Resume Help: Your Resume Is a Skills Test
;)
Benjamin is a seasoned sales professional with a history of success. He’s hoping his resume will open doors to interviews. The critical thing that Benjamin fails to do is to sell himself. Yes, the seasoned sales pro does not use his resume to sell himself. The hiring employer is reviewing resumes of dozens of sales candidates. The resume is a test of the candidate’s sales skills. Let’s look at a few things that Benjamin can do to beef-up his resume.
1.) Appearance Matters: A sophisticated look will convey your professionalism. Perhaps a sans serif font, more white space, and perhaps a touch of style in the category breaks would help in Benjamin’s case.
2.) Cache of Employers: If you have not worked for name-brand companies, inform the reader of you employer’s importance. Include the company’s claims to fame, such as total revenue, market size, or unique products.
3.) Scope: Put every job into context by showing the range of your territory, size of client base, staff count, amount of annual quota, size of market, and dollar value of product.
4.) Measured Sales Results: There are many ways to show sales success. Some examples are conversion/close rate, quarterly or annual sales, market growth, new client growth rate, increase in penetration, and many others. Your past results are the best indication of future success. Share your positive results and include dollar amounts, percentages, and other figures.
5.) Positive Change: Tell the reader about new processes, innovative new sales campaigns, and sales techniques that you designed or implemented. Include the outcome of these changes.
Selling yourself on a resume is important for every candidate, including those not in a sales occupation. However, sales and marketing candidates will be scrutinized more closely in that regard. If you would like personal help with your resume, contact me. In the meantime, check out these articles.
Resume Help: Asking Questions to Uncover Accomplishments
Resume Help: Responsible for a Bad Resume