial members' financial and operational needs.
   Manages and develops commercial business market. Delivers commercial credit union products and services within an assigned market. Maintains reputation of the Credit Union with members, prospects, referral sources, and community-based organizations.
   Obtains all needed information for a commercial loan request through member interviews, site visits, financial information, and third party references.
   Effectively negotiates terms, structure and pricing with member and credit unions to bring opportunities to closure with minimal revisions.
   Approves or denies the CUSO credit analysis within Credit Union guidelines and assigned authority. Presents business loans for approval to proper credit union authority. Ensures approved loans are properly documented and prepared for loan closings, working with CUSO.
   Identifies problem loans and performs workout of problem loans with collaboration 'with MBL senior staff members and CUSO.
   Provides MBL credit union support and serves as a liaison to assigned branches. Also works with staff on cross-divisional issues.
   Performs all duties in accordance with prescribed MBLregulatory compliance guidelines. Ensures all MBL loan relationships are in full compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulatory guidelines are in compliance with Credit Union policies. Ensures full compliance with the Credit Union's Information Security Policies and Procedures.
   Maintains knowledge of credit union products and services, as well as knowledge of the industries or market areas served. Keeps abreast of current developments and market trends, to further identify and service the member commercial needs.
   Monitors loan delinquency to proactively mitigate risk to the portfolio.
   11. Provides status report and departmental statistics on Credit Union commercial products and presents input to management in order to streamline and improve loan services for the benefit of the member and the Credit
   Represents the Credit Union through active participation in community and industry organizations and events and promotes the business interests of the Credit Union. Refers sales opportunities to other departments or Credit Union affiliates in support of established corporate objectives.
   Maintain current knowledge of and compliance with all Credit Union policies and procedures, including compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and all federal laws and regulations as set forth by the NCUA and other regulatory agencies.
   
   Job Posted by ApplicantPro

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5. Post your job

   To find business development officers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any business development officers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level business development officers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your business development officer job on Zippia to find and recruit business development officer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting business development officers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new business development officer

   Once you've found the business development officer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new business development officer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a business development officer?