Sales Engineer Resume Sample
Orville B. Handley
Address: 3456 N. Warnock Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Phone: (267) 887 4578
Email: [email protected]
Current Job: Sales Engineer; Aztec Pharma, Inc, Philadelphia, PA.
Objective
Sales Engineer with 7 years of work experience in the chemicals industry is desirous of joining your team at Miragold Pharmaceuticals. My background is in Chemistry and I’m very knowledgeable about the disinfection and insecticide market. At Aztec, my team accounted for 45% of the company’s total sales of disinfectants and insecticides from 2017 to 2019. I’m aware of your core products and firmly believe they can dominate the market.
Strengths/Special Skills
- Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry.
- Proficient in research and development.
- Prove; accomplished Sales Engineer.
- Results-driven achiever.
- Detail-oriented.
- Excellent communication skills.
Work Experience
Sales Engineer; 2015 to Present
Aztec Pharma Inc.; Philadelphia, PA
Responsibilities:
- Review the company’s goals for the current year; cross-reference performances the previous years.
- Establish realistic sales targets for the company.
- Qualify the list of B2B prospects of the company by reviewing industry standing and performances.
- Study the technical features of the company’s products; prepare all materials needed for the presentation.
- Discuss and educate sales representatives about the technical features of the product in terms they can understand and relay to the prospects.
- Evaluate the performance of the sales team and the individual sales representatives.
- Conduct sales presentations to the company’s priority clients.
- Collaborate with the company’s scientists and engineers to discuss the product’s strengths and flaws; the purpose is to find ways to improve them.
- Schedule meetings with the sales team; identify problems in closing and the commonly asked questions by prospects.
- Prepare sales summary reports for submission to the Sales Director.
- Generated US$547M in sales of disinfection products and pesticides for Aztec from 2017 to 2019.
Sales Engineer; 2013 to 2015
Aias Chemicals; Philadelphia, PA.
Responsibilities
- Map out the sales plan for the company based on projected sales.
Conduct research on the industry; run a comparative analysis on the products that are dominating the market. - Prepare recommendations on improving the marketability of the products to the target sectors such as agriculture and consumer product manufacturers.
- Train and orient the sales representatives on the technical specifications of the main products.
- Attend to the needs and concerns of the company’s B2B clients.
Education
College
Bachelor’s Degree
Chemistry
La Salle University
Philadelphia, PA
2007 to 2011
High School
Northeast High School
Philadelphia, PA
2003 to 2007
How To Write A Good Sales Engineer Resume
As a Sales Engineer, you will be selling the company’s products and services to the B2B market. These are companies and institutions that have a need for your products. Thus, there are very few chances of you making 100 cold calls per day as these companies will most likely reach out to you.
Your employer may have a list of existing clientele. Although Sales Engineers are also required to generate new sales, you’ll be given the opportunity to get existing clients to buy additional products.
Instant sales quota for you!
But the employer will not just entrust their existing clients to anyone. You have to be qualified. A good Sales Engineer resume will create a good first impression.
Here are 4 tips on how to write a Sales Engineer resume that will spark interest from the recruiter.
Choose the Right Format for Your Resume
If you have at least 2 years of experience without an unemployment gap of more than 4 months, use the reverse-chronological format for your resume. As you can see below, the structure of the reverse-chronological format puts your work experience at the center of your resume:
- Contact Information
- Objective Statement
- Skills/Core Competencies
- Work Experience
- Education
- Certifications/Licenses
However, if you do have 2 years of experience in sales but are coming from an entirely different industry, use the Combination format:
- Contact Information
- Objective Statement
- Certifications/Licenses
- Skills/Core Competencies
- Seminars
- Education
- Work Experience
The combination format allows you to validate your experience in sales by giving the recruiter an idea of your technical qualifications for this industry. You’re telling the recruiter:
“I’ve studied your industry; I’ve taken courses and acquired the necessary certifications and licenses to be qualified to sell your products. If you hire me, you won’t spend too much money and time on training. As you can see from my work experience – I CAN SELL!”
Spoiler alert! For entry-level Sales Engineers, the functional format is the most ideal format for your resume. We will discuss this in more detail in the chapter, “Entry-Level Sales Engineer Resume”.
The structure of the functional is the same as the combination. The only difference is that the work experience section won’t be as extensive.
Highlight Your Sales Achievements
The proof of the pie is in the eating. Before the company can hire you and see what you can do, you must impress them with your resume. Nothing attracts the attention of the recruiter more than sales achievements.
Where should you highlight your sales achievements? The obvious section is the Work Experience section and we will discuss this further when we get to the chapter, “Sales Engineer Duties And Responsibilities For The Work Experience Section”.
Another option is to create a “Career Achievements” section in your resume. You can locate this right under the Objective Statement.
Speaking of the Objective Statement…
Include a Sales Pitch
The Objective Statement is the section of the resume where you can make your sales pitch.
How good are you as a Sales Engineer? Pitch your value proposition to the recruiter via the Objective Statement! This is another section where you can indicate your sales achievements:
Accomplished Sales Engineer with 7 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. My sales portfolio for Pharmagen Chemicals totals US$347 Million or an annual sales average of US$50 Million that accounts for 30% of the company’s total sales volume. I am confident that if given the opportunity, I can surpass my performance with your company.
Impressive Educational Background? Show it Off!
Make no mistake about it – recruiters will assess your educational background. If you had an accomplished academic career, go ahead and flaunt it.
For example, if you had a GPA of 3.5 or higher, put that in your resume.
