Resumes That Sell

Sales Leadership - Recruiting and Selection

Written by Jeremy Miller

Writing resumes that hiring managers will read

Writing a quality resume is difficult. Essentially you are boiling down your professional experiences into a one to two page document. To help bring clarity to the process remember a resume is just a marketing document.

Write your resume for a targeted audience. What type of sales job are you looking for? A software sales resume is different from a sales manager resume. Why? Each role requires very different skills and experiences. Write your resume first to reflect the hiring motivations of your ideal job. Then tweak the resume for each job you apply for.

Chronological or Functional Resume Format?

We are asked frequently if people should write a chronological or functional resume. A functional resume simply describes what you do and your key attributes, while a chronological resume describes each step in your career.

Resume Sales resumes should be chronological. More specifically they should be reverse chronological. Your current job goes first and your first job out of school (university or college) goes last.

Under each career heading try to write three to four bullets that describe your core responsibilities, and one to two bullets for your big achievements.

What doesn't need to be on a sales resume?

There is a lot of superfulous information that doesn't need to be on your resume. If you are trying to control the length of your resume throw out items like: experience with software applications, hobbies and irrelevant training courses. Remember this is a marketing document. Only keep the information that is relevant to your buyer: the hiring manager.

Also, you don't need to include your high school under education. Everyone went to high school. It's a given.

Choose a standard resume format

You don't have to reinvent the wheel for your resume. Microsoft Word offers great templates for resumes. Use a basic resume template with a simple design that is easy to read. That will reduce the hassles you face in creating a resume.

The key elements of a sales resume include:
1.    Contact information
2.    Objective
3.    Experience (reverse chronological)
4.    Education
That is basically all you need.

Ultimately the pen doesn’t sell

A resume is a required document to find a job, but it is only a starting point. Think about it. Brochures don’t win sales – sales people do. The same is true for resumes. You must hone your interviewing skills to win your dream job.

Sales managers are busy people. They don’t have time to interview everyone who applies for their jobs. Take the time to write a great resume. You don’t want to have one of those resumes that are rejected, because it didn’t look good enough.

Jeremy Miller -
	Jeremy Miller is a Partner with LEAPJob, a sales recruiting firm in Toronto, Canada. LEAPJob recruits sales professionals and sales leaders for many of Canada's most recognized companies. Their clients range from the Top 50 Employers to smaller organizations building their first sales force. For more information visit http://www.LEAPJob.com . You can reach Jeremy at 905.281.3090 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Read More >>
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