Sell Your Abilities with These Sales Resume Examples and Tips
Entry-level and experienced sales professionals need a professional resume. Create a winning resume using our sales resume examples and tips.
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Featured sales resume examples
Use this sales resume resume sample to fashion a compelling resume. You can create your resume using this example and our Resume Builder, which allows you to write a professional resume in minutes.
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How to use these sales resume examples
Whether you’re looking to land your first sales job or excel at your current sales job and advance your professional sales career, your resume is essential for your job search. Therefore, your sales resume needs to include the vital elements that sell your greatest strengths and sales skills related to the job description while attracting the attention of hiring managers and impressing potential employers.
A good sales resume allows recruiters to evaluate your sales skills and qualifications, and determine if you’re a good match for the sales position and the company. Whether you’re a sales manager or a sales associate, here’s why our sales resume samples are a great foundation for sales professionals:
- Keyword identification: Keywords play a major role when writing a resume. If you look at a sales job description, you’ll notice that they list key requirements and skills you must have in order to get considered — these are keywords. Our sales resume examples will give you an idea of keywords to include in your resume.
- Help organizing your layout: Most sales resumes you encounter will have a different resume layout, depending on the template chosen and years of experience of the person. Our examples of a sales resume will help you see the different ways you can organize your sections to make a cohesive resume.
- ATS-friendly designs: Our resume designs are made with templates that have been designed by professionals to pass applicant tracking systems (ATS). By following our sales resume examples you can create a resume with the right subheadings, sizing and formatting that ATS reads.
Want to get started with your resume? You can choose any of the sales resume examples featured on this page and edit it in our Resume Builder.
How to pick the right format for your sales resume
Use one of the three resume formats to write your sales resume:
- Chronological resume: The most widely used format, perfect for job seekers with more than five years of work experience. The chronological resume format focuses on your work history and career growth, so it’s excellent for senior sales associates or sales managers.
- Functional resume: On the other hand, the functional resume format is better for candidates who have less than two years of experience. This format revolves around skills as opposed to work experience, so it’s a great option if you want to assure the potential employer that you have the skills needed for sales.
- Combinational resume: Also known as the hybrid resume, this format is a combination of the chronological and functional resumes. It’s best for mid-level job seekers with a few years of experience, as it puts equal focus on the work history section and skills set.
Some other resume formatting tips to keep in mind:
- Choose a professional font. The best way to maintain the hiring manager’s attention is by using a readable and professional font like Arial, Times New Roman or Helvetica.
- Stay consistent with the margins. Your sales resume should have 1-inch margins all around but you can take them down half an inch if you need more space.
- Use a readable font size. Recruiters and hiring managers should be able to read your resume. Keep the body text to 11-12 points, the subheadings between 14-15 and your name between 16 or 18.
- Keep the spacing right. Stick to a single or 1.5 spacing between lines.
- Send your resume in the correct format. Usually, saving and submitting your sales resume as a PDF or MS Word format is the best way to go, but check the job description just in case the potential employer requests a different format.
How to write a sales resume
1. Header and contact information
Write your phone number and professional email address in the header. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can add the social media handle to your header but only do it if it’s relevant to the job and will add value to your job application.
2. Resume summary/resume objective
Next, it’s time to decide whether to write a resume summary or a resume objective.
What is a summary on a resume? A resume summary is a two- to three-sentence paragraph that highlights your top qualifications and relevant sales skills that set you apart from other candidates. It’s ideal for job seekers who have more than two years of experience in sales. For example, take a look at this sales representative resume summary:
How to write a resume objective? A resume objective works similarly to a resume summary but in addition to stating your relevant skills and top qualifications, you also include your career goals. It’s better for candidates with less than two years of work experience or changing careers.
3. Skills section
Use your sales resume skills section to describe and highlight your relevant hard skills and soft skills. The following are some of the most essential and sought-after sales skills that employers seek in candidates:
- Effective and persuasive verbal, written and nonverbal communication skills
- Sales software expertise
- Product knowledge
- Active listening
- Problem-solving skills
- Time management
- Strategic and critical thinking skills
- Leadership
- Self-motivation
- Business knowledge
- Cold calling
- Customer retention
- Marketing expertise
- Project management skills
- Customer relationships management skills
- Sales pitch expertise
- Sales strategies
- Sales management
- Customer service skills
4. Work experience section
In your work history section, weave your sales skills into your accomplishments by showing specific examples of how you used your abilities to achieve positive outcomes and success. Use keywords and phrases from the job description when appropriate, as this will increase your chances of making it past applicant tracking systems (ATS) most employers use to filter resumes.
You can make the most out of your work history section by:
- Keeping your bullet points concise
- Using action verbs (like organized, managed or communicated) at the beginning of your statements
- Using numerical evidence to showcase your sales expertise and competencies
- Tailoring your professional resume to the job description and company
Use this sales management experience section as a base or follow the sales resume examples on this page:
5. Education
Include your highest education credentials in your education section. If you finished your college degree, you don’t need to list your high school diploma or your GPA, unless the latter is extremely relevant to the field. If you graduated more than 10 years ago, there’s no need to include the graduation date. Here’s an example:
6. Additional sections
If you have any relevant sales certifications, awards or other sales achievements, then you should showcase them in a separate section of your resume, like:
For a more detailed writing guide and additional examples, check out our How to Make a Resume page.
Sales resume example
Use the following sales resume template made by a certified professional resume writer as a base to create an impactful and eye-catching resume.
Build my resumeSales resume examples you can use
Below is a list of great sales resume samples by job title that you can use to perfect your own sales resume. At ResumeHelp, we have hundreds of resume examples for other jobs and industries.
More resume examples and tips
We have additional resources, articles and guides for writing a great sales resume.
- Resume Builder: Take the guesswork out of writing a sales resume with our user-friendly builder.
- How to Make a Resume: Follow our expert resume writing guide to create the best sales resume.
- Resume Design: Read our article for the best resume design tips and guidance.
- Resume References Example: Learn all the tips and tricks to writing professional references for your resume.
- How Long Should a Resume Be: Click to read our answer to the age-old question.
Write a sales cover letter to accompany your resume
No job application is complete without a professional cover letter. Pair your sales resume with the best cover letter using our resources.
- How to Write a Cover Letter: Present your strengths and achievements to the potential employer using our cover letter writing guide.
- Cover Letter Builder: Follow the step-by-step instructions of our cover letter builder and write a cover letter in a couple of minutes.
- Cover Letter Templates: Dozens of professional cover letter templates to pair with our resume template.
- Cover Letter Format: Learn our expert cover letter formatting tips and make sure your letter looks as great as it reads.
- Cover Letter Examples: Find hundreds of examples for different jobs and industries.
The big takeaways
Before we wrap up, let’s quickly go over what this article covered:
- Tailor your sales resume to the job description.
- Highlight your top skills and work experience in the resume summary or resume objective.
- Include a mixture of six to eight hard skills and soft skills.
- Impress the hiring manager with work achievements and major responsibilities in your work experience section.
- Start your statements with action verbs.
- Only list your latest education credentials. No need to include the graduation date if you graduated more than 10 years ago.
- Make sure the font you’re using is professional.
- Choose the best resume format for your years of experience.
- Create additional sections for your sales resume if you have relevant certifications or trainings.
- Every sales resume needs a cover letter to solidify your sales experience.
FAQ: Sales resume examples
Do I need to submit a cover letter with a sales resume?
Yes! A cover letter provides you with the perfect opportunity to make a great first impression with potential employers. A resume only goes so far, so a cover letter allows you to elaborate on your skills and qualifications and provide more context to your resume. Have you written your sales manager resume yet? Check out our page for general sales manager cover letter examples to accompany your resume.
Can I get a sales job with no experience?
Yes! You don’t need any prior sales experience to start a career in sales. The sales industry welcomes motivated professionals of all backgrounds and experience to start their new sales career journey, so if you’re just starting out, emphasize your soft skills and any prior experiences that show your ability to be self-motivated, work hard and relate well to others.
You can mention relevant experience gained from internships, volunteer work or extracurricular activities.
Is it a good idea to change up my sales resume for every job posting?
Yes! You must tailor your resume to include the keywords, sales skills and any other relevant sales vocabulary you find in the job description as it applies to your sales expertise and skills.
What should I put on my resume for sales?
Your sales resume should include:
- A resume summary that summarizes your skills and experience related to the position.
- Hard skills and soft skills that are relevant to sales and customer service.
- Work experience that demonstrates your ability to engage with customers and to make the potential employer revenue.
- Any certifications you possess or training you have completed that will show the recruiter your sales expertise.
For a better idea of what these sections look like, check out our sales resume samples. They’re a great source of inspiration!
What are some skills I can put on my resume for sales?
Some key skills you can incorporate into your sales resume include:
- Product knowledge
- Verbal communication skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Relationship building
- Excellent customer service skills
- Outside Sales
- Organizational skills
- Time management
- Strategic thinking
- Negotiating
- Prospecting
- CRM Salesforce
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Develop sales strategies
What should a salesperson put on resume?
A sales rep should include on their resume skills and experience that are relevant to the job, especially if you’re an experienced sales professional.
Focus on showing the prospective employer how you contributed to the team’s revenue growth or successful examples of customer relationship management. Highlight technical knowledge, such as programs typically used in the industry, as well as your ability to gain product knowledge quickly.
Whether you’re an entry-level sales representative or a professional salesperson, it’s also important to include key soft skills, such as interpersonal skills and communication skills on your sales job resume.
How do you list sales skills?
There are different areas of your resume where you can feature your skills:
- Resume summary or objective:Use this introduction to highlight your top skills most relevant to the particular sales job. If the job opening places a high emphasis on closing sales, delegating a sales team and maintaining customer relationships, focus on your experience successfully closing a sale, managing your team and providing great customer service.
- Skills section:Your skills section should list 8-10 essential skills. Make sure to include a well-balanced list of hard, soft and technical skills.
- Work history:In your work experience section, you can provide examples of how you’ve effectively used a specific set of skills to achieve sales targets. If you choose to do this, be sure not to repeat that same skill in another section.
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