To have a winning sales CV is to emphasise revenue-generating abilities, the sales aptitude of building client relationships, and the talent of consistently meeting or even exceeding targets.
The sales CV must be packed with performance metrics, key achievements, and job-specific skills.
This guide includes the following information:
- ↪ Key skills to emphasise on a sales CV
- ↪ Good CV summary and career objective examples
- ↪ How to measure sales performance in numerical terms
- ↪ How to prepare your CV for ATS and recruiters
- ↪ Common mistakes to avoid when writing your CV
- ↪ 28 Sample CVs from entry-level sales to senior sales positions
- Customising your CV to suit various industries and occupations
Why this CV works
- Ensure every section of your sales representative CV is easy to read and distinguish by either capitalising them, emboldening them, or using a coloured font.
- Hiring managers typically receive many applications upon submitting a sales rep job description. Unfortunately, they don’t have time to carefully read every job applicant’s documents.
View more sales representative CVs >
Why this CV works
- When writing your sales manager CV, you should demonstrate ownership in your actions. One great way to do that is through the use of action verbs like “built,” “developed,” and “led” in your work experience bullet points.
- Whenever possible, include metrics that quantify your success. Saying you organised meetings is one thing, but organising meetings that resulted in a 14% increase in leads is another.
Why this CV works
- As a sales expert, numbers are paramount. If possible, emphasise your numerical sales performance on your sales CV to make an impact.
- Space is limited on your sales CV; a cover letter generator will be your best friend, giving you plenty of opportunity to elaborate on those details you couldn’t fit in your CV.
Why this CV works
- For a successful career in sales, you’ll want your communication and persuasion skills to shine just as brightly as your technical knowledge. Be sure to include a mix of both in your fragrance sales associate CV.
See more fragrance sales associate CVs >
Why this CV works
- When looking for a sales executive, a company will focus on results, so your sales director CV must include hard numbers to demonstrate how you’ve made a positive impact.
- Remember to list achievements related to leading people and building customer relationships. Start by noting how many customers you assisted or how many people you managed. Then, look for percentages relating to KPIs from there.
See more sales director CVs >
Why this CV works
- You’ve crafted an impressive executive sales CV with a stunning design, a work history section quantifying your achievements, and pretty much everything else—spot on! However, all your efforts could be in vain if you don’t optimise it for the ATS.
Why this CV works
- Not sure if you should include a CV objective on your sales engineer CV? Consider these tips to decide whether it’s worth the space (and time) to write an objective:
- If you’re just starting your career in sales engineering or transitioning to a different type of role, include an objective.
See more sales engineer CVs >
Why this CV works
- Concrete figures highlighting your impact would be a compelling way to present your pharmaceutical sales CV. It’s proof that you are up to the task and employers would quickly hire you.
- Did you help increase market share? Did you utilise technology to help secure more sales deals? Include all that and relax as your past success elevates your candidacy to the top of the shortlisted candidates.
Why this CV works
- Before customising your tech sales CV, look at what the company expects from the applicants. Carefully read the job description, and tailor your previous experience and achievements (hint: increasing social and foot traffic, outreach success, qualified leads and engagements).
Why this CV works
- Your sales assistant CV should include a list of relevant abilities in your CV’s skills section, but you should also demonstrate them in your work experience bullet points.
- Don’t just say you used a certain skill; demonstrate how you applied that skill. For example, did you use your organisation skills to stock numerous items?
See more sales assistant CVs >
Why this CV works
- Sales are all about the numbers. When you’ve achieved tangible positive results at your previous workplaces, it demonstrates how effective you are as a salesperson and should be highlighted in your sales development representative CV.
See more sales development representative CVs >
Why this CV works
- Your passion for streamlining processes to optimise resources should be clearly evident in your CV for the role of VP of sales. Most importantly, your ability to motivate the sales team should be emphasised if you’re aiming to secure a position at a dynamic company like Cree.
- A good example is the training programme you initiated, which boosted team morale and overall productivity by 38 per cent.
Why this CV works
- Your sales consultant CV should incorporate the skills listed in the skills section throughout your work experience entries.
- For example, you can talk about unveiling events for clients, creating working relationships, and building up networks. These details demonstrate that strong customer rapport is, in fact, a skill you possess.
See more sales consultant CVs >
Why this CV works
- For your insurance sales CV to have a fair chance of securing the job, you must demonstrate your unrivalled expertise in specialised tools.
- Highlight how you’ve utilised InsurGrid, NowCerts, ClearSlide, etc. to enhance customer service, and attract and retain customers. Also, support your competencies with realistic figures that emphasise your impact.
