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MRT Insights

October 4, 2021

Sell Yourself to Land your Dream Job

Sell Yourself to Land Your Dream Job

With unprecedented circumstances over the past year, the process of interview has changed dramatically. Where it was once common to partake in one interview for a position, candidates are now required to complete multiple interviews, behavioral assessments, and even psychometric testing with many companies. With that many factors, and a highly competitive market, its best to check these tips off your list when looking for a sales position:

  1. Know your numbers.
  2. Come prepared.
  3. Communicate with your references.

If you find yourself applying with no success for such positions, it’s likely you didn’t know your numbers.

In sales, numbers are the Holy Grail. If you don’t have a clear gauge on your performance metrics, you will fall short compared to competing candidates every time. Top sellers know their performance metrics, so be specific in your knowledge. You can find them by answering the following questions:

  • What was your quota?
  • How much of your quota was new sales versus repeat business?
  • What was the average deal size?
  • How much of your quota was made up of up-sells?
  • How long was your average sales cycle?
  • How many leads were given to you versus hunted?
  • What percentage of your targets did you achieve in the last year?

Come Prepared

An added component to interview failure is not being prepared. Each corporate position is met with an average of 250 resumes, so hiring managers simply don’t have time to waste. If you don’t arrive fluent in the product, the market or the industry, you will have a slim chance at moving past that stage. If you want to really impress the interviewer, you can gain a deeper understanding of the corporate strategy, ideal customer base, and key markets before you meet.

Resume

Another mistake many candidates make is overlooking the power of the resume! Your resume should be tailored to the specific skills, experience, and selling environment of each and every job you apply for to request a resume template that can assist you and connect you with our team.

Cover Letters

Many job seekers miss the mark on their cover letters, or even skip it all together. If your cover letter is not targeted for the position, you will likely lose any chance at further movement. Being as equally important as the resume itself, the cover letter should add depth and texture to the basic information of your resume, and be used to tell a compelling story about your work experience. Top performing cover letters address the employer’s requirements in the position they are hiring for.

Professionalism 

So many applicants let their guard down and lack professionalism when speaking about past employers. Even if you left on bad terms, owning responsibility for your performance is a quality top for a salesperson. It’s more common than not your departure from a previous company was under less than ideal circumstances, this should not factor into how you speak about a previous employer in an interview. You must continue to maintain a respectful demeanor and keep it professional.

References

One of the most undervalued areas of application by prospects are the references. Surprisingly, so many assume that these won’t be called and the contacts listed say unfavorable things about the applicant. In fact, 62% of employers said that the negative reporting by references disqualify the candidate no matter the skillset. This is important because prior to an offer of employment, reference checks are often the last step in the interview process. Inform your references that they should expect a call from your prospective employer. Remind them of any past accomplishments you had with them. Prepare them to speak to how you performed in your role with them.

Our team at Management Recruiters of Tallahassee has placed hundreds of candidates in the desired positions. We can help you prepare to land your dream job too. Begin Now to be matched with a recruiter from our highly qualified team today!

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