Sales Resume Examples
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Featured Sales Resume Examples
Other popular sales resume examples are for sales manager, outside sales representative and inside sales representative. But wait, there’s more — keep scrolling for additional job titles in the sales industry.
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Job Outlook for Sales
The demand for employment across sales industries is expected to decrease 2% by 2029 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s due in part to the rise of e-commerce phasing out the need for some jobs.
But don’t get discouraged, there is still plenty of opportunity to be had if you put together a top-notch resume that will cause employers to notice.
3 Tips for Writing Sales Resumes
Choose the right format for your sales resume
In your job hunt, you’re essentially just selling yourself as a candidate. As any good salesperson knows, the best tactic for making a sale is having the best qualities of your product clear and apparent to your target audience.
In the world of resumes, the format refers to the method of organization that’s going to put your best selling points on clear display to a hiring manager.
There are three main resume format types: chronological, functional and hybrid.
The one that you should use comes down to how much work experience that you have.
If you’re a sales applicant with a lot of experience, five years’ experience or more, you should use a chronological format. The selling points of this resume is that it makes your work history the focus which shows what you’ve achieved and gives a sense of career progression.
If this is your first sales job or you have less than two years’ experience, use a functional format. The main selling point of this resume is your skills so it covers up your lack of work experience.
And, if you’re somewhere in the middle with more than two and less than five years’ working in sales, you should use a hybrid format. It gives a more appropriate balance to your skills and work history.
Promote your sales skills
No two sales roles are exactly alike, but there are many skills desired across the board.
It’s a good idea to feature six to eight personal skills in your resume where you can.
Desired skills for sales include:
- Outgoing
- Good natured
- Oral communication
- Written communication
- Collaboration
- Persuasion
- Growth focused
- Empathetic
- Opportunity driven
- Time management
- Product Knowledge
- Rapport building
- Storytelling
- Sales presentation
- Tech savvy
- Client engagement
- Adaptable
- Goal-oriented
- Client growth
- Conflict management
- Organization
- Cold calling
- Closing sales
- Referral generating
- Teamwork
- Negotiation
- Growth achieving
- Self-motivation
- Objection-handling
- Active listening
- Sales report analysis
- Prospecting
- Networking
Include items from this list that best describe you but also be sure to study the precise language used in the job posting or ad. Echo back some of the phrases and keywords that you see in your resume, they’re very important.
Use a template to make sure your resume looks clean
As you know from the world of sales, first impressions are key.
That’s why you want to be sure that from an initial glance your resume looks welcoming, clean and easy-to-read.
Using a template is like sending your resume dressed in a suit, it’s going to have a professional look that shows your attention to detail.
A resume template is a preformatted document created by a professional designer. All you have to do is select a template with your preferred appearance.
Then, you just input your personal information and you’ve got a custom-tailored resume that looks great.
JobHero has a treasure trove of resume templates that you can use.
Even faster, JobHero allows you to choose from a selection of templates in its resume builder that automates the whole process.
Our Resume Builder creates auto-suggestions based on extensive research that our career professionals have tailored to every job title in the sales industry.
It’s like having an expert look over your shoulder to guide you step-by-step as you write your resume. You won’t find a faster or easier way to produce an outstanding looking resume.
Not to mention, it’s also paired with our Cover Letter Builder so you don’t waste valuable time hung up on that last step.
By using a builder, you can get your application out in minutes. Don’t let other job candidates beat you to the punch.
Sales Resume FAQ
What should I put on my resume for sales?
For a sales resume, like all resumes, you’ll need the main five sections present on your resume: your contact information, professional summary or objective statement, work history, skills and education.
But note, the main focus of your resume will be on your work history and skills.
To really sell your skills and make employers excited about hiring you, quantify your achievement by using flattering numbers on your resume.
Including numbers that reflect your performance will speak volumes to hiring managers. They want to see what you’re capable of and numbers paint a much more colorful picture.
By flattering numbers, think about how you can take the information about your performance and make it look the most attractive.
For example, maybe you worked in sales for a small start-up and the sales revenue wasn’t impressive. If that’s the case, cite a different stat that might look better, for instance, that your overall sales saw a 22% growth.
How do I list education on a sales resume?
Here’s an example of the essential info you need:
Brownstone University NY, NY
Graduated, BA Marketing
Listing dates is now discouraged because it can give indication to the age of a candidate which can lead to potential hiring bias.
While higher education may not be required for all sales positions, it’s still standard to include an education section on your resume.
If you have graduated from college, it is not customary to include your high school education or anything prior.
To list your education, just include the name of the institution you attended. Listing dates is now discouraged because it can give indication to the age of a candidate which leads to hiring bias issues.
What kind of work experience should I put on a sales resume?
On your resume include the work experience you have that relates the most to the sales job at hand.
For example, alway be sure to point out if you sold similar products in the past, had a similar clientele or structural sales model. The more you can relate what you’ve achieved in similar roles the better.
However, if you’re fresh to the sales industry and don’t have tons of experience, you should place focus on skills you’ve performed in other industries that are useful in sales.
For instance, if you worked in anything relating to marketing, customer service or public speaking, you should include it and keep your discussion of your experience focused on the skills that will benefit you in the sales world.
Of course, in the event that you’re applying for an entry-level sales position employers might be encouraged to see that you’ve held any job as it indicates that you’re reliable and consistent.
How do I write a professional summary or objective statement for a sales resume?
Professional summaries and objective statements both live at the top of your resume and serve as the primary argument as to why you’re a good candidate.
The main difference between the two is that professional summaries are better for people with work experience in the sales industry, whereas objective statements are better for people new to the industry.
You probably only want to use an objective statement if you’re applying to an entry-level sales role.
In either case, they should be brief. An objective statement is only a maximum of two sentences and a professional summary should be a maximum of three.
For a professional summary you want to look over your biggest work achievements and highlights. A good example of a professional summary might look something like this:
“Successful sales associate with 12+ years specializing in contracts for audio parts and components. In past roles, I have exceeded my predecessor by an annual average of 18%. My extensive track record in improving company sales relies on my client engagement, personable nature and extensive product knowledge.”
On the other hand, if you don’t have experience to feature, a solid objective statement focuses on what you hope to achieve for the employer if given the opportunity to work for them. A solid objective statement might look something like this:
“Eager self-motivated candidate seeks job as a sales clerk to be a part of a customer-focused team. My outgoing nature and skills in customer service and upselling will help your business flourish.”
If you’d like a deeper dive about the nuance of professional summaries and objective statements, JobHero has an in-depth guide that will give you all the tools you need to make sure that your resume starts off strong.
Should I include a cover letter with my sales resume?
Yes, it’s essential that you include a cover letter when you submit your resume to a sales job.
In addition to the fact that it’s a professional standard to include a cover letter, it also increases the amount of space you have to make your sales pitch.
A cover letter works hand-in-hand with your resume to sell you as a candidate by adding more detail and a narrative to the achievements you list in your resume.
Whereas in a resume you keep to brief details, in a cover letter you can elaborate and flesh out those details into a more compelling story.
It also helps give employers a sense of what you’re like as a job candidate by demonstrating your persuasive abilities.
Check out JobHero’s databank of exceptional sales cover letter examples.
From those examples you can gather ideas to write your own knockout letter.
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Last edited by: Gabriela Barcenas, CPRW, Content Writer II - October 28, 2024
Gabriela Barcenas
CPRW, Content Writer IIGabriela is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and career adviser. With 10 years of digital media experience and five years of resume writing expertise, her publication history includes fashion, education, travel, social justice, equitable design and career advice.
