How to write a resume for sales jobs

Context makes those numbers meaningful: what you sold, to whom, the sales cycle, the territory and the tools you used. A reader can't judge a figure without knowing whether you sold a small item to consumers or a long-cycle service to businesses.

What people hiring in sales usually look for

In general terms. Every employer is different, so read each posting closely.

• What you sold, to whom (consumers, small businesses, enterprise accounts) and the typical deal size or cycle, described in words if you don't have exact figures.
• The measures you were held to, such as quota, revenue or activity targets, and your documented results against them.
• How you built pipeline: prospecting, referrals, inbound leads, events or account growth.
• Customer relationships: accounts managed, renewals and how you handled them.
• Sales tools and methods, named as [CRM] or [method] until you fill in the real names.
• Recognition or rankings you actually received, with the year.

How to structure a sales resume

• Context line under each job. One line on what you sold, to whom and in what territory, before the bullets.
• Results you can document. Put your documented results first in each job. Keep any statement you can't support off the page.
• Selected achievements (optional). Three bullets at the top for your strongest documented results, if you have them.
• Tools. CRM, prospecting and presentation tools, by name.

Three layouts cover most situations, each in one column with standard headings:

• Results First: Reps and account executives with documented results to lead with. Order: Summary, Selected Achievements, Sales Experience, Skills and Tools, Education.
• Account Management: Account managers whose relationships, renewals and growth tell the story. Order: Summary, Sales Experience, Skills and Tools, Selected Achievements, Education.
• Moving Into Sales: Career changers from customer service, retail or other customer-facing work. Order: Summary, Skills and Tools, Sales Experience, Education.

Example bullet structures

These are structures, not real results. Replace every [placeholder] with your own facts, and leave out any number you can't back up.

• Sold [product or service] to [customer type] in [territory], with a typical sales cycle of [length].
• Reached [percent] of [annual or quarterly] quota in [year] (documented in [CRM or company reports]).
• Built a pipeline of [number] qualified opportunities per [quarter] through [prospecting method].
• Managed [number] accounts worth [amount, if known] and renewed [number or percent] in [year].
• Negotiated [contract type] with [buyer type], working with [legal, finance or product] to close.

Action verbs for this field

Summary structures

• [Role] with [number] years selling [product or service] to [customer type]. Consistent [quota or target] results, documented in [year range]; skilled in [method] and [CRM].
• Account manager with [number] years growing and renewing [number] accounts in [industry]. Known for [strength] and long-term customer relationships.

More structures by situation (career change, returning after a layoff, new graduate) are on our resume summary examples page.

Common mistakes

• Listing duties ("responsible for sales") without any measure or result.
• Putting a percentage or ranking on the page that you can't back up with a document. Interviewers do ask.
• Giving numbers without context: what you sold, to whom and over what period.
• Sharing confidential customer names or pricing from a past employer.
• Leaving out the tools and methods the posting names.

Do it yourself, or have it done

Questions

Other resume guides: it and tech support, accounting and bookkeeping, warehouse and logistics, and the career services page. Got laid off? See what to do after being laid off.

General information, not career, legal or employment advice. We are not career counselors, and nothing here promises interviews, offers or a particular result.