Why this CV works
- For an outstanding new home sales consultant CV, make sure to highlight your impact in the field, even if you’ve only just started. While doing so, focus on numbers—quantifying your achievements will provide more credibility than vague, general statements.
Why this CV works
- When crafting a CV for a sales coordinator role that transforms the hiring manager’s task into a pleasure, the key ingredient is brevity paired with engaging content. And the secret formula? Create punchy bullet points to take centre stage in your employment history.
Why this CV works
- Average door-to-door sales CVs bring as much success as sales representatives who know next to nothing about what they are selling—not exactly a recipe for success, is it? If you really want to stand out and ensure the hiring manager doesn’t leave you in the lurch, show you’re well-versed in effective sales techniques.
Why this CV works
- No matter what content you include, your field sales CV needs to be error-free.
- You’d be amazed at what tiny typos and punctuation errors can slip through without your noticing, and employers will appreciate your attention to detail! Run your CV through a CV checker or spellcheck system, then proofread it again with your own eyes.
See more field sales CVs >
Why this CV works
- Breaking the mould is truly the only way to make it to the hiring manager’s “Check again later” pile. And we know exactly how you can do that—highlight (by bolding) achievements relevant to the open role in your furniture sales CV.
- The potential outcome? Catch the recruiter’s eye in an instant and draw attention to your impact in your current role.
Why this CV works
- Demonstrate a track record of exceeding expectations in your sales assistant CV, and the hiring manager will be eager to welcome you to the team. Wondering what the best way to achieve that is? Metrics!
Why this CV works
- You can include a lot on your digital sales CV, but don’t go overboard. Hiring managers will only have time to skim one page, so make your content count.
- A good CV template will help you structure your content effectively, but be mindful of spacing—even a good CV template won’t help if your text is too small to read or spills into the margins.
See more digital sales CVs >
Why this CV works
- While your software sales representative CV is bound to emphasise interpersonal skills, there’s value in the numbers, too! A software-focused sales recruiter will want to see quantifiable achievements.
See more software sales representative CVs >
Why this CV works
- Your experienced sales assistant CV must demonstrate that you can work with demanding customers.
- The skills for your CV should be extensive but not exhaustive. That is to say, you should only include skills that you’d be comfortable mentioning in an interview.
Why this CV works
- To secure your first position as a junior sales representative, your entry-level sales CV should highlight your strengths, wherever they may be: impact, results, projects, etc.
See more junior sales CVs >
Why this CV works
- Beyond just knowing you have experience, hiring managers want to know if you were a successful retail sales assistant. Look for ways to demonstrate your achievements in your experienced retail sales assistant CV.
- Instead of just listing responsibilities, include any achievements as well. Were you the top salesperson in your shop? Did you improve your customer review rating?
See more retail sales assistant CVs >
Why this CV works
- Your experience plays a role in your sales strategist CV.
- For example, if you’re a senior-level employee, you don’t need to include much in your education section, but you should include more bullet points detailing your work experience.
- However, if you’re new to the field, you can include your degree classification and educational awards while minimising your work experience in favour of projects.
Why this CV works
- Your senior sales analyst CV isn’t the place to be reserved.
- Include a CV summary if you can boast over 10 years of experience in the field. Make it a concise, customised snapshot of yourself by including your specialisations, defining expertise, and mentioning the target business by name.
See more sales analyst CVs >
Related CV guides
How to Write a Sales CV
A sales CV represents the ability to deliver results, communicate effectively, and make sales through a clear, bespoke design.
Summary
Capture attention with a high-impact sales CV by mastering formatting, tailoring content to job descriptions, optimising for ATS, and strategically showcasing skills, metrics, and achievements that secure interviews quickly.
The best sales CVs incorporate measurable achievements, sales-related skills, and terms that match the job description.
Understanding the rules for a sales CV will help you align your content with what recruiters seek in today’s competitive market.
If you’re starting from scratch, learning how to write a CV tailored to sales roles can significantly improve your chances of securing interviews.
For additional inspiration, reviewing proven CV examples can show you how successful candidates structure and present their achievements.
This guide will cover:
- 27 sales CV examples that secured real jobs in 2025
- Key sales skills to feature on your CV
- Tips for writing compelling CV summaries and objectives
- How to use metrics to highlight sales achievements
- Formatting strategies to make your CV ATS-friendly
- Common CV mistakes to avoid in sales applications
Structure your CV for easy readability
Proper formatting ensures your CV is readable, logical, and complete. If you neglect the formatting, you risk potential employers not taking your application seriously (or not even seeing your CV). When it comes to formatting, remember the following:
- Choose one of three CV format options
- Highlight your CV header
- Make your sales CV accessible for the ATS and employers
Overall CV format options
The preferences of hiring managers tend to change over time, but for 2025, it’s clear that three CV formats are the most popular:
- Reverse-chronological format: This format emphasises your most recent experience by placing work experience towards the top of your CV. Ordering your experience this way highlights career growth and development.
