27 Sales CV Examples That Secured Jobs in 2026

How to Write a Sales CV

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 section will cover:

• 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

How to choose the right format for your sales resume

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:

Reverse chronological vs functional vs hybrid format options

Hiring managers’ preferences tend to change over time, but for 2026, it’s clear that three resume formats are the most popular:

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.

How to draw attention to your resume 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)

How to make your sales resume 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 resume and LinkedIn headline to determine your likelihood of being a good fit for a particular sales job. If you don’t pass the ATS scan, it’s doubtful you’ll get an interview.

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.

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.

The power of bullet points and what to include

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.

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!

How to 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.

It helps to see these tips in practice, so here are some examples:

How to select and present appropriate sales skills for your resume

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:

No matter the job you’re applying for, you’re likely to encounter some of these skills:

How to list education, certs, 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:

Here’s an example of what projects could look like on your sales CV:

How to tailor your sales resume 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!