Sales Representative Resume: Templates & Top Tips

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As a Sales Representative, you know how to promote and sell a product. Now you can let us help you promote and sell your resume to an interested hiring manager. Use our resume templates to have your resume stand out.

Sales Representative Resume Example MSWord®
Make the perfect pitch to a hiring manager with our Sales Representative Resume template in Word format.

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Selling is second nature to a seasoned Sales Representative, a role requiring not only sales flair but also exceptional communication and customer service skills. The question is, can you encapsulate these attributes convincingly on a resume to secure an interview?

Join us to learn how to write a resume that highlights your strengths, helping you stand out in a competitive field of candidates. 

Take the next step in your career by creating a resume that is as compelling and persuasive as your sales pitch, thereby increasing your chances of being selected from an extensive and diverse candidate pool.

If you are stuck on where to start building your resume, use one of the many resume templates available and simply give them a personal twist. However, be sure to follow the right structure, format, and content. 

Consider the following example of a Sales Rep resume.

Resume Example

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Dana Anderson

[Sales Representative]

Provo, UT | dana.anderson@randmemail.com | 555-555-5555

>> Summary <<

A highly motivated sales professional with over 7 years of experience in creating enterprise sales strategies, sales representations, strategic lead generation, effective liaising, and creative marketing. Exceeded sales goals by 20% each quarter.

>> Work Experience <<

Winejoy

Sales Manager

June 2021–Present

• Mentoring, coaching, and supporting a team of 8 Account Managers.
• Oversee various business development initiatives for improvement of the annual sales volume.
• Maintained accurate tracking of sales and budget costs. 
• Organization of training seminars on pricing strategies that lead to a 10% increase.
• Cold called over 45 potential clients, with a closing rate of 26%.

>> Education <<

Bachelor of Science in Retail and Sales Management | Grand Valley State University

2020

GPA: 3.9

>> Skills <<

• Maintain profitable and amicable relationships
• Contract and deal negotiation
• Closing deals
• Lead generation
• Cold-prospecting

OTHER

>> Certificates and Licenses <<

• Certified Inside Sales Professionals (CISP) from AA-ISP, 2022
• Certified Sales Leadership Professional (CSLP) from SMA, 2021
• Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP) from NASP, 2020

>> Courses <<

• Using AI and ML to facilitate lead generation, 2023
• Cloud-based CRM systems, 2022
• Advanced sales and selling techniques, 2020

>> Memberships <<

• National Association of Sales Professionals (NASP)
• Sales Association (SA)

>> Languages <<

English – Native

German – Proficient

Spanish – Advanced

Picking the right resume format is a game-changer in putting together a resume for a Sales Rep that grabs attention without being a bore. Keep in mind that you’ve got a window of a few seconds to wow the recruiter and convince them you’re the top choice.

We’re big fans of the reverse-chronological resume format for this. It lets you spotlight your latest and greatest achievements right at the top, helping recruiters see your worth at a glance. 

It’s a favorite because it paints a clear picture of your career journey, showing off a history of growth and a pile-up of skills and wins along the way and provides a hint of the even greater things you’re set to achieve in the future. 

To pump up your resume even more, stick with a professional but not stuffy layout, choosing the right font, line spacing, and margins. 

Don’t forget to use powerful words to grab and hold the recruiter’s attention. Think of yourself as a must-have product, and use your sales savvy to create a resume that’s both sharp and captivating.

The purpose of a resume summary is to sum up your experience and skills in just a few sentences – you can see why this is a very demanding part of a resume.

Students applying for entry-level positions should concentrate on making a captivating resume objective. Use the section to showcase your skills, goals, and aspirations. And don’t be modest! Put the spotlight on yourself and convince the recruiters you are their best choice for the job. 

Lacking experience is sometimes exactly what recruiters are looking for in a candidate. They may be looking for someone that they can teach and shape based on the company’s needs. But convincing them that you are willing to learn and contribute to the company is your job. Therefore, use your resume objective to your advantage. 

Whether preparing a summary or an objective, make it short and simple, and use lots of keywords to grab the recruiter’s interest.

Sales Representative Resume Objective Example

Preparing your resume means you need to understand what the employer is seeking. Read the job description carefully and include your key skills in your resume objective.

How do you spike the recruiter’s interest? By wisely choosing your keywords and highlighting your value as a candidate by using powerful words to describe your abilities. You may not have much working experience, or maybe have none, but you have skills and qualities that make you a good candidate.

Here is an example of how NOT to write a resume objective:

This resume objective mentions the candidate’s experience with helping customers, but it fails to quantify this experience or detail how they excelled in this role. 

Also, it doesn’t specify any unique qualities or competencies that would make them stand out in a pool of potential hires.

Now look at the right way to write a Sales Representative resume objective:

The candidate adeptly showcases their deep-seated passion for the gaming sector and relevant experience, aligning perfectly with the role they are aiming for at Game World.

By specifying the metric of “enhancing customer engagement by 20%,” it not only demonstrates a quantifiable achievement but also indicates a proactive approach to improving store performance. 

It paints a picture of a candidate who is not just experienced but also successful and result-driven, giving a sense of the value they could bring to the prospective role.

The sales industry is a rather competitive field where applicants must compete against many other candidates. Knowing how much information is enough is the key here – no recruiter will sit and read endless information that has nothing to do with what they are looking for. 

