Sales Representative Resume Example & Writing Guide

The sky’s the limit when it comes to the potential for a great salesperson. You have a whole world of products and services you can choose from and although you may have a specialty, if you have sales skills, you can sell almost anything. 

Of course, a sales representative's job – first and foremost – is to sell, sell, sell. But that’s not all you have to do. Sales reps also must:

• Generate and follow-up on leads
• Track your customer contacts and their results
• Service existing accounts
• Understand your products and/or services inside and out!

Luckily, you can choose to sell in an industry that interests you and in which you believe. That certainly makes selling easier.

You’re comfortable talking to new people and you know how to generate interest. Those attributes will make it easier for you than for some others to do well in an interview. Add to that your confidence as a salesperson, you probably feel you can sell yourself to a hiring manager and easily get the job of your dreams. But there’s still a problem: You know you can sell yourself if you can get the interview, but how do you get the interview?   

You start out with a well-written, professional resume.

Using Resume.io’s layout templates, resume builder tool and this guide, you will learn:

• What a sales representative does
• How to write a sales representative resume (tips and tricks)
• The best format for a sales representative resume
• Advice on each section of your resume (summary, work history, education, skills)
• Professional resume layout and design hints.

Before we get into the breakdown of a great resume, let’s take a look at the market for salespeople and where you can find the best-paying jobs.

What does a sales representative do?

As a sales representative, you are responsible for working to attract clients and sell company products outside of company headquarters. You will be charged with developing sales strategies and striving to expand client volume. Sales representatives work to identify customer needs and desires, and provide feedback to company management. You will be asked to attend sales events, network, and aim to represent the company in the best light possible. You must have excellent sales skills, in addition to having superior interpersonal skills so that you can tailor your approach to each customer. 

Read on to discover how to sell yourself in a great sales representative resume and keep your career moving.

Sales representative job market and outlook

You can pick your spot based on your goals. As a great salesperson, switching verticals may be a bit easier for you.

Your fortunes may rise and fall with the industry you sell in, but the longer your tenure in one industry, the more you may need to take a course or prove your knowledge if you want to try your sales skills in another field.

When deciding on a sales career, think about your expertise. If you are tech-savvy, you may want to consider selling technology services or products such as software. You may work for either a consulting company that sells services or packages hardware and software bundles or for an individual software, hardware, or web-based application creator. The job prospects for sales engineers is much better than for salespeople in general. In fact, this sector is expected to grow by 6 percent through 2031, with a median salary of $103,710.

Enterprise software salespeople earned a median of $99,661 in 2023, according to Salary.com.

In contrast, retail sales positions are not expected to grow at all and pay much less: $29,180 a year. These positions may be a good way to get some sales experience under your belt, especially if you don’t have technology expertise or are just entering the job market.

Another consideration is your education level. Technology sales jobs typically require a bachelor’s degree in a computer- or business-related area. Retail or B2B entry-level jobs do not usually require a degree. If you are considering real estate sales, you will have to take real estate exams to earn a license. 

The healthcare industry is another high-paying alternative. The average base salary for a pharmaceutical representative was $109,250 and the average commission was $41,967 (see our guide to writing a pharmaceutical rep resume here), according to the 2020 Pharmaceutical Sales Salary Report. Medical device sales was another lucrative avenue. In this related field, sales representatives earned an average of $97,383 with average commission of $97,303.

No matter what industry you work in, you will need a stellar resume to get that interview and show off your sales skills.

How to write a sales representative resume

The first step in compiling your sales representative resume is understanding what sections to include. Your CV should contain the following elements:

• The resume header
• The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

Choosing the best resume format for a sales representative

Overall, the best format for a sales rep resume is one that makes the life of the sales recruiters easier: That’s reverse chronological order. This style mostly affects your employment history section, where you will start with your most recent sales gig and work backwards.

Reasons to choose an alternate format include a career change, a gap in your work history, or a long and varied career.

Resume summary example for a sales rep: use your powers of persuasion 

This is your opportunity, so seize it. The professional summary, or profile, of your sales representative resume is the one place to get a little creative and use the charm you turn on when you are trying to close a big deal. 

Be cautious, however, because not everything comes across on paper the way you intend it to.

The goal of this section is to highlight your best sales accomplishments and to allow your personality to shine through. Choose one or two professional achievements that will make recruiters think, “Wow, we can’t let this high flier go!” You should have plenty of dollar amounts to add so the hiring manager can see the size of the deals you have closed. Another great number to put in is by how much you beat your sales quota (if you did) and how much you increased sales overall.

