There is one thing that hiring managers are really looking for when scanning resumes of sales reps : revenue. That means they want to see the numbers (or percentages) of revenue generated, revenue saved, or labor saved.
The only way to show a hiring manager what he wants in a sales rep (and why he should hire you) is to include those numbers on your resume. You're not going to be hired based on what you were "responsible for." You're going to be hired based on what you've done, and what you can do for them.
What kinds of numbers should you include on your sales resume?
When you send your resume to a recruiter by email, don't send a cover letter as an attachment. For the most part, it's a waste of time. A busy sales recruiter doesn't have time to open extra attachments, and expects that you'll say what you need to say in the body of the email. Do what you can to make life easy for the person reading your documents.
BTW: A resume objective is a great way to get that summary of who you are and what you want, too.
A sales rep's job is to make the sale. So if you're looking for a new sales job, your mission is to demonstrate that you can ring that cash register, and do it well. (If you'd like to transition to medical sales, check out How to Get Into Medical Sales.)
If you want your resume to actually be a marketing document for you, and get a recruiter's or a hiring manager's attention, you must pack that resume with the keywords that are relevant to the career area you want. Recruiters, hiring managers, and Human Resource departments use computer searches and applicant tracking systems to flag resumes worth looking at, and that means they use keywords to search for the ones they'll be interested in looking at further.
Let's say you're a recruiter, and you've just received a resume that includes a paragraph like this:
In my spare time, I am physically active. I run, mountain bike, play tennis, and I teach yoga on weekends. Physical activity keeps my body and mind in shape, and promotes balance and clarity in my life. I belong to a community theater and am active in productions, and I play bass in a band. I am an avid reader. I am a mother of two and gave birth to my second daughter between degrees; taking only 3 months off and continuing to work while taking classes, which shows my drive and tenacity to succeed!
If you're new to the job market, you probably have challenges that are a little different from other candidates: you probably have a small network to access, you have only limited job experience, and you're still learning the job-hunting ropes. Here are a few job-hunting tips that will help you get on the right road to success:
Don't be fooled by people who tell you that resume objective statements are optional, or that you shouldn't have one at all. Their reasoning is usually that objective statements fence you in and limit your job-seeking focus.
When a sales rep has a resume with very few #s on it, I wonder….do they not understand that their job is to ring the cash register? and that is all I am concerned about? or did they stink? or do they not care that their “brochure” doesn’t really sell them? or do they not really want a sales job?
What type of numbers?
Revenue generated -$$ and % Growth Competitor Kills Customer increases Units Over plan or budget or higher than others # of demonstrations or customer VIPs (onsite visits) What are your thoughts? If you're interested in learning more tips for a successful job search, click here.
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There is one thing that hiring managers are really looking for when scanning resumes of sales reps : revenue. That means they want to see the numbers (or percentages) of revenue generated, revenue saved, or labor saved.
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