Sales Resume: Handling Poor Results

I have seven years sales experience and am currently fighting through the toughest sales year ever. This is due to a dramatic reduction in volume and various changes in the landscape of my territory. How should I list 2009 on my resume? I want to be honest, yet prevent scaring away a potential employer.



You can effectively handle this year in a couple of different ways. The best way will depend in part on how strong the rest of your resume is. With that in mind, here are my thoughts.

1. As you're listing your accomplishments, there's no need to go year by year through your track record. Highlighting a couple of strong years (provided they are relatively recent) will show that you've got the skill set. This is especially true at this point in time, since 2009 is not yet over. As you get into the 2nd quarter of 2010, results from 2008 will begin to look a little dated. But, over the next six months, you've got some flexibility!



2. You can be totally silent on your resume about your 2009 results. Instead of using a performance metric, highlight another type of accomplishment. Perhaps you mentored a more junior staff member, revamped a sales strategy, led a planning process. In short, highlight something unrelated to your sales results.



3. If your record, as bad as it might be this year, is better than your peers, you can turn that into an accomplishment. Something like: Out performed my peer group against quota by 15%, despite a challenging sales environment in 2009.


Keep in mind that your resume is used as a screening tool. You will need to be honest in an interview regarding 2009, and need to think about how to present your results without sounding defensive. Try to frame your results in the context of overall organization and industry results.

You will be in good company with poor 2009 performance. The current economy is a challenge for many organizations - and hiring managers understand this. One poor year is not going to ruin your chances for landing successfully.