What makes a good Sales CV?
Before you can start your career you first need to convince a potential employer that you are worth talking to. And that’s where your CV comes in. Your CV is designed to open the door to a job interview so you need to ensure that it is relevant to the job you are applying for.
Selling and being successful at sales is all about how well you can match the features and benefits of a product or service to fulfil the needs of your client. The same is true when preparing your CV. You need to be mindful as to what the job requires and tailor your CV so that your skills and abilities match what the employer is looking for in a candidate.
Although the job advert will give you some indication of this, it is worth asking the HR department or recruitment consultant for a copy of the full job description. However, avoid simply making a list of all your skills and abilities will leave recruiters thinking So what?
Employers spend as little as 30 seconds on average considering your CV so they don’t have the time nor inclination to read a list of key words that appear on every single CV they see.
So you need to focus on adding ‘achievement statements’ that show employers you can do what you claim you can do - regardless of whether you have worked in sales or not. Here are a few examples of achievement statements that can be used in a Sales CV:
- Ability to hit targets: Worked with a team of sales assistants to promote the store’s customer loyalty card during a dedicated period of sales. This resulted in an uptake of 150 additional applications – 30% above target
- Presentation skills: Whilst at university I regularly presented the findings of my research to group of fellow students and college lecturers ranging from 6 to 30 people
- Negotiation skills: In my last role I negotiated a series of short term contracts with a number of new clients who renewed their orders and have developed into key accounts worth in excess of £150,000 for the organisation
- Strong communication skills: As secretary for my university student union I ensured a clear channel of communication and effective working relationship between all parties, including students and the university management team
Achievement statements need to provide an action verb (e.g. increased, launched, developed) that describes your responsibilities, and they need to be measurable in terms of money or percentages or value-added to dispel the “So what?” attitude on the part of the recruiter.
Wondering what to do now? Check out our expert career advice, find out more about the Sales industry or search for the latest Sales jobs.
Source: www.monster.co.uk