- Functional format: A functional format emphasises skills over work experience. This type of format may be appealing if you have little work experience or if there are gaps in your employment history.
- Combination/hybrid format: This type combines reverse-chronological and functional formatting, placing equal weight on work history and skills, but it can be difficult to read because of this.
While all three types are popular, hiring managers prefer the reverse-chronological format. It’s easy to read, highlights career progression, and appears transparent regarding your work experience.
Draw attention to your CV header
Presenting your contact information may seem unimportant. However, this is the most important information in your CV; without it, how can you expect hiring managers to tell you “you’re hired?” Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the importance of an accurate and attractive CV header.
Begin by aligning your header either to the left or centre. Then write your name in a large font size so it can be seen from a distance.
Directly beneath your name, include your job title in a slightly smaller font. Then, if you wish, you can add a touch of colour to reflect your personality. (We love cobalt blue and buttercup yellow, but we might be a tad biased.)
Underneath your name and title, list your contact information. Keep the text the same font size as the body of your CV, and consider including a border (with or without colour) to make it stand out. This section should include:
- Your email address (ensure it’s professional and not something like “[email protected]”)
- Phone number (including area code)
- Town/County (optional but recommended)
- Professional links to portfolios or sites like LinkedIn (optional but recommended)
Make your sales CV accessible to the ATS and employers
As you manage job applications, remember that any CVs you send off likely won’t go straight to the hiring manager’s desk. Instead, they will go through the ATS, or Applicant Tracking System software.
This system uses keywords in your CV to determine your likelihood of being a good fit for a particular sales job. If you don’t pass the ATS scan, it’s unlikely you’ll get an interview.
To get past the software and reach human eyes, pay attention to:
- Margins: Use standard 1.25 cm or 2.5 cm margins all around.
- Fonts: Use professional, easy-to-read fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia.
- Font sizes: The body of your CV should be the smallest font at around 12-point, your job title should be 20-point font, and your name should be approximately 24-point font.
- Header names: Instead of adjusting font size for section headers, try emboldening them or using all caps.
- Skills: You can list them in a horizontal or vertical list; we recommend using bullet points in a vertical list unless space is limited.
- Logical order: As we suggested earlier, we recommend a reverse-chronological format since it’s easy for the ATS to scan.
- One page: You must fill one page exactly. You can slightly adjust fonts, font sizes (just a touch), vertical spacing, and margins to achieve this target.
If you’re struggling to create a CV online with enough content and proper formatting, remember this: the most important thing is to ensure your CV is read. If you have to cut content to keep your formatting easy to read, do it.
Do you really need an objective or summary?
Contrary to sources circulating on the internet, there *is* a difference between a CV objective and a CV summary. Both are short paragraphs written specifically for each application you submit, but there are a few key differences between them.
An objective explains why you want to work for the company in the specific job role for which you’re applying. A summary emphasises the skills you have and the achievements you’ve accomplished in your previous positions.
Objectives and summaries are entirely optional, but there are a few instances where including one would be beneficial.
- Consider including an objective if you’re seeking a graduate role or are changing careers.
- Consider using a summary if you have over 10 years of sales experience.
Customised CV objective: Experienced shop floor sales assistant with over 4 years of experience exceeding sales targets by 7%. Seeking a position with Neiman Marcus, where my expertise in luxury retail will uphold the tradition of providing the highest standard of luxury retail experiences for customers.
- This objective is specific to the role and includes a tailored job title, quantified metrics, specific skill sets, and the company name. It adds genuine value and will impress any hiring manager.
Poor summary statement: Dedicated candidate with experience in sales and marketing seeking a sales assistant role to enhance customer service skills.
- This statement is anything but specific, and it could be on any number of sales CVs. More than just that, it doesn’t highlight any skills or qualifications beyond dedication. Major cringe.
Customised summary statement: Results-driven sales assistant with over 13 years of experience in building rapport and strong customer relations. Utilised top marketing strategies to achieve results, consistently performing in the top 5% of sales assistants at all workplaces for more than a decade. From advising customers on purchases to designing trendy shopfront décor, I am confident that my proven excellence in results-driven sales strategies would positively impact product movement at Decor 101.
