Everyone looking for a job is wondering who exactly their competition is. In many cases, the statistics might be startling. According to BeHiring, on average, each job posting receives about 250 resumes. A recent study by TheLadders also found that recruiters spend a mere six seconds looking through each resume — most are scanning very quickly and, quite frequently, rejecting for obvious mistakes.
If you’re aiming for a career in sales, you obviously want to avoid making easy mistakes and handing the position over to your competition. In many cases, great candidates end up looked over because of small but noticeable mistakes that make sales recruitment specialists question their hire ability. Are you looking for advice on landing sales jobs? Here are three mistakes you might not even realize you’re making.
1. Following an Outdated Resume Formula
Although there’s no one “right” way to craft a resume, there are several tactics that experts generally agree are outdated. Are you still writing up an objective at the top of your page? In most cases, the objective is obvious through your applying to the job — and already stated in your cover letter. Focus instead on your previous job experience and accomplishments. Other common resume mistakes — beyond typos — include listing university classes one took, using vague “skills summary” boxes that don’t connect the skills to the job they were learned during, and resumes that go beyond two pages.
2. You Don’t Do a Follow Up
No matter what the position — fry cook or sales manager — you should be following up an interview in a professional way. This means that, unless you have no other option, it shouldn’t be an email or text. Preferably, put a letter in the mail as soon as you’re home from the interview. State that you appreciate the opportunity, look forward to hearing from them, and something relating to the interview itself. Alternatively, give your interviewer a call if you know their number and they haven’t stated an issue with receiving phone calls.
3. You Pitch the Job as an Opportunity, Rather Than Yourself as a Solution
Although an interview is about you, in many ways, it’s not about you at all. Consider this: the interviewer doesn’t care about what the position means to you. They want to know why you’ll be a good fit for the company. If you forget to keep this in mind, you’re not going to keep yourself at the top of the list — or find yourself in a career in sales anytime soon.
Do you have sales career advice for someone going through interviews and landing a career in sales? Let us know in the comments. More can be found here: www.salesforcesearch.com