A great academic career tells the recruiter that the company might not have to spend a lot of time and money training you for the job.
Sales Engineer Skills List
A Sales Engineer is a next-level sales professional. Sort of like Salesman 2.0. You must possess the technical or hard skills to be able to explain the product and accurately answer questions from potential customers.
Likewise, you must have the attributes of a hardened salesperson who can deftly navigate through objections, lack of interest, and the one word that can shut down lesser beings.
“No”.
Thus, an effective resume is one that contains information about the necessary technical or hard skills and clues on your personality attributes or soft skills.
What Sales Engineer skills should be on your resume?
- Education – Sure, you can read up and learn all you can about a technical field such as Pharmaceuticals, Technology, or Engineering. There are videos and online courses that you can take.
But nothing beats formal education.
If you want a job as a Sales Engineer, choose the industry that fits your specialization. For example, if you want to sell software programs, then your Bachelor’s Degree must be in Information Technology.
- Certifications – There are certification programs for Sales Engineers such as the MCSE certification program. You’re not required to take it but if you did, the certification will give your resume a boost.
Getting certified in a specific technical field will also give you a big advantage over the candidates who aren’t certified. There are open positions that don’t require certification. Still, you may want to acquire one to improve your chances of getting hired.
For example, going back to our previous example, if you are certified in MS Operating Systems, it will enhance your credibility when selling MS-based software programs.
- Communication – Technical language is one thing. The language of sales is another. A good Sales Engineer can articulate the best features and strongest selling points of a product without sounding too technical.
He has the ability to articulate ideas and concepts into language that can be understood by a 6-year old. He also knows how to nudge a potential customer in the sales funnel.
An experienced salesman has a mind that calculates possibilities like a computer. During a presentation, he’s able to paint a profile of the customer and evaluates approaches that can convert interest into sales.
- Ability to Solve Problems – This is actually part 2 of having excellent communication skills. 50% – perhaps higher? – of having excellent skills is being a good listener.
When a customer gives a rundown of the business’ pain points, a good Sales Engineer is able to determine appropriate applications of the product that can address these problems.
Again, his mind works like a computer. Once the customer is done explaining, the Sales Engineer can share possible solutions to the pain points using his company’s product.
- Good Sense of Teamwork – As a Sales Engineer, you won’t be working alone. Chances are you’ll head a team of sales agents or representatives.
There are sales arrangements whereby the sales representatives are the persons who do the preliminary visits to qualify the level of interest. You have to know how to work with your team.
As an expert, you will be teaching and orienting the agents about the product. You will also help them respond to objections.
Sales Engineer Duties And Responsibilities For The Work Experience Section
The duties and responsibilities of a Sales Engineer will vary depending on the needs of the employer. In some cases, the Sales Engineer maps out the sales strategy of the company. In others, he’s the person tasked with approaching the company’s B2B clients or prospects.
The important thing to remember when writing your job descriptions is to be specific. What were the specific duties and responsibilities you managed as a Sales Engineer in your previous employment?
When you’re specific, the job descriptions become unique to the work experience. Recruiters are turned off by job descriptions that read as if they were copied and pasted from a website.
Let’s do an exercise.
Here is a list of typical Sales Engineer duties and responsibilities:
- Review the technical specifications of the company’s products.
- Prepare the sales presentation materials including slides and hard copy handouts.
- Orient the sales team on the technical aspects of the products.
- Collaborate with product developers and engineers to determine support requirements for the products.
- Schedule meetings with the sales team to find out the needs and concerns of the customers.
- Preside over sales presentations with B2B clients.
- Recommend product applications.
- Study the operational system of prospects.
- Perform industry research.
- Prepare sales reports.
What we want you to do is to personalize these job descriptions to fit your own work experience.
Add more details including relevant numbers, product components, and product applications. Most importantly, include achievements you experienced in a particular work period.
To get a better idea, review the work experience section in our sample resume for a Sales Engineer.
Entry Level Sales Engineer Resume
Will you be considered for the position if you have an entry-level Sales Engineer resume? Given the demands of the job, experience is a very important consideration for recruiters. It doesn’t mean that if you’re applying for a Sales Engineer position for the first time you’ll be overlooked.
Again, your resume will play a big factor in getting you noticed by the recruiter. Follow the tips below and you can submit your entry-level resume with confidence.
- Use the Functional Format – If you have no work experience or fresh from college, use the functional format because it will highlight your strongest technical qualifications.
Even if you don’t have enough experience, if you meet the minimum technical requirements, you’ll have a shot at being considered for the position.
- Highlight Your Educational Achievements – Companies may consider candidates who have exemplary academic histories. You might come across job ads looking for “Sales Engineer Management Trainees”.
These aren’t exclusive to experienced applicants. A company may prefer a newbie with glowing academic credentials whom they can develop into a Sales Manager.
- Emphasize Relevant Duties and Responsibilities – If you worked in another industry and handled duties and responsibilities that are relevant to the position of Sales Engineer, emphasize these in your work experience section.
For example:
- Supervise a team of agents
- Orient agents about the product
- Perform research about the industry
- Preside over meetings with potential clients
- Prepare a summary of problem areas as discussed with the client.
- Collaborate with various departments to create a shortlist of solutions.
Landing a job doesn’t happen overnight. Companies have criteria for the candidate they prefer for the job. You have to be patient when the calls aren’t coming in. The key is to remain persistent. Keep your Sales Engineer resume updated and ready for distribution every time a job ad catches your eye.
