The Dos and Don’ts of Writing A Sales Resume

Nothing in this world can match the competitiveness you’ll find in the sales industry. It is constantly changing, so you have to get your head in the game if you plan to enter it. And when you enter this particular industry, you should start with a well-written sales resume. 

That means learning the dos and don’ts of making the ideal resume for the sales industry. If you don’t know where to start, this is where this article comes in handy, so keep the ball rolling to discover the specifics. 

Creating The Ideal Sales Resume

From the very start of your application process, potential employers will carefully examine how you sell yourself to them. After all, if your skills are in sales, then you should know how to sell yourself. That simply means your resume plays an important role. It is the initial display of your ability and skills in business and trading. 

When creating your resume, you’ll have to keep the hundreds of other applicants in mind. Thus, your goal is to make your talent immediately be visible with just a quick browse of your application document. 

Here are some guidelines for crafting each part of your new sales resume:

1. Header

You always have to start somewhere, and when it comes to resumes, headers are the obvious starting point. You can view it as the stage where you slowly establish your features to impress the hiring managers. 

If you don’t feel like using a header, a sidebar design is also an excellent alternative. It offers a sleek and well-organized look with the vertical orientation of the elements. 

Dos 

• Put your name in bold and large fonts. You want your name to be easily identified, and playing with font sizes is the best way to do that.
• Include both your phone number and email address right under your name. This makes navigation much easier, and HR managers will appreciate it.

Don’ts

• Don’t go overboard with the design and colours in your header. The header should be clear and simple, and overdesigning it will just make it a distraction.
• If you’re unsure what information you need to add to the header, go with the basics. Don’t bother putting in your social media handles, personal website, address, and age if it only takes up space.

2.  Resume summary 

A resume summary or the summary of qualifications is the strongest statement at the beginning of your sales resume. Most hiring managers prefer applicants to use it rather than a career objective. 

How important is a resume summary? Think of it this way; if an employer in the sales industry has a mountain of applications on their table, do you think they would waste time skimming through each of the written sections of every resume? The truth is that they don’t. Instead, they take quick glances at each section and wait for something to stand out. The sooner you impress them, the quicker you make it to the next stage of the hiring process.

So, you need your resume summary to be the most powerful set of sentences on your document. Here’s how you can achieve that:

Dos

• Write about the ways your skills can benefit a company. Ultimately, hiring managers are more interested in what you can do for them rather than what you do in general.
• Write a short but convincing statement that explains why you think you’re the best fit for the position. 
• Highlight your skills and insert the proven ways on how you used those skills to achieve results.

Don’ts

• Don’t overwhelm the reader with too much information about your skills and experiences. Remember, this is just a summary. You only have to add the best parts of your career. Everything else should be relegated to the other sections.

3. Career Objective (Optional)

Resume introductions are important. Before you head onto the starting one, you should think thoroughly about which resume introduction is the best for you. A career objective is your friend if you’re sending applications to potential employers in the sales industry. It provides them with a quick feel of your career goals without you customizing your resume again and again.

This section is the place where you highlight your plans and intentions in the company. Specifically, you explain yourself where you are at the moment and what you desire to achieve in the sales industry.

Dos 

• Be very explicit and give a detailed explanation of career direction in your resume. If you need to add more career goals to do this, this is the best avenue.
• Tailor your pitch to illustrate how you can overcome the competitiveness of the sales industry. 
• Mention what kind of sales position you are looking for.
• Personalize your career objective to match the position you’re applying to. Read through the hiring ad to pick up some important keywords.
• Use buzzwords from the sales industry sparingly. While a few words can show that you know your stuff, too many will look unnatural. 

Don’ts

• Do not make it too long, or else you’ll lose the reader’s attention—no more than two sentences. You don’t want it to look like you are writing a cover letter.
• Do not be shy; convey your broad interests while still keeping them short and sweet.

4. Skills Section 

Why do you need a skills section on your resume? A carefully thought out skills section can help an employer figure out whether you have what it takes to get that sales position.

Dos 

• Keep it brief and concise. Hiring managers should be able to get through this section quickly.
• Arrange the list by adding the most relevant skills first.
• Divide the list into hard and soft skills to keep the content better organized.

Don’ts

• Don’t get too excited about adding every skill you have. Only include your best and most relevant skills on the list. For example, you can probably leave off basic ones such as proficiency in Microsoft programs.
• Never lie to potential employers about anything, including your skills. Don’t include proficiency in programs you don’t know anything about.

5. Career History

Composing your job experience descriptions is the most critical part of resume-making. Do you need to include your volunteer work, internship, and non-relevant jobs? Here are the dos and don’ts;

Dos 

• Try your best to limit your descriptions to the three or four most important points of one job 
• Only include job history relevant to the position. But if you only have a short career history, then including everything is acceptable
• Add your volunteer work, if any, to display how you have a good work-life balance
• List experiences in reverse chronological order, which means you list the most current experience first.
• Use industry-specific keywords, and make every description clear and concise yet expressive.

Don’ts

• Avoid describing the company or the organization you worked with. Only specify your responsibilities and accomplishments.
• Do not use the same verbs and adjectives. Make sure each of the descriptions sounds distinct.

6. Education 

Your education may play an important role in chasing after that sales position, so you have to highlight your academic qualifications and achievements. 

And if you don’t have work experience yet, this part of your resume can convince employers you’ll do well in the relentless world of sales. Where you place this section is up to you, but it should be close to your job history section.

Dos 

• Make sure you list down the full name of each school you attended, as well as the location and how long you were there.
• Don’t forget to put the degree you received. If you earned a specific degree, place it under the name of the school. 
• If you have any, this is where you can note down your notable achievements. You can add a GPA (if you feel it is impressive), or you can state that you were on the dean’s list and emphasize you graduated with flying colours.
• You could also incorporate QR code using any dynamic QR code generator that links to your LinkedIn profile or online portfolio profile.

Don’ts

• It is not necessary to add all of your education histories to your resume. If you have a bachelor’s degree or higher, you can skip your high school education. This leaves you more room for something more substantial. 

7. Awards 

Are you wondering where to list your awards? You sure need to dedicate some space for your awards to help you attract attention in the application process. 

Dos

• It would be best to list your awards under their respective categories to clarify whether it is an educational or work achievement
• Add the award title, as well as the recognition level and date.
• You should only include your most significant awards. 

Don’ts

• Don’t go into too much detail describing the award. The title should be self-explanatory.

Conclusion

This challenging industry is full of people like you with high aims and higher goals. Stand out with a sales resume perfectly optimized to highlight your best skills. Apply these tips to your resume and watch the job offers to pour in!