Your profile section is about four lines long – not a lot of space, but you should be well-versed in getting your point across quickly. A good salesperson gets to the point before their customer gets bored.

Also make sure you use strong verbs to describe all that you do. You didn’t just sell, you closed a big deal. You didn’t make a cold call, you generated leads. You didn’t just talk to customers, you served customer needs and ensured their satisfaction.

Consider asking trusted customers, colleagues, or friends what words they would use to describe your sales style and add them to your profile. Are you dynamic? Persuasive? Sympathetic? A problem-solver? Remember that recruiters are looking for a good fit for the team as well as someone who can sell. Add a sentence about your sales philosophy or methods. If you will be working closely with a team in your desired position, also include information about how you function in a team.

Beat the ATS

Applicant Tracking Systems are designed to scan and input relevant information into a human resource department’s database. They also use algorithms to rank your resume compared to all the other resumes for the same position. Among other information, the ATS is scanning for keywords and phrases pegged to the job, so you need to customize your resume to reflect each job listing.

How do you do that?

1. Analyze the job listing for the skills and attributes required and desired
2. Do an honest assessment of yourself
3. Check all the skills and attributes you have. (If you don’t have many that are listed, perhaps this is not the job for you.)
4. Organically integrate any keywords or phrases in the listing that don’t yet appear in your resume.

There is no magic bullet for beating the ATS, but a little investigation may give you an edge here. Many companies list the ATS they use right on their website. Since each one is a little different, knowing the exact software your desired company uses may help you understand exactly how to rank higher within the ATS. 

Read the example sales representative resume content below for ideas.

Employment history sample: detail your success

Your profile hits the highlights of your career and adds a zing of personality and the employment history section of your sales rep resume fills in the details. Avoid a dry recounting of every sale and every responsibility you have ever had. 

Instead, craft a story of your increasing sales abilities and show that you are already exercising the skills necessary to take your next career step.

Unless you are entering the job market for the first time, you have learned and grown in your various positions. Thinking in reverse chronological order (the same order in which you will organize this section), make a list of your biggest accomplishments at each job. In your first job, you did the basics, but now you have some serious sales chops. Use each bullet point to detail one great achievement and show off a skill.

Don’t rely only on pure sales. Your job encompasses more than that, so make sure you show in your work experience section that you have those other skills. For instance, as a sales representative, you should be adept at researching market trends and creating sales strategies that coincide with those trends. You must also develop and foster strategic relationships with clients and industry members. Sales reps should be adept at effectively carrying out marketing strategies, and working to achieve optimal client satisfaction. 

CV skills example: your attributes make a difference

A successful sales representative resume exhibits the host of skills used not just to make an initial sale, but to keep customers happy and coming back again. In your skills section, you will be creating a bulleted list of your top 5-10 attributes. 

This section gives hiring managers a quick way to discern whether you have the qualities they are looking for, but also the qualities that you believe are the most important to accomplish your job.

These are just a few of the attributes you need. Salespeople need great interpersonal and organizational skills, also known as soft skills. You will also need experience in sales applications such as Salesforce, knowledge of marketing techniques, and of course, excellent customer service skills. 

See more key skills and formatting for your resume below.

Resume education section: display your schooling

The education section of your sales representative resume is a straightforward listing of your academic degrees and business certifications. You may also choose to list awards and accolades here, or create another section if you have more than one or two and have the space. 

As we said earlier, not all sales representative jobs require a college degree, but it can be very helpful depending on the industry vertical. Some industries or companies will require at least a bachelor’s degree. Others, such as real estate, will also require licensing.

If you hold a degree higher than a bachelor’s degree, you may leave out your high school. 

Below is an example of how to format your education information on your sales representative resume.

Resume layout and design

You know that looks count when you’re trying to sell. For your job search, your sales representative resume is your most important sales tool. You want to project the same image in your resume formatting you do when you meet with a customer: organized, neat, and professional.

Here are some rules of thumb to guide you in formatting and layout:

• Stick with a legible font and leave your margins at one inch
• If you choose to use color, keep it subtle
• Make sure your contact information stands out in your resume layout
• Don’t get cute with your section headings
• Avoid large blocks of type in your formatting by varying your line lengths.

One final word of advice: Proofread! Then have a friend or trusted colleague do the same. A formatting error or typo could cost you your dream job. To help avoid awkward errors or design, try one of Resume.io’s expertly-designed resume templates.

Key takeaways

• Use your sales skills to pump up your resume
• Exhibit your professional style in your profile
• Give yourself an edge against the ATS by using targeted keywords and phrases
• Keep your design clean and professional