How to create an amazing CV if you work in sales

As part of our 'How to create an amazing CV series' (which began with How to create an amazing CV if you work in M&A), here's our advice on how to structure your CV and what to include in it if you're interested in a sales role.

What's below is based on conversations with various sales-focused headhunters and recruiters. If you work in sales and you structure your CV differently (and it works), let us know by leaving a comment below.

Your name

Postal Address

Telephone Number Email Address

Personal statement This will vary depending upon your seniority - if you're junior, the personal statement is a means of demonstrating intent and focus and might go something along the lines of:

"I aim to work in a leading investment bank in pan-European equity sales"

If you're more senior, the personal statement offers a chance to summarize your achievements. Eg.

"Established broker with fifteen years' experience selling pan-European equities to UK institutional clients. Ranked 25th out of 240 by Thomson Extel in 2009.'

NATIONALITY:

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

Eg. ACA, CFA Levels 1 and 2

EDUCATION: List postgraduate qualifications first. If you have more than three years' full time work experience, list your experience before your qualifications)

· Name of university attended, city and country it was located in

· If you're a recent graduate, add relevant coursework: Emphasise anything related to business, accounting, or economics.

· A Levels: Only add A levels if you graduated within the past five years. Specify grades. If you graduated more than two years ago and have relevant work experience, it is not necessary to specify A level subjects.

· GCSEs: Only add GCSEs if you graduated within the past five years. Specify grades. It is not necessary to state subjects studied.

WORK EXPERIENCE

· Name of the company you worked for, plus the city and country you were based in.

· Your position and the business area you worked in. (Eg. Senior salesperson, pan-European equities to UK long only institutional clients)

· Start date- end date

· Key clients: Eg. Barclays Global Investors, Gartmore Fund Managers, Fidelity International, Henderson Global Investors

· Description of roles and achievements. Eg. Generated $30m in commission over the past 12 months, beating internal target by 30%

· Thomson Extel ranking (if ranked)

· Internal ranking (where good!). Eg. Ranked second internally for Pan-European equity sales.

INTERESTS, SKILLS & ACTIVITIES

Languages: Eg. Fluent in French; Conversationally proficient in Italian.

Technical Skills: Don't mention Microsoft Office!

Interests and activities: Be brief. Don't mention international travel or reading!