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Resume Preparation
Companies have brochures…You
have a resume. That is your marketing tool with which to get noticed
and considered. Much like a brochure is unlikely to get you a sale
all by itself, so too a resume is unlikely to get you a job all by
itself; but a good one should get you an interview in a properly
targeted job search campaign - the rest is up to you in person. By
the way, Webster’s College Dictionary defines the word campaign as:
“a systematic course of aggressive activities for some specific
purpose”. If you want the right position at the right time without
the need of a miracle, you will need to make a campaign out of your
“job search”. And, we would strongly suggest that good
organizational skills will also pay off. Keep track of (1) name of
companies to which you sent your resume (2) position title (3) when you should
follow up and how? YES, Follow up! If you are in sales or marketing
you already know the importance of that task. You are bringing to
market a million-dollar product - YOU!
What should I
include in my resume?
Contact
Information
Place it at the top: Name, address, phone number, and email address
Centered is the preferred format but left justified is also
acceptable.
Objective
Write an objective using general terms if you plan to post your
resume for keyword search so that you do not limit your
possibilities. However, if you are submitting the resume for a
specific position, then do customize it to speak to the job to which
you are applying.
Competencies
or Professional Highlights
A brief bulleted section highlighting your strongest
skills,
attributes, and accomplishments for the
particular position for which you are applying. YES, you should
slightly customize your resume to highlight the skills you already
have that are a match to the position in which you are interested.
And do give a brief description of the products and/or services you
currently sell or have sold; so many resumes lack that information.
Hiring Managers and Recruiters could easily pass them up not having
the time to try and figure out if you have experience selling
identical or at least related products and/or services to fit their
needs.
Professional
Experience
In a chronological sequence with your most current employer first.
List, in bold, Company Name, City and State, then on the far right
list your start and end dates. You should include a brief statement
about what the company did or does. Be sure to give a condensed
description of your accomplishments, especially if you received
awards. Quantitative and Qualitative information is also very
helpful in distinguishing yourself from others - your competition;
for example: "exceeded annual quota by more than 20% for 3
consecutive years". Don’t hesitate to mention large accounts
(Fortune 500) you may have worked with in the past. Remember that in
today’s world of search engines and keyword searches you have to
think differently to be noticed more.
Education
Include type of degree(s) earned and the name of the institution
(include city and state if you prefer). Don’t forget that any
special training you may have received should be listed here as well
(Dale Carnegie, Tom Hopkins, Toastmasters, etc…)
Foreign
languages
Always include your proficiency in reading, writing
and speaking languages.
References
While you should not list them on your resume, go ahead and state
that they are available upon request and include what kind of
reference you will provide: previous employer or manager, contact
from a Fortune 500 client, etc…
What should I NOT include in my resume?
Personal
Information
Federal law prohibits employers from asking about age, race,
religion, gender, marital status, and political persuasion. An
employer may be reluctant to interview a candidate who has included
such information on his or her resume. Also, be careful giving other
personal information such as hobbies and activities, you never know
other people’s views on them.
Additional Tips:
• With today’s technology, there is no excuse for spelling and
grammatical errors. In addition to relying on your computer, however,
ask someone to proofread for errors. Computers are not yet capable
of catching all errors.
• A two page resume is perfectly fine for a Management
or Executive
position, otherwise, keep it to one page if at all possible, but not
at the cost of pertinent information. Be concise in your statements
and save “the story” for the interview.
• Use action verbs and industry-specific words to convey your
skills and value that you bring; for example: "Made #1 Sales Rep of
the year” is best worded as “Achieved or Earned #1 Sales Rep of the year award
for 2004".
• Be honest and realistic in preparing your resume; a good
interviewer (and a good recruiter) will catch inconsistencies, etc.
PROFESSIONAL RESUME SAMPLE WITH PROPER
FORMATTING
Name
Address,
City,
State,
Home Phone:
Mobile Phone:
Email
Address:
HIGH
ENERGY SALES EXECUTIVE
with proven experience in building strong client
relationships and managing high performance sales force
across North America. Expertise in identifying, prospecting,
and qualifying leads to develop new accounts and close new
business, experience building relationships and negotiating
business with top executives from such multinational
corporations as __________ and __________. Exceptional
leadership and training skills; capable of hiring,
mentoring, coaching, and motivating performance driven sales
teams to consistently meet and exceed quotas.
CORE Competencies
Outsourcing
Services
Consulting Services Business
Development
Marketing
Development
Channel Development
Relationship Management
Capital
Equipment Leasing Negotiating and
Closing Leadership & Coaching
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
ABC Inc,
Mountain View, CA
2003 - Present
VICE
PRESIDENT OF SALES
Lead
business development and sales for this company, hired and
trained a new sales force. Introduced new products and
services to the company, achieved rapid growth within the
first three years.
Plan, lead,
and direct entire sales cycle; identify and qualify
prospects, develop new accounts, negotiate and close new
business.
Work
directly with sales team and clients at all levels
providing technology sales presentations and in-depth
product demonstrations.
Build and
manage relationships with VARs and channel partners.
Design and
lead execution of strategic sales, marketing, and
promotional plans to drive sales. Hire, coach, and motivate
high-performance, six-member sales force to increase sales
and exposure for the company.
Key
Achievements:
·
Designed strategies for driving sales of new
products, which resulted in new revenue.
·
Built relationships with top executives at
the following prominent organizations:
__________, __________
·
Developed new client base to expand
internationally and increase sales by 32%.
·
Won 3 incentive bonuses for creativity and
consistently over quota performance.
·
Designed and implemented territory plans and
sales goals to stimulate sales
·
Increased Sales by over 85% as a
result of my implementations.
XYZ Corp,
Sunnyvale, CA
1995 - 2003
SALES
MANAGER
Responsible
for establishing a new division to provide Consulting
Services and Strategic Alliances.
Identified
and established alliances with leading manufacturers of
electronic equipment, disc drives, printers, storage
equipment to provide on site warranty service to their end
users. Successfully signed many manufacturers nationwide
such as Nikon, CDC.
Promoted to
Director for the division to be responsible for the growth
and expansion of the division, hired and trained a new
sales, support and operations group to ensure high sales and
quality service delivery
Key
Achievements
·
Pursued and won contracts with the Federal
Government
·
Won Corporate Award for major
contribution and quality of fulfillment.
·
Won incentive bonus for creativity and
consistently over quota performance.
·
Successfully developed and trained a direct
sales force of 38 Field Reps
ACME
Enterprises, San Jose, CA
1991 – 1995
SALES
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Responsible
for sales to Major Accounts
Promoted
to Director of OEM Sales responsible for major OEM’s such as
__________ and __________.
Key
Achievements
·
Made quota in the first
year in a time of economic recession
·
Made President’s Club The second year
·
Increased Sales
by implementing new consistent plan for OEMs
·
Recognized as a #1 contender in the
Office Automation Industry.
·
Made President’s Club three
consecutive years (must reach 150% of quota to qualify)
·
Successfully developed trained motivate a VAR
Sales force of over 200
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL TRAINING.
MBA
PROGRAM AT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
1990
Graduate in the top 3% of the class
BA
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, SJSU
1987
Maintained a 3.4 GPA
SUCCESSFULLY
completed several Sales, Marketing, Corporate Management
Strategies, Leadership Seminars, (Tom Hopkins, Dale
Carnegie, …)
Professional
References available upon request.
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