Copyright (c) 2008 Ianson Internet Marketing

Navigating through job boards can be intimidating, but even a novice job hunter can be successful by approaching the task armed with the proper information and a plan of action. First you must determine the category of sales job that is your ideal. Are you seeking a specific industry? How much do you need to make in order to support your current lifestyle? Are you comfortable with commission only, or do you want the stability of a sales job that offers a base salary? Take your time with these decisions as they will save you the time and effort you might otherwise expend applying for jobs that aren’t suitable in the end. Be efficient!

Once you have your goals in hand, it’s time to prepare your resumes and cover letters. The key to securing a healthy selection of job offers is customization. Choose the top three industries you’d like to work in and create three different resume templates to target each. Employers weed through hundreds of resumes, so you need to make yours unique and perfectly suited to the position. You needn’t rewrite the entire resume, just insert a few keywords listed in the job description. Not only will this register with the person perusing the resumes, it also puts you at the top of the list when companies use a filtering program to pull the most qualified candidates from a pool of electronic submissions. This applies to the cover letter as well. Don’t send a generic cover letter to each employer! Take a few minutes to insert the contact’s name, say a few words about the company, and list the key skills mentioned in the ad. This is true for all job hunters, but especially so for someone seeking a sales position. You have to be able to sell yourself if you want a company to entrust you with their product! These few minutes of extra work will pay off big in the end.

Once you have your resume and cover letter templates ready to go, it’s time to format. Each job board and/or company will have their own preferred method of submission. You might be emailing your resume, faxing it, mailing it, or uploading it to the job board. You’ll need a version created with a standard business word processing application such as Microsoft Word as well as a text version. You may be required to cut and paste your resume into a box that doesn’t support formatting styles, so the text version prepared ahead of time is essential, else you’ll be reformatting each time you submit your resume to a new company. The last task on the preparation list is creating a table or spreadsheet to keep track of the jobs you’ve applied to. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy?you just need a place to jot down the job title, job board posting the ad, resume version submitted, and method of submission and date. This will come in handy when you start receiving calls from potential employers, because you want the company to know they are at the top of your list. It does not make a good impression when you have to ask the contact which job he’s referring to.

Now you’re armed and ready to hit the job boards! Some of the big boys you’ll want to check out are www.monster.com, www.careerbuilder.com, www.hotjobs.com, www.craigslist.com, and www.headhunter.net. My personal favorite and a site that has yet to gain much recognition is www.indeed.com. Indeed is the ultimate in efficiency and simplicity. Enter a job title and keyword in the “what” box and a zip code in the “where” box, and Indeed will pull all the ads from the major job boards, local newspapers, and private companies in your area. You should also register and upload a resume to any job board with that option. This allows you to apply for jobs without the headache of uploading every time, and several of the job boards will post your resume in an area for potential employers to seek you out. No worries–most sites allow you to post several versions.

Things to remember:

Start out with specific keywords in the search boxes to narrow the selection to your ideal jobs, but don’t hesitate to delete and/or change the keywords to create an even larger list of possibilities. You never know what sort of gem might be hiding in the boards that didn’t turn up on your first search because different keywords were used to describe the same things.

Keep track of applications so you aren’t caught off guard when you’re called for an interview!

Be prepared!

CUSTOMIZE! This is absolutely the strongest piece of advice I can give. If writing isn’t your thing, then ask a friend to help or invest in a professional writer to create a nice resume package. The quality of your resume and cover letter are the determining factors in getting an interview. You might be the best salesperson in the state, but if your resume doesn’t reflect a strong interest in the company or list your greatest strengths, you’ll never get the opportunity to prove that.

Happy hunting!

Image taken on 2009-09-28 15:13:58. Image Source. (Used with permission)