- This personal statement is tailored and distinctive, including specific skills and measurable metrics to support their claims; this candidate is an excellent choice for an interview.
Know what to include in your work experience section
When writing your sales CV, you might be tempted to include every job you’ve had since you were 16. While this could be a suitable choice if you have limited work experience, we recommend including two to four highly relevant jobs on your sales CV if you have more experience.
Craft your work experience bullet points with intention
When writing your work experience section, remember that space is crucial. To save room, use bullet points to break up blocks of text. Start each bullet point with an action verb, such as “oversaw” or “championed,” to highlight your value (and eliminate unnecessary content).
Using action verbs will also lay the foundation for using active (rather than passive) voice. For example, a passive sentence like “The shop was closed by the sales team” sounds weak and dull. Active voice gives agency to the subject and shortens the statement: “The sales team closed the shop.”
Avoid personal pronouns when writing about your experience, such as “I” or “we”. Ending punctuation is up to you—just be consistent. (Avoid having full stops at the end of all your bullet points except for one, for example).
Finally, keep your verb tense in the past, and ensure it’s consistent.
Effective bullet points might resemble any of these examples:
- Implemented an outbound calling strategy to warm leads, resulting in a close rate of 16%, which exceeded targets by 50%.
- Implemented and expanded the use of Salesforce, saving sales staff over 18 hours of manual reporting time each week
- Led initiatives for prospective home buyers to improve brand awareness and increase inbound customer interest, resulting in an increase of over £275,000 in incremental revenue.
These bullet points are effective because they start with action verbs, maintain an active voice, avoid personal pronouns, and are consistent with punctuation and tenses.
Getting these things right is tricky, but you can return to this guide at any time to review these tips!
Use numbers to your advantage
You may have noticed that all the bullet point examples we included contain numbers. Metrics are essential for any CV, but especially your sales CV. Words tell hiring managers you’re good at your job, but numbers show undeniable value. Include quantified metrics within at least 50 per cent of your bullet points.
Here’s how:
- Performance relative to targets: Have you ever or do you consistently exceed sales targets? By what percentage do you surpass targets on average?
- Improvements per customer: Do your customers have higher purchase totals than others? Are they making more repeat purchases than customers assisted by other sales associates? What’s your conversion rate?
- Efficiency standards: How many customers do you assist on average, per hour, day, or week? How long does it typically take you to complete a sale? How many seconds does it take you to greet customers?
- Customer relations: How many customers have given you positive feedback in customer surveys? Have any customers mentioned you by name in positive reviews?
It helps to see these tips in practice, so here are some examples:
- Improved the shopper-to-customer conversion rate of the shop by 6% by prioritising immediate customer service for incoming customers
- Responded to customer enquiries with a detailed understanding of products, resulting in a customer satisfaction rating of 96%
- Recognised as a Top 5% Salesperson in the busiest Kay’s store in Maine
- Surpassed annual membership targets by 23% by promoting a compassionate, customer-focused approach
Choose suitable sales skills for your CV
The skills section is one of the shortest sections on your CV and one of the most mysterious. Unfortunately, the ATS plays a big part in this section since it scans your CV for pre-selected keywords.
Not enough keywords? Not the right keywords? ATS wins, 1 to 0.
We’re here to shed light on this mystery using a simple trick. When writing your skills, choose those mentioned in the sales job description. Of course, don’t include every skill they list, but use the job description to guide your strengths.
Ideally, include a mix of both hard and soft skills for a total of six to ten skills. Hard skills are easier to measure, so we recommend listing mostly hard skills. However, soft skills, such as “organisation” and “customer service”, are crucial in a sales role, so include a few that match your abilities.
Let’s put this trick into practice! Here’s an excerpt from a sales job description:
Seeking qualified sales assistants! Our ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced work environment and can maintain a positive, upbeat attitude with colleagues and customers under stressful situations. Must use standard software to track and follow up with leads. Should be charismatic, comfortable with public speaking, and have a solid ability to memorise product details and answer complex customer questions. We serve a predominantly Hispanic population, so Spanish speakers, please apply!
From this job description, we can create a list of skills that would be particularly suitable for this role:
- Salesforce and HubSpot CRM
- Bilingual (Native English, Fluent Spanish)
- Customer relations
- Interpersonal communication
- Product knowledge
- Sales demonstrations and presentations
- Time management
No matter the job you’re applying for, you’re likely to encounter some of these skills:
- Cold-calling
- Negotiation
- Workstream management
- CRM
- Trend forecasting
- SQL
- Traditional lead generation
- Tableau
- Presentations
Education, qualifications, interests, and hobbies
In sales, employers typically only require a secondary school diploma or equivalent. However, specific educational requirements will vary widely in such a large field. Some employers will seek applicants with a bachelor’s degree in business or even an MBA and in that you don’t need your secondary school diploma.
