Welcome to our guide for creating your next kick-ass Sales Engineer resume sample. In our blog, we will make sure you have all the info, tips, and examples to give you all you need to create your interview-winning resume.
What you can read in this article
(Free sample downloads are at the bottom of this page)
Your resume must always contain all the important info recruiters deem relevant for them to decide whether you cut. To do this all in 2 pages is another story, though, so think facts and keep it very concise.
Sales engineer jobs are a combo of tech skills and sales skills used to sell intricate tech products to clients. That description, however, is a little too generic. Your actual environment and workflow are determined by the company you’re applying to.
No SE positions are the same, as the product, the market state, sales process organization are different for every job. Therefore, you must check each individual requirement for the specific job advert accordingly.
Make sure to sprinkle your tech sales jargon throughout the resume.
Now ladies and gents, please don’t ignore the header!
Your resume header is composed of your job title and contact info. Simple, yes? Well, you’d be surprised how many people miss this part up!
The fail-safe solution here is just to use the job title stated on the job advert. Sales Engineer is the title most used, though, so it should be your go-to.
Make sure you don’t miss the chance to include your profile links. For example, if the job you’re applying to places serious emphasis on client relations and sales, including your LinkedIn profile, highlight your people skills. Occasionally, drop a few eye-catching descriptions with your tech sales accomplishments. On the other hand, should you be selling a complicated software product, with the job ad wanting solid development skills, rather add your Github profile link?
Lastly, highlight the industry you worked in. Rather than merely listing them by SIC codes, connect projects to them, including the scope, time frames, and dollar values in every sector. Don’t forget to quantify them with numerical values (dollars saved, time frames, etc.) and the environment (underground, underwater, feet above ground). For instance:
“Accountable for management of 3 corporate finance accounts tallying 70 million dollars for the rehabilitation projects of 5 oil mining sites of 7000 square meters each in Lagos during the last 22 months.”
A career summary/ objective is your chance to sell your own personal brand! It aims to highlight your proven skills and value to potential employers.
A few dos and don’ts to think about:
Try to tackle the writing of your summary the same way you would a project: with cycles.
Your summary/ objective must show you’re a well-rounded professional with tech and sales experience. Probably the best way to guarantee that is to highlight your past accomplishments and tenure in tech sales on company-wide levels.
A few more things that may enhance your chances of recruiters liking your summary include:
Which one do you write though?
If you have bucket loads of working experience, write up a summary.
If your work history is a little light, write up an objective. Objectives highlight your ambitions, skills, and how you plan to bring value to the company.
“Deadline- focused Sales Engineer with six years experience in technical sales, contributing to the 30% growth of income for regional technology solutions provider over five states, producing and assisting long-term contracts with Fortune 500 clients, and growing Territory sixfold up to $350M.“
“Sales Engineer with 3+ years experience in selling metallurgical services like electroplating, heat treatment, thermal-spray coatings, nitriding, PVD / CVD coatings, etc. to automotive/ industrial equipment/ component manufacturers; brilliant understanding of the following markets: Power Generation, Automotive, Oil & Gas, Hydraulic & Pneumatic Equipment, Construction Equipment, and Mining, General Mechanical Components.“
“Qualified Sales Engineer accountable for representing 40 to 50 different manufacturers of mid-to-high-end HVAC systems. Obligations included making active sales calls on design engineers, deciding the scope and necessities of projects, defining optimal products based on performance and physical issues, closing the sale, and following up on installation and operation of the product.“
“Proficient junior Sales Engineer, worked as a mechanical and thermal design engineer, and estimator in the supply of tube and shell, air-cooled, and plate and frame heat exchanger product lines. Seeking for a Senior Sales Engineer role at EFG Company.“
Companies looking for sales engineers don’t just want someone who learns about their products. They want engineers who utilize that knowledge to sell the products efficiently.
The sales cycle that sells intricate tech products in every company is complicated and has several agents and stages. As a result, sales engineers may be needed at every one of them.
Your best shot will come if you mold your experience section to the requirements of the job advert accordingly.
Below are several of the most common stages sales engineers have the most impact on:
For example, these are snippets from real-world sales engineer job descriptions:
So, format your experience to what the job description wants.
Don’t just rattle off a list of things you did. That’s boring. Instead, quantify them. It adds more impact. Also, make sure to use reverse chronological order when listing your jobs.
(Jan 2019- Current)
The primary duty was to recognize and provide current and future customer necessities in the areas of filtration and lubrication products and services.
(Jan 2013 – Dec 2018)
Accountable for day-to-day program management, customer relationships, and estimating the shaping and assembly of medical programs for critical Fortune 500 Clients: Pall Life Sciences, Baxter Healthcare, and Quest Medical.
The career progression of a Sales Engineer is depicted by different stages, which provide standardization to job scopes and levels of experience.
In this type of resume, it’s super easy to use jargon to bury your achievements in the “white noise.” That’s why there’s a separate section for it, so you’ll need to showcase them well by keeping it concise and interesting.
The importance of numbers really shouldn’t surprise you here. The numbers serve to prove your accomplishments by giving the recruiters something to measure your proficiencies objectively.
Be careful not to give too much sales info. Obviously, sales engineers play an integral role in closing clients and making meeting quotas, but you don’t want recruiters to misunderstand your role.
Your main skill is to be able to sell your technological skills. You’d be able to tailor your company’s tech solutions to the specific needs of your clients, and something sales reps can’t do.
These accomplishments should be punchy and consist of moments that made you most proud in your latest/ previous role. This includes things like value-adding beneficiation and positive contributions. Prove every statement with numbers, time frames, percentages, etc. This is called quantification.
Companies today don’t normally need you to have a STEM degree unless their product is super intricate. The kind you’d need specific technical skills to sell it efficiently. But if you’re selling things like the software, then a computer science degree will work in your favor. For anything manufacturing-wise, an electrical engineer degree will do just fine.
Your bachelor’s degree should be included in detail here with any coursework you think relevant to the industry to which you’re applying. In addition, if you have any applicable certificates, then include them too. You should be including certificates that apply to both sales and products.
List your Sales Engineering education as follows:
Starting and end date, full qualification name, institution, location of the