IT sales is a highly competitive job market. To land that coveted job at the top technology companies, you need a strong resume that stands out. How can you differentiate your resume from others?
In this article, Ariel Cabada, consultant in the technology division at Robert Walters Philippines, shares three ways that will transform your resume into a sure-fire contender:
1. Highlight your product and solution experience
Most resumes follow the reverse chronological format where highlighting work experience is the main priority. On the other hand, a functional resume, laid out based on skill sets, is far less commonly used. With the growing demand for tech sale professionals who can sell innovatively, you will want to place equal emphasis on both.
Employers will need to understand what you’ve done and accomplished – quickly. Hiring managers go through multiple CVs a day and they may not pay attention to the details of your accomplishments, particularly if they’re not immediately obvious.
One way to easily feature the top products and services that you’ve previously sold is to include a section near the top of your CV, under a strong personal statement. Tailor this to the company you are applying for. For example, if you’re applying for Amazon Web Services, you may want to list down products or solutions such Microsoft Azure, NetSuite or Oracle.
2. Show that you know your target market
A successful tech sales professional has a clearly defined target market and that is what hiring managers are looking for in a candidate. Take the time to read through your job description and understand the target market you are selling to in the role you are applying for. Identify its characteristics and see how your past experiences will allow you to achieve high sales in this market.
Right under the section on the products and services you have sold, feature the industries you are familiar selling to. These industries could include: manufacturing, telecommunications, utilities, financial services, insurance, business process outsourcing, professional services, hospitality, public sector, education, healthcare and others.
The list can be long, so make sure you choose those highly relevant to what is required for the role you’re applying for so as to immediately catch the attention of the hiring manager.
3. Quantify your best results
While your CV may look interesting at first sight based on the summary of products or services you’ve sold, and markets you have sold to, hiring managers will quickly lose interest if the CV is not well-substantiated. You need to support your experience with strong facts and figures.
This information can be included under each role, as part of the reverse chronological section that will come after your highlights. Include quantifiable achievements that reflect how well you can perform the job and how you’ve been an asset to organisations you’ve been a part of.
Focus on your key accomplishments and use action verbs to describe them, such as how you increased a sale, or how you solved a problem and executed a solution that produced great results. For example, “responsible for growing the footprint of Dell services in the manufacturing, retail and transport sector; generated at least $30M worth business annually,” or “achieved 68% (2016 vs 2017) and 78% (2017 vs 2018) sales growth by developing existing clients, tapping new segments and partnering with enterprise companies.”
By making these small tweaks, you will not only catch the attention of the hiring manager, but sustain it long enough to ensure that you make it through to the first round of interviews.
Discover more in-depth career advice or get in touch for a confidential discussion here.
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