While there is a difference between sales and marketing jobs, the two departments frequently work closely together. That's one of the reasons this article addresses resumes for either sales or marketing positions.
In this article, we're going to start with a brief overview of sales and marketing positions in the workplace. Next, we'll review the three types of resumes in use today and the pros and cons of each. Then we'll provide some sample language as well as a link to a downloadable document.
Resume Styles for Sales and Marketing Positions
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In most large companies in competitive industries, the sales force is responsible for driving in the company's revenue. That's true whether it's using traditional channels or by exploring new ways to interact with, or sell to, customers.
On the other hand, the marketing department helps to figure out how a product or service needs to be positioned in the marketplace. Oftentimes, these two groups work with a third team, the advertising department. One way to think about the overall process is something like this: Marketing is frequently involved in strategy development, while sales and advertising executives are more tactical in their approach.
All of these are usually considered professional or white collar positions in a company. They frequently require some kind of focused academic background, along with related work experience. This is especially true when talking about managers and executives.
Before beginning to write a resume, it's important to select a style that highlights the writer's strengths and does not draw attention to any weaknesses. Generally, there are three basic types of resumes in use today:
Chronological: perhaps the single most familiar of all styles, the chronological resume emphasizes the work history of the job seeker, making it a good choice for employees with a lot of working experience.
Functional: this style emphasizes what has been accomplished in the past, and the skills acquired along the way. The functional resume is a good choice for job candidates that want to emphasize what they know rather than where they've worked in the past. This style is also the best choice for job seekers with little, or no, experience such as recent college graduates.
Combination: this format highlights the job applicant's skills, but also provides a review of work history too. The combination resume is considered the most marketable of all styles, and will be the basis for the example provided later on, since it contains all of the elements of each style. This format is typically used by more experienced workers.
Experience and Knowledge Examples
The following list contains some of the more common experiences and knowledge possessed by professionals in the sales and marketing field:
Determining product pricing, trade and consumer discount rates.
Preparing product brochures, and marketing materials.
Launching marketing and customer satisfaction research studies; analyzing the results of these studies.
Resolving complaints received from customers regarding both sales and services.
Preparing and managing operating budget and headcount reports.
Coordinating activities between the marketing, sales and advertising groups.
Training, planning and directing inside and outside sales teams.
Managing the performance of local and regional sales and marketing staff.
Sample Resume
Executives looking for sales or marketing positions should emphasize the revenue growth or revenue streams they helped to create. Specialty positions, such as marketing research associates, will want to emphasize their educational background in fields such as statistics. The following is a link to a downloadable Word document in the combination format: Sales and Marketing Resume.
For individuals looking to learn more about this topic, this website also contains a number of resume writing resources on subjects such as how to write a resume as well as additional resume writing samples.
About the Author - Resumes for Sales and Marketing Positions
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