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Proposal writer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Dr. Melissa McEuen Ph.D.,
Randall Auxier
Proposal writer example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical proposal writer skills. We ranked the top skills for proposal writers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.8% of proposal writer resumes contained subject matter experts as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a proposal writer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 proposal writer skills for your resume and career

1. Subject Matter Experts

Here's how proposal writers use subject matter experts:
  • Produce technical sales proposals for Maestro Learning Management System by establishing databases and collaborating with team members and subject matter experts.
  • Interviewed subject matter experts on classified projects and produced white papers and other marketing materials highlighting their research and accomplishments.

2. PowerPoint

Here's how proposal writers use powerpoint:
  • Developed and revised training materials including manuals and PowerPoint presentations.
  • Prepared company PowerPoint presentations for proposal meetings with clients.

3. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how proposal writers use business development:
  • Partnered with product development, finance, operations, and business development to augment understanding of competitive landscape and internal capabilities.
  • Prepare customized quality responses to formal requests for proposals, requests for information and proactive proposals with business development directors.

4. Proposal Content

A proposal content includes a brief description of the name, history, purpose, goals, costs, specific objectives, method and expected impact of a program/project/company. This section of the proposal set out the detailed work plan for the work and activities, including emphasizing its capacity to carry out the proposal, and how the program/project/business will be sustained in the future.

Here's how proposal writers use proposal content:
  • Interviewed and wrote proposal content based on technical input and historical documentation.
  • Develop and maintain baseline proposal content for assigned functional area.

5. Past Performance

Past performance refers to a process that was completed previously. This phrase is often used to compare how a process was done in the past to how it can be completed better (faster, more efficient, etc.) in the future. Many positions or elements may have past performances, such as an investor's portfolio or an athlete.

Here's how proposal writers use past performance:
  • Developed documentation reviews, created and maintained past performance masters, and provided continual improvement and configuration control of internal documents.
  • Write compelling technical solutions, management and past performance sections that comply with Government regulations.

6. Project Management

Here's how proposal writers use project management:
  • Prepare local, national and international proposals in response to customer/prospect requests, including project management and compelling, strategic writing.
  • Mentor other proposal team members on industry standards and project management techniques to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and organizational consistency

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7. SMEs

Here's how proposal writers use smes:
  • Provided communications expertise for these proposals and interviewed SMEs.
  • Worked with SMEs and the operational staff in response to requirements and demonstrated a complete and thorough understanding of the effort.

8. Proofreading

Here's how proposal writers use proofreading:
  • Facilitate the creative and/or copy editing, proofreading, and other reviews of proposals with Senior Proposal Manager.
  • Responded to sales proposals by proofreading and editing responses to ensure consistency in language and correct formatting.

9. Federal Government

The fеdеrаl gоvеrnmеnt іѕ a ѕуѕtеm thаt dіѕtrіbutеѕ power between a strong national gоvеrnmеnt and ѕmаllеr lосаl gоvеrnmеntѕ. It consists оf thrее dіѕtіnсt brаnсhеѕ: legislative, executive, аnd judісіаl, whose powers аrе dеlеgаtеd bу thе соuntrу'ѕ constitution, the president, аnd the fеdеrаl соurtѕ, rеѕресtіvеlу.

Here's how proposal writers use federal government:
  • Developed an editorial style guide for internal documents and responses to Federal government solicitations.
  • Compose and present Environmental Protection, Quality Control, and Accident Prevention Plans to Federal Government.

10. SharePoint

Here's how proposal writers use sharepoint:
  • Managed SharePoint file organization system and wiki cooperation sites to facilitate cooperation among internal and external proposal response participants.
  • Shared responsibility for the organization and development of SharePoint repositories that house documents necessary for proposal writing.

11. Veterans

Here's how proposal writers use veterans:
  • Produced detailed schedule for a proposal submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs using Microsoft Project.
  • Managed General Services Administration (GSA) and Veterans Administration contracts.

12. Proposal Sections

Here's how proposal writers use proposal sections:
  • Managed and monitored gathering of proposal sections and compilation of sections into final proposal for final review.
  • Updated and customized boilerplate proposal sections for proposals.

13. Medicaid

Here's how proposal writers use medicaid:
  • Interpreted and applied laws and regulations regarding Medicaid transportation.
  • Applied my knowledge of excellent written communication as the single dedicated writer for the company s Medicaid transportation line of business.

