CV question

Hi guys, I know your collective knowledge is much more reliable than anyone else I know so…

I am preparing my CV for a job in sales. I have previous experience in sales and I am trying to relfect this in my previous job profile. My question is…Which is more professional:

…Generating sales of our products through approaching and presenting to prospective clients.

or

…Generating sales of the company’s products through approaching and presenting to prospective clients.

or something completely different.

thanks in advance.

I’d say “the company’s” products shows some detachment from your current employer.
also, from a consistency perspective, if you were to talk about previous, non current, employers then you wouldn’t say “our” you would say “the company’s”

e.g. the following seems wrong:

Jobbie Engineering Ltd 2007-2008
I sold the company’s products…
Bob’s Manufacturing plc 2009-current
I sold our products…

What brakes said. Or you could just have

Generating sales of our products through approaching and presenting to prospective clients

Hi mate, thanks for that, I think I should mention that I am currently unemployed so I don’t have a current employer so is it not good to show detachment from them?

Hi Squid, you’re probably right, I could do away with that part of the sentence but I suppose I am asking the question in a more general sense.

I think I should mention that I am currently unemployed

I think I may have just answered my own question here…?

As per squidlord, perfectly possible to express your performance without the need to include what is effectively the obvious 🙂

As per squidlord, perfectly possible to express your performance without the need to include what is effectively the obvious

thanks, I realise now that I have wasted a thread!

Something completely different maybe? As neither approach says what you achieved in terms of results that impacted the bottom line. This seems key for a Sales job.

What was your contribution? Your impact on revenue, yield, new customers, growth, beating your targets, customer satisfaction, deal closure rates etc etc.

just a thought as I am never quite sure how to get the balance right between stating what you were responsible and accountable for versus your achievements

you could also mention that you are available “immediately”, some employers seem to like that

As neither approach says what you achieved in terms of results that impacted the bottom line.

all that information is going in the ‘skills’ section.

Neither. Avoid woolly statements like that. You worked in sales, so obviously you were responsible for generating sales with the company’s customers. Stick to things you can quantify. E.g. During my time I increased the customer base by 18% and increased total sales by 26%.

I read so many CV’s that are as near as dammit identical – full of clichés and general statements. Make it specific, make it quantifiable, spell and grammar check it to death and whatever you do, write a specific cover letter for each job saying what it is about that company which makes you want to work for them.

Avoid woolly statements like that.
… Stick to things you can quantify. E.g. During my time I increased the customer base by 18% and increased total sales by 26%.

I read so many CV’s … full of clichés and general statements. Make it specific, make it quantifiable…

Thanks for that, but my understanding was that my ‘Employment History’ should contain a basic job description and I can mention what I brought to the company, in the ‘Skills and achievements’ section?

There’s no real rule on that, just make it simple and easy to read. I personally don’t bother with a skills and achievements section unless it’s non work related stuff such as “Magistrate” or “Samaritan volunteer”. Some recruiters will want this though, and you have no way of knowing!

When ploughing through over 100 cv’s and I get to the personal profile and read “A highly motivated team player” I just switch off, be a bit different and you will catch the recruiters eye. A personal interest section is only good if you have something useful to say like “Cycle Coach” or “Scout Leader”. If all you have to say is “I enjoy cycling and socialising with friends and family” then it’s probably best not to bother!

If you want to send me your cv, I’m happy to give it the once over if you like?

Boris

thanks Boris, i might take you up on that offer as I don’t like giving it to someone I know as they are more likely to sugar coat things.

Boris

Any chance I can send you mine over as well please for your expert eye to look over?

is it necessary to include exact sales performance figures as I am uncertain of revenue generated through my acquisions due to the way the business was ran.