Resume Writing Example That Increased Pay $20K

Resume Writing Session That Resulted in a $20,000 Salary Increase
Tammy's original resume didn't land any interviews for Outside Sales and presented her in the $20,000 salary range. Her new resume landed her a $40,000+ position by focusing her resume on her sales skills and presenting an image that matched her salary goal. Here's a section from Tammy's before resume followed by several comments I sent her along with a list of questions that I asked her about her position as a Personnel Recruiter.

Tammy's Before Resume - without resume writing consultation

1993 - Present

Advantage Personnel, Seattle, WA
Personnel Recruiter

Call on accounts and develop proposals. Maintain a telemarketing/tracking system. Interview and place temporary personnel. Instruct clerical staff regarding reports. Conduct on-site workplace evaluations.

Comments and Questions Sent Back to Tammy Via E-Mail
Tammy, the description of your employment with Advantage Personnel doesn't target or highlight your sales skills even though you have already been responsible for outside sales in this position. Like many people your "real job title" of Personnel Recruiter doesn't market you effectively for the position you want.

That means that we need to replace that title with an accurate description of what you did that relates to Outside Sales. Are you on good terms with your boss since leaving Advantage Personnel? If, so I recommend that you contact that person and see if it is ok to use the title of Outside Sales Representative in your resume rather than Personnel Recruiter. If not, then I suggest that you use a heading of Outside Sales/Territory Management for this position. At a glance, both market you as having Outside Sales experience.

If your boss says it's ok to use the title of Outside Sales Representative, then I would recommend using that title. If you still want to insert your real title you could include it as illustrated in the first example below.

If you can't reach your boss for approval then I recommend that you use the heading of Outside Sales/Territory Management. In that case you can insert your real title of Personnel Recruiter as illustrated in either the first or second example below. Or, you can choose to insert a similar statement at the end of the Advantage Personnel job description which will keep the emphasis off of your real job title of Personnel Recruiter. That approach is illustrated near the bottom of this page in the new description of Advantage Personnel.

OUTSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVE
Personnel Recruiter -- Advantage Personnel, 1990 to Present

OUTSIDE SALES / TERRITORY MANAGEMENT
Managed Northwest Sales Territory as a Personnel Recruiter, Advantage Personnel 1990 to Present

Questions to Tammy

Q:	Have you checked with your boss to see if it's ok to use the title of Outside Sales Representative?
A:	Yes, he said it's no problem. He's the owner of Advantage Personnel and he would love to have me come back. He said he'd give me a great recommendation as an Outside Sales Representative.

Q:	Did you increase sales or profit margins? If so, by how much in $ or % and to which accounts?
A:	I doubled my sales within 5 months of becoming responsible for outside sales in my territory. This took the territory's sales from $62,000 to $132,000 per month or $1,584,000 annually.

Q:	Were you required to meet a sales quota? If so, how successful were you in doing this?
A:	Yes, I was responsible for maintaining a sales quota of 60 calls per week which was a top level of performance in my industry. I was awarded "Top Performer of the Year" for converting 25% of all cold calls into new accounts.

Q:	Are some of the names of your accounts recognizable and impressive? If so, include the names of companies and key accounts.
A:	I developed and managed key accounts with Advanced Technology Labs, Washington Natural Gas, CX Corporation and Leviton Telecom.

Q:	If you increased sales, what strategies did you implement that allowed you to do that?
A:	To keep track of all of the different types of companies and staffing requirements, I had to analyze my territory and track clients to maximize my time. To do that I developed a monthly, quarterly and annual marketing strategy by geographic locations to group cold calls by industry, major accounts and new business categories.

Q:	Did you develop proposals? What was the largest contract in $ volume that you negotiated?
A:	Yes, I developed proposals for each new account which included base pricing and quantity pricing. The largest contract that I negotiated was $75,000 for a single contract.

Q:	What were the titles of the most senior staff that you reported to? What did you report to them or consult them about?
A:	In managing my territory, I consulted with the President and VP of Marketing to set sales goals of an additional 15% to 25%. This was within a mature staffing market. I consistently met or exceed all of my assigned goals.

Q:	You had said that you might like to be considered for management positions. In that case, did you supervise any staff? Were you responsible for reviewing performance of the personnel that you placed? Also, in how many locations were the employees placed that you recruited?
A:	Yes, I would like to keep my options as open and broad as possible. I was responsible for recruiting, screening, hiring and placing 200 employees with key accounts in 35 corporate locations.

Tammy's After Resume
Below you'll see the new Outside Sales Representative description I developed for Tammy's after resume which incorporates the answers above. It quickly illustrates the difference my resume writing service can make in 90% to 95% of the resumes I write for clients.

Compare the after resume to the before resume below. If these resumes were from two different people who would you interview for an Outside Sales position? Which person would you be more likely to pay a higher salary to?

After Resume

OUTSIDE SALES REPRESENTATIVE
Advantage Personnel 1990-Present

MAJOR ACCOUNTS MANAGEMENT
Manage a $1.5 million territory with responsibility for developing and maintaining key accounts such as Advanced Technology Labs, Washington Natural Gas, CX Corporation and Leviton Telecom.

Award Winning Sales Performance

- Increased sales 200% within 5 months of territory management which grew monthly revenues from $62,000 to $120,000 per month while increasing hourly gross margin approximately 20%.

- Awarded as "Top Performer of the Year" for maintaining quota of 60 calls per week, successfully converting 25% of all cold calls into new accounts.

Strategic Planning / Contract Negotiation

- Developed monthly, quarterly and annual marketing strategy by geographic locations to group cold calls within industry, major accounts, and new business categories. Consulted with President and VP of Marketing to set sales goals of an additional 15% to 25% within a mature market.

- Developed proposals and negotiated individual contracts valued to $75,000 per contract. Consistently met or exceeded all contract goals.

Recruitment / Personnel Management

- Recruited, screened, hired and placed 200 employees in 35 corporate locations with responsibility for review of personnel performance, on-site inspections and personnel support to client accounts.

- Managed Northwest Sales Territory while working under the title of Personnel Recruiter.

Before Resume

1990 - Present

Advantage Personnel, Seattle, WA
Personnel Recruiter

If you're in the $20,000 to $70,000 salary range, this short example (along with the dozens of workshops in this site) should help you to decide if my resume writing services can be of benefit to you. Click here to return to the Resume Writing Services page.

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