If you are at the early stage of your career, use this section to emphasize the transferable and relevant talents and skills you’ve gained during your studies, internships, volunteering, and sales-related roles. 

However, being a sales representative is not just about experience. The recruiters might go for you if they feel you have the qualities they are seeking – good communication skills are key, along with persuasive abilities, and networking, to name a few. 

How do you do this? Here are several tips to help navigate you through this section:

• Present your employment history in reverse chronological order, starting from the most recent.
• Include information from previous companies – the name and location of the company, position held, and contract duration.
• Describe your work achievements in no more than 4 or 5 bullet points starting with an action verb, if possible. Never use paragraphs and endless sentences to present your employment history!
• Include targeted past duties that relate to sales jobs. Always use meaningful content and never list irrelevant experiences to fill a blank page. 
• Quantify achievements to give recruiters an idea of how well you have performed.
• Match the keywords from the job description that will catch their attention.

Sales Representative Resume Examples: Experience

Recruiters will be looking for a sales representative who has excellent communication skills and someone who can sell. Use this section wisely to incorporate your promotions or career advancement into your resume.

A well-structured experience section entry within sales might look like this:

The section effectively highlights the candidate’s achievements with concrete, quantifiable metrics, showcasing a history of impressive sales and profit growth. 

It also demonstrates strategic thinking and a strong network in the industry, illustrating both the candidate’s skills in analysis and relationship management. It paints a clear picture of a results-driven individual with substantial, relevant experience.

The experience section of a Sales Rep resume should certainly NOT look like this:

The section lacks specific details and metrics that would underscore the candidate’s achievements and abilities. It does not provide a clear indication of the scale of sales targets met or how the candidate assessed clients’ needs, missing an opportunity to showcase skills in a meaningful way. 

Mentioning “worked with other Sales Representatives” doesn’t add value as it is expected in a sales role, without further context on the nature of collaboration or projects undertaken. 

It fails to convey the impact and scope of the candidate’s role, leaving a weak impression of their tenure at the position.

A Sales Representative’s educational requirements vary based on the complexity of the product they’re selling. Simpler products may only require a high school diploma, while technical or scientific products necessitate a Bachelor’s degree or relevant academic background.

Sales Representative Resume Education Section

Regardless of the academic level recruiters are seeking, you should list all education section entries in the following format:

Example

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Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Strategies in Sales Marketing

University of Michigan

2019

• GPA 3.8;

Those that finished college and have a higher degree should leave out the high school diploma as it is irrelevant in that case. However, if you didn’t go to college, don’t leave this section empty – add your most recent diploma, even if that is a high school diploma.

If you are still studying, be sure to mention that the studies are still ongoing. You can also add bullet points that detail your relevant coursework and projects.

Include your GPA if it is a strong score of 3.50 or over, but you can leave this out later when you have more work experience.

The Best Sales Representative Skills for a Resume

Showcasing your skills is the best way to show recruiters that you are the best applicant for the job. How do you go about doing that? Brainstorm all the hard and soft skills that you possess and create a list of the ones that relate to the job. Pick the most relevant talents you have and see which ones are requested in the job description. 

You should include both hard and soft skills, but be cautious. Use this section to show skills that you actually possess. Recruiters will eventually know if you are deceiving them, so do not be tempted to lie on your resume.

Highlight the skills you are proficient in, or that are relevant to what the company requires from a candidate, by moving them to the top.

When it comes down to selecting the right candidate, recruiters often turn to the other sections.

These sections show them how unique you are as a candidate. Academic and professional backgrounds matter plenty, but this is the section that shows them the person beyond.

However, make sure that you don’t include excessive information that is not needed. This will only lead to one thing – your resume ending in the trash.

Sales Representative Resume Sample Extra Sections

Use this section to put the spotlight on you as a person outside your academic and professional achievements. Show recruiters what your passions are and who you are as a person. 

Include certifications, awards, and licenses you possess that will help you stand out from the candidate crowd.

Be sure to include memberships and languages spoken.

Below is an example of what this section should include:

According to the Harvard Business Review, AI is going to become the inseparable digital assistant of Sales Representatives. Don’t forget to mention any courses or AI certifications on your resume.

Sales representatives are in high demand across all industries. A tailored resume will give you a fighting chance in the competitive market.

Having an impeccable educational and professional background is a big plus, but a well-structured resume will open the doors to landing a dream job. 

To sum it all up, here is a quick recap of the important items we discussed for when you update your resume for that dream job application.

• Pay attention to the form and structure by using a reversed-chronology resume format, professional font, and correct line spacing
• Use the resume objective or summary to spike the interest of the recruiters by highlighting your best qualities
• Make sure that you use bullet points whenever that’s possible, especially for your experience and skills. However, include only responsibilities that fit the requirements of the job description
• Try to include metrics that quantify your work achievements in the experience section
• Use catchy and strong keywords that Applicant Tracking Systems can catch
• The skills should be tailored to the requirements in the job description. Add only skills you really possess
• Use the Other section to show your interests outside your academic and professional life
• Don’t put unnecessary information. Tailor the information to fit the job description requirements

As a salesperson, you understand the meaning of a good presentation of a product. Use this knowledge and sell recruiters a product they will want to have on their team.

Don’t forget to check out our modern resume templates to help create that final, eye-catching document.

Good luck with your new sales ventures!