14. Executive Summaries

Here's how proposal writers use executive summaries:
  • Draft and edit customized executive summaries and full proposals for current and prospective clients seeking reference laboratory testing services.
  • Designed and produced marketing brochures and executive summaries.

15. Shipley

Here's how proposal writers use shipley:
  • Developed and implemented a standard layout for proposals based on recommendations from Shipley Associates proposal course.
  • Applied general Shipley methods during execution.
top-skills

What skills help Proposal Writers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on proposal writer resumes?

Dr. Melissa McEuen Ph.D.Dr. Melissa McEuen Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor of History and Bingham Fellow, Transylvania University

Evidence of excellent communication skills, especially in writing. If a resume is unclear, sloppy, or error-ridden, the person has not and likely will not pay attention to details while on any job.

Evidence of a candidate's flexibility and adaptability. Sometimes this comes through in the kinds of employment or jobs that an individual has already had, which can be found on their resume. As well, volunteer work or other service that a person includes on the document could be keys to understanding how they might work with a team or whether they have experience doing so. How they spend such "leisure" or "extra" time can provide important clues to a prospective employer.

What proposal writer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Randall Auxier

Professor of Philosophy and Communication Studies, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Writers have to be patient about this. The fields that were once supporting writers (e.g., journalism) have dried up. No one gets paid much for this kind of work any more. The best strategy is to seek a position that has upward mobility and become a writer in the fashion described above. You have to be good at it, of course, to increase your value to a company. Being sure that you are credited for everything you do, in the text, is very important, in creating a portfolio that makes you mobile. People will let you go uncredited unless you insist on being credited. Here you really must be bold. You are not moving your career forward unless you are credited for everything you do. No one can reasonably deny your request to be credited, so insist on it.

What type of skills will young proposal writers need?

Dr. Christina FisanickDr. Christina Fisanick LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of English, California University of Pennsylvania

College graduates in 2021 and beyond, need all of the skills that English programs have to offer: critical thinking, effective communication, creativity, and flexibility. New hires need to be able to adapt to workplace changes quickly and with aplomb, which requires critical thinking and problem solving and the ability to communicate those solutions to a diverse audience clearly and effectively. Those skills are refined and practiced regularly in English programs.

What technical skills for a proposal writer stand out to employers?

Kevin PulzKevin Pulz LinkedIn profile

Academic Department Chair/Senior Producer-Director, Milwaukee PBS, Milwaukee Area Technical College

What skills AREN'T desirable to employers? Video Editors need to be motion graphics stars as well. Videographers are more valuable if they are photojournalists or video essayists in addition. On-line content mediators and creators are in demand as corporations that once flew in employees for training are finding all sorts of benefits to creating visual media locally and sharing globally.
There's no substitute for solid production skills and strength in technology as a whole; but there's a voracious appetite for cutting edge approaches to content treatment, acquisition and delivery. Possessing the ability to deliver on both the audio and video quality we've come to expect as well as the promise of developing fresh modes of content creating utilizing new and exciting technologies positions anyone early on their career well for long-term success in a rapidly challenging and exciting world of media.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about proposal writer

List of proposal writer skills to add to your resume

Proposal writer skills

The most important skills for a proposal writer resume and required skills for a proposal writer to have include:

  • Subject Matter Experts
  • PowerPoint
  • Business Development
  • Proposal Content
  • Past Performance
  • Project Management
  • SMEs
  • Proofreading
  • Federal Government
  • SharePoint
  • Veterans
  • Proposal Sections
  • Medicaid
  • Executive Summaries
  • Shipley
  • Business Proposals
  • Proposal Responses
  • RFQs
  • Proposal Schedule
  • Technical Content
  • Government Agencies
  • Sales Proposals
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Photoshop
  • Quality Results
  • Proposal Production
  • Proposal Strategy
  • Discriminators
  • Technical Documentation
  • Content Development
  • Visio
  • DOD
  • Target Dates
  • Technical Proposals
  • Proposal Preparation
  • Market Research
  • Sales Strategy
  • Proposal Templates
  • Compliance Matrices
  • Proposal Efforts
  • Technical Sections
  • RFx
  • Biographies
  • Capture Management
  • Press Releases
  • Federal Agencies
  • CMS

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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