Sales Resume Tips
- By Jeff Marin
- Published 02/7/2012
Jeff Marin
I am a master’s level career counselor. I am internationally certified as a Career Management Practitioner (CMP) by the Institute for Career Certification International and have been recognized as a National Certified Counselor (NCC) through the National Board for Certified Counselors.
A resume can't get you a job, but it can get you noticed. Of course, your resume can also get you eliminated from contention for a position. When you're applying for a sales job, your resume needs to show your sales experience or the skills that make you perfect for a sales career if you don't have any experience. One of the best ways to create a sales resume, or improve your resume so it's a better fit for a sales career, is to look at a sample sales resume online.
Before You Begin
Before you begin working on your resume, take a moment and think about your job history. A sales career involves overcoming objections from clients, talking to people, having a positive attitude and reaching goals. You probably have done many of these things during the course of other professional or volunteer work you've performed. Jot down notes on those experiences and refer back to them while you work on your resume.
Objective
Your sales resume should begin with an objective. An objective is a summary of the type of position you're looking for and the
skills that make you a perfect fit for the position. For a sales resume, your resume objective should sum up the qualities you have that make you ideal for a sales position, such as stamina, persistence, customer service skills or public speaking skills.
Skills-based Resume
If you don't have direct sales experience, a skills-based resume may be the best way to highlight your skills. A skills-based resume lists various skills you have, then the job experience you have that shows the experience that you have that applies to that skill. For your sales resume, you might list "customer service" as one of your skills, then list the positions and experiences you've had that utilized customer service, such as a retail sales job. Follow that with another skill, such as "public speaking," then list your relevant experience. Continue with other skills, then follow your skills section with a brief listing of your work experience, beginning with the most recent.
Experienced-based Resume
An experienced-based resume works well if you have sales experience or if your pervious experience is obviously applicable to sales. When you're listing your experience, don't just make a list of the duties you performed; list your achievements and accomplishments. If you were a teacher, for example, you should include any awards you achieved or if you were able to increase your students' reading, math or other grade levels. List your work history in reverse chronological order from the most recent to the furthest in the past.
Education
You should list your highest level of education in the next section. Don't worry if you don't have a college degree; most sales positions don't require one. Only list your grade point average if it was over 3.0. If you have any professional certifications, include these as well.
Proofread
Once you've finished your resume, take a moment to reread it. Look for spelling or grammatical errors. Misspellings on resumes can eliminate you from contention and in sales, your ability to communicate professionally and clearly is critical to your success.
Before You Begin
Before you begin working on your resume, take a moment and think about your job history. A sales career involves overcoming objections from clients, talking to people, having a positive attitude and reaching goals. You probably have done many of these things during the course of other professional or volunteer work you've performed. Jot down notes on those experiences and refer back to them while you work on your resume.
Objective
Your sales resume should begin with an objective. An objective is a summary of the type of position you're looking for and the
Skills-based Resume
If you don't have direct sales experience, a skills-based resume may be the best way to highlight your skills. A skills-based resume lists various skills you have, then the job experience you have that shows the experience that you have that applies to that skill. For your sales resume, you might list "customer service" as one of your skills, then list the positions and experiences you've had that utilized customer service, such as a retail sales job. Follow that with another skill, such as "public speaking," then list your relevant experience. Continue with other skills, then follow your skills section with a brief listing of your work experience, beginning with the most recent.
Experienced-based Resume
An experienced-based resume works well if you have sales experience or if your pervious experience is obviously applicable to sales. When you're listing your experience, don't just make a list of the duties you performed; list your achievements and accomplishments. If you were a teacher, for example, you should include any awards you achieved or if you were able to increase your students' reading, math or other grade levels. List your work history in reverse chronological order from the most recent to the furthest in the past.
Education
You should list your highest level of education in the next section. Don't worry if you don't have a college degree; most sales positions don't require one. Only list your grade point average if it was over 3.0. If you have any professional certifications, include these as well.
Proofread
Once you've finished your resume, take a moment to reread it. Look for spelling or grammatical errors. Misspellings on resumes can eliminate you from contention and in sales, your ability to communicate professionally and clearly is critical to your success.