How to Create a Good Sales Resume
A good resume shows potential employers that you're a talented, skilled employee by summarizing your knowledge, skills and abilities as shown through previous jobs and experiences such as fellowships and community service activities. If you're looking for a job in sales, your resume must include results-driven information that demonstrates how you directly contributed to the bottom line in your previous positions. A successful sales resume shows potential employers what you accomplished rather than simply telling them. Follow the steps below to create a good sales resume that will instantly grab the attention of hiring managers.
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Things You'll Need
- Resume
- Notepad
- Pen
- Professional awards and certificates
- Computer
- High-quality paper
- Printer
Instructions
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Make a list of your previous sales positions using your notepad and pen. Include the following information about your past employment: name of the company, city and state, your previous job title and your start and end dates. Put your most recent position at the top. Only include relevant sales-oriented positions. Leave space after each position to include a brief summary of your accomplishments. If you have an old resume, you may use it to help you create the list.
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For each position you list, create a results-driven job description that outlines what you accomplished. You can use a paragraph format or a bulleted list. Bulleted lists tend to be easier to read. Include a brief description of your responsibilities and whether or not you managed employees. Illustrate before and after sales figures that reflect positive changes because of your work or the work of the team you led. Mention any obstacles you had to overcome in order to meet your sales goals. Highlight your ability to set sales or project goals and successfully accomplish them in a timely manner. Detail how you ranked against your co-workers: if you can show that you were top sales person, you generated the highest number of leads or that you ranked high in your selling district. How did you stand out from the rest? Include keywords such as profits, inside sales, outside sales, cold calling, lead generating, planning, strategy, managed, increased, competitive, relationships, networked and productivity, to name a few. Include action words to make your resume lively.
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Decide whether you want to include a career objective or summary of qualifications on your resume. A summary of qualifications is essentially a recap of the information you plan to include in your resume. A career objective is typically two or three sentences that outline the type of job you're looking for and what you hope to accomplish through it. Regardless of which you choose to include, make it sales-driven.
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Detail your educational history. Include undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional training certifications. Make a list of any special sales-oriented recognition you received from your previous jobs. You can include awards, certificates, and mentions in magazines or a previous employer's newsletter.
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Type your resume using a word processing program. Your name, address and contact information should appear at the top of the resume. Then, include your career objective or summary of qualifications. Add your work history and include information about your achievements and awards. List your educational history.
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Proofread your resume and pass it along to a friend or mentor to review. Incorporate their feedback where necessary. Print your resume and distribute it to job search sites and potential employers, and add it to your personal website.
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Tips & Warnings
Respect confidentiality agreements you may have signed with previous employers. Don't disclose sales information or tactics that may go against those agreements.
Keep your resume at one page.
Include at least two references at the bottom of your resume or include language that says, "References available upon request."