In your sales CV, list your highest level of education. If you have a postgraduate degree, you can include both it and your undergraduate degree.
If you have any qualifications or additional training, such as software certification for a particular type of CRM, you can include that as well, although it isn’t necessary.
Typically, sales professionals don’t include an optional interests and hobbies section on their CVs, but there are a few circumstances where it may be appropriate:
- Consider adding hobbies if the job you’re applying for is known for valuing employee individuality.
- Hobbies can show that you’re the sort of person a potential customer might enjoy having a chat with, which is an advantage for employers.
- Use projects, such as volunteering or academic extracurricular activities, instead of work experience if you’re short on jobs.
Here’s an example of what projects could look like on your sales CV:
Tailor your sales CV to the job description
Remember to customise your CV every time you apply for a job. Tailoring your CV to the job description is the best way to secure an interview quickly.
Begin by revising your CV objective or summary statement (if you have one). Then modify your skills section to include skills relevant to the role. Finally, amend your job description bullet points to include relevant qualifications.
For example, if a job description states they’re seeking a sales representative who can start delivering presentations from day one, emphasise your confidence in public speaking roles. Highlight your previous presentation experience, and perhaps downplay the data analysis skills that are less relevant to this role.
Top tip: You can maintain a master list of bullet points for each job title in a separate document. Write down as many skills and responsibilities as you can for every job title, and organise them based on their emphasis (time management, customer relations, data analysis, etc.). Then you can draw from this document to create fully customised CVs quickly.
Edit and polish your sales CV
When you’ve finished writing your CV, it’s tempting to submit it straight away, but it’s best to take a step back first. Give your eyes and mind a rest for a day, and send your CV to trusted family and friends for review. Then you can adjust your content and check your CV for errors before you submit; that way, you don’t miss the little details you may have inadvertently overlooked!
Key points
Now that you know what goes into writing a sales CV that gets you the job, it’s crucial to ensure that you leave nothing to chance by remembering these handy tips:
- Choose the correct CV format: use reverse chronological order, keep it to one page as much as possible, use professional fonts, ensure sufficient white space, use impactful bullet points for work experience, and bold and larger font sizes for headings.
- Use impactful action verbs: When crafting bullet points, strengthen them with the correct power words for sales professionals, such as “Executed,” “Led,” “Boosted,” “Closed,” and “Secured.”
- Quantify your sales impact: Numbers are your greatest allies when it comes to demonstrating your ability to achieve results. Use them as much as possible, but don’t force them where it doesn’t make sense.
- Include a covering letter: In the sales sector, there’s a lot of positive information to share about yourself, but a one-page CV may not suffice. Writing a covering letter provides more space to include details and offer clear insights into your skills and achievements to hiring managers.
Ready for the Next Step?
The first step to having an interview-ready, professional sales CV is to take the time to research and prepare. Well done on assisting your future self by using our guide!
Our easy-to-use AI CV builder will allow you to create your CV from scratch with perfect formatting, so you can save a significant amount of time and focus on your next sales job. If you’re ready to find out how your CV measures up, use our CV checker to give you AI-powered suggestions to refine your CV to perfection.
We know that wherever you get employed, you’ll be assisting customers and increasing revenue in no time!
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Eliminate the guesswork in your job search. Upload your existing CV to check your score and make improvements. Create a CV with one of our eye-catching, recruiter-friendly templates.
• Work in real-time with immediate feedback and tips from our AI-powered experience.
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Sales CV FAQs
Your sales CV should look as immaculate and impressive as your outstanding achievements. It should be divided into clear sections for recruiters to easily scan and identify the most crucial information. Everything should be uncluttered, easy to read and follow, with sufficient white space. The key is to have a professional, simple, modern document that aligns with the industry standards you wish to join.
Opt for a simple, professional template with a design that highlights your skills and achievements in a way that is clear and easy for recruiters to review and make quick decisions. Remember that hiring managers spend only a few seconds skimming your CV, and if you use a layout that makes it difficult for them to find what they’re looking for, you’re more likely to be out of the running.
Yes. Without the right skills, your CV won’t even make it past the ATS bots, which means no human recruiter will see it. Relevant sales skills are essential for getting your application to the desk of a recruiter and aligning yourself with the job expectations.
