How to Screen Sales Resume of Sales Reps as a Sales Manager

Sales Management | How To Screen A Sales Resume Like A Pro – Geography and Promotions

May 27th, 2010

In our continuing series on how to screen a sales resume, we’ve been going through two more of the 18 different ways in which, without even meeting a candidate face to face, you can tell a ton of stuff about that potential sales candidate by simply analyzing their resume. this saves you time and in the end, money.

In today’s post, we touch on:

Where and in what geographic areas have they worked?

When screening new interview applicants, the best case scenario is if they have current experience in the market and the geography that you are hiring for. This isn’t essential, but very nice to have. So this is a plus.

However, another more important factor to consider is, if they are working for your direct competitor and have been calling on the same market and the same geography, then you and the candidate may have some serious credibility issues with former customers of theirs.

So be careful here. You’ll want to consider this in your resume screening, as the right answer will largely depend on your industry and market dynamics.

Does there seem to be a logical progression of promotions throughout their resume?

Most companies, after a set period of years, will enhance a salesperson’s title to reflect increased stature and seniority. This is typically awarded in concert with achievements at the “lower” level. If you see this logical progression, this simply tells you that the candidate is well-regarded, but will not necessarily tell you that they can sell at a high level.

If they have solid achievements alongside steady advances in promoted titles, then this is positive. However, if they are at a company for five or ten years and their title never changes from “sales executive” to “senior sales executive” or another some such thing, this may be an indicator that you have an underperformer on your hands. This is especially true if the sales achievements in the time period mentioned are sparse or worse yet, non-existent.

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Post a comment below and tell me your insights in screening a sales resume.