What do sales recruiters look for when evaluating your resume? Knowing that will land you more job interviews!
Over the years, I have seen thousands of B2B sales resumes. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them did nothing to help the applicants obtain employment. In fact, in most cases, it did the exact opposite!
Why do I say that? Most times it is because the sales professional, in an attempt to sell themselves on their resumes, only talk about the companies they worked for and their job descriptions while they worked there. In other words, they talk a lot about what they sold; they just never seem to get around to talking about how well they sold it.
Sales Recruiters Look For Sales Accomplishments, Not Job Descriptions
Most sales recruiters agree that we look for the numbers, statistics and proof that you are successful at sales. For example, what percentage of quota were you and for how long? What was your ranking in compared to other sales reps in your company? Did you reach President’s Club? Anyone can say they were a quota buster, but sales recruiters are looking for proof!
As such, you need to make sure your resume is accomplishment based. Go through every employment listing you have and answer the question, “What were the measurements of successful performance in this job, and how well did I meet them?” In fact, this is so important, it’s the first question I ask when interviewing a potential sales candidate.
Show Your Quantifiable Accomplishments
As I said, anyone can say that they are an “overachiever” or a “sales superstar”. However, if you do not quantify your successes and list your accomplishments, you are actually raising red flags in the recruiter’s eyes as opposed to lowering them. As Stan Rabb once said, “It’s what you do, not what you say that counts!” More motivational quotes here.
If you would like a template to track your entire job search process, you can download the Job Search Tracking Worksheet for free from the B2B Sales Connections Download Centre. While you’re there, check out our free White Paper,”How to Write An Effective B2B Sales Resume“.
| FREE DOWNLOAD! How to Write an Effective B2B Sales Resume (With Template and Example) |
Are You Looking to Make A Career Change?
If you are looking to make a career change, keep in mind preparing your resume properly is just one step in finding your next sales job. There is still so much you need to prepare. For detailed, step by step instructions on how to find your perfect sales job, (and by perfect, we mean perfect for YOU), check out my ebook, How to Find Your Dream Sales Job – The future is yours to create!
Also, the best salespeople don’t wait for prospects to come to them. They go out into the marketplace and create them. Now that you have entered the job market, and made yourself ‘your product’, you have to do the same. Here are 5 steps to take charge of your own job search.
Remember as Beverly Sills once said, “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”
Aim Higher!
Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Coach and Author
Schedule a free sales coaching strategy session with Susan here.
“… what I can tell anyone, is simply this – If you want to learn and understand sales, talk to Susan.”
Are you looking to make a career change? Check out the new and improved B2B Sales Connections Job Board! Search thousands of jobs for any location from all over the internet. You can even create job alerts to have the latest sales jobs delivered right to your inbox!
