Do you like selling and want to improve your skills? It takes time to develop into a seasoned, experienced, and educated sales expert. However, whether you have zero or ten years of sales experience, there are several techniques to improve your sales talents. Hence, if you’re planning to have a job-winning sales associate resume to jumpstart your career, there’s no better time to do it than now.
Having the necessary features to effectively sell your product is important. This might involve selling a top-of-the-line product during a difficult conference, an everyday service over the phone, or a handmade product at a local farmer’s market. Hence, sales staff—no matter how small or large a retail operation is—are the face of the company and should be helpful, kind, and professional.
This is in line with the current job outlook for sales positions. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, sales and associated occupations are expected to have little or no change between 2020 and 2030, with a loss of roughly 202,900 jobs. In May 2020, the median annual salary for sales and associated jobs was $31,500, which was lower than the $41,950 median wage for all occupations.
What is a Sales Associate?
A sales professional refers to someone who offers items or services to potential clients. Great sales associates will be able to sell and communicate effectively. The sales associate function differs from other sales positions. The position’s emphasis is on counseling and the shopping experience rather than prospecting and pipeline management. As a sales representative, they are frequently the initial point of contact for potential clients with your organization.
What are the Duties of a Sales Associate?
The daily activities of a sales associate vary depending on the role, but they always revolve around delivering exceptional customer service and meeting established sales targets. Some common responsibilities of a sales associate include the following:
- Provide customer support and assist with product selections
- Keep customers engaged, apply suggestive selling, and share product information which leads to increase in sales
- Ensure the customer’s optimum buyer experience and client service
- Create or update customer profile records to track sales and financial transactions
- Process totals purchases, processes checks, cash, and store or other credit and debit cards
- Accept and process orders, operate the POS register, and resolve returns difficulties
- Promote special specials, incentives, and shop loyalty program awareness
How Do You Become a Sales Associate?
Sales associates work in a variety of retail settings, which include clothes and accessories, technology, cosmetics, and home decor. They collaborate with other sales associates to ensure that clients have a good experience with their company.
A successful sales associate applicant should possess a variety of skills and credentials that are required for their job requirements in the shop. They must be knowledgeable about the store’s products and services. Also, they must be equipped with strong customer service and sales skills. The ideal candidate may require a college diploma depending on the industry, however most sales associates simply require a high school level.
What to Include on Your Sales Associate Resume
You can persuade any consumer to purchase a product you are promoting with an optimistic attitude and great communication skills. While it’s one thing to persuade people to buy your product and increase sales, it’s another to persuade a recruiter to hire you as a sales associate. Hence, you will need a compelling sales associate resume.
On your sales associate resume, it is best to have your sales abilities demonstrated on paper. Don’t be concerned if you have no idea what to include. This article will help you with everything you need to know about preparing a resume for a sales associate position.
Updated Contact Information
Write your complete name, complete postal address with ZIP code, phone number, and email address at the top of your resume. You may also add your LinkedIn profile URL, if you have one.
Specific Target Job
It’s also known as a “career tag” since it informs hiring managers and recruiters about the sort of work you are applying for.
Qualifications Profile / Summary of Qualifications
When you write a resume summary, you increase your chances of getting an interview. In this part, you should describe your relevant experience, competencies, and career highlights. Moreover, you must be able to explain your qualifications for the job and persuade the hiring manager that you are the best candidate for the job.
Expert Tip:
When writing your summary, steer away from the resume objective-type statement. Instead, use compelling titles and headlines to catch the hiring manager’s attention.
Areas of Expertise or the Skills Section
This section gives you the opportunity to emphasize your qualifications, knowledge, and experience. You may show hiring managers what you can contribute to their company and if you have the relevant skills.
Professional Experience
This is one of the sections most evaluated by recruiting managers. Thus, you must strategically leverage this to your advantage. Begin with your most recent job and work your way down to your first. Include the names of the companies and their locations, as well as your work titles and dates of employment.
What If There’s No Relevant Experience?
Don’t worry if you don’t have any work experience; many individuals find their first job in sales. You may compensate for your lack of professional experience by focusing on other forms of sales experience you may have.
There are several alternatives available. Volunteering, internships, academic projects, and extracurricular activities are examples of relevant experience. After all, being a sales associate is all about assisting clients, speaking effectively, and closing transactions, so if you have any relevant experience, highlight it in a different resume format.
Education
When making decisions, recruiters also evaluate job seekers’ academic background in addition to the professional experience written on their sales associate resume. Having said that, provide your full degree and course title, along with the name of your institution and its location. Also, include the dates of your graduation. If your GPA is 3.5 or more, you should mention it. These may pique the curiosity of recruiting supervisors.
Licenses, Certifications, and Training
On your sales associate resume, one way to impress hiring managers is to highlight your training experience, certifications, and licenses. It shows that you are a worthwhile and relevant hire. As you did in the education section, list your qualifications and licenses in reverse chronological order. You can skip the training experience and go straight to the finish.
Expert Tip:
Look for resume tips in the job ad. Those keywords might help you figure out what abilities are most valuable to hiring managers. Use the same language in your sales associate resume.
How to Write Your Sales Associate Resume
Sales associates work in retail establishments, greeting clients and assisting them in making purchases. The sales associate resume stresses the execution of the day-to-day duties in order to perform this function. So, we’ll share with you some effective tips on how to write a job-winning application tool.
1. Use a simple yet attractive design and layout.
Keep in mind that the style and layout of your resume are equally important aspects of your job application document. As a result, make sure your resume is free of ornamental patterns, excessive borders, and fancy font choices. Create a concise, appealing, and easy-to-read tool that showcases your finest accomplishments to increase your chances of catching the attention of hiring managers.
2. Select the best resume format.
The sections of your resume will be by your experience, credentials, and skills. The chronological style is the best choice if you already have years of experience. The functional format, on the other hand, is your best choice if you have transferable skills, certifications, training, and education to offer.
3. Emphasize your sales associate skills.
An entry-level sales associate with experience has a lot to offer in terms of skills and talents. Because you’re looking for this employment, emphasize the abilities that are relevant to the role.
4. Include resume keywords.
Keywords in your resume are essential for getting your resume seen by companies. You may improve your chances of getting a job interview by using keywords in your resume and cover letter. Keywords are words or brief phrases that are associated with certain job needs for applicant tracking system. A hiring manager looks for talents, abilities, qualifications, and attributes in an applicant. The closer you are to a match, the more likely you are to be screened for an interview.
5. Use concrete data and examples.
Instead of listing plain information, quantify your accomplishments and previous responsibilities. These details will help you stand out among other qualified candidates.
6. Proofread and edit your sales associate resume.
Before submitting your sales associate resume, read it over and over again. This helps you check, spot, and correct errors. Remember, your summary section is the perfect spot to show off a little bit of your personality and professional approach, which is especially important for salespeople. It’s important to remember that formatting is an important aspect of generating a good first impression.
Expert Tip:
After proofreading your document, you can use a free online resume review to check if your resume has what it takes to impress hiring managers.
Sales Associate Resume Example
Let’s get right to the point: here’s a sales associate resume example to help you get started. See how our skilled resume writers define career highlights and build a successful resume by looking at one of our resume samples.
Let the Experts Write Your Sales Associate Resume to Ace Your Job Search
You understand all of the aspects that go into making a sale, but are you convinced that your sales associate resume will help you earn job offers? Allow the resume writers at Resume Professional Writers to write a customized and ATS-friendly sales associate resume for you that showcases your qualifications and includes the essential keywords that hiring managers look for in today’s sales associates.
