Welcome to my 4-part “Pimp Your Career” series. 

The previous post showed you how to pimp your personal brand.  This post is focused on giving your resume the look that will get you the opportunities you deserve!

Many, many people do not know how to write a resume.  It’s not just a list of jobs you’ve had, or skills you have.  It’s a marketing document.  You are marketing yourself.  There’s a lot of competition in sales, and your resume is the first place you can distinguish yourself from other candidates.  (Too bad you can’t attach your winning personality to it.)  So, you need to think about what kinds of ways you can jazz it up so that you appear professional, polished, and on top of your game.

Phil Rosenberg has a fantastic article showing you how to keep your resume out of Resume Hell, where “poor, sad resumes go that never see the light of day.”  Some of his advice:

  • Be a subject matter expert, in whatever your field is.
  • Be awsome:  show what you’ve accomplished, not what you were “responsible for.”
  • Be customized.  Heavily customize your resume for each job.

Phil offers some great advice to keep your resume from being ordinary.  It’s very worth the read.

Penelope Trunk adds to that by showing you how to edit your resume like a professional resume writer.  She says don’t focus on your responsibilities, focus on what you’ve achieved.  Remember that it’s a marketing document, and don’t give everything away….give them a reason to call and find out more. 

Don’t forget to take advantage of keyword optimization in your resume.  Know the buzzwords and what’s going on in whatever your specialty is, and take a hint from the job description.  Include those words and phrases in prominent places on your resume.  Job descriptions tell you what they’re looking for…it’s your job to let them know you have it.

Key Pointers (briefly):

1. Shorter is better (1 page if you have less experience, 2 pages at the most)

2. Be sure to tell what the product of your employers is/was. You may be very aware of these companies and what they do, but recruiters and other hiring managers may not.

3. If you are in sales or sales management – you need numbers (revenue, growth, expenses, knockout accounts, etc.) I have had a couple of candidates who used a colored graph that worked well.

4. Objectives are important. I bet candidates would be astounded if they knew how unclear it is to a recruiter what position they are after. And you can’t put it in the cover letter (we don’t read them).

5. Leave out the “references upon request” line….we know.


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Written by Sales Recruiter - Get Interview Questions Tips & Sales Career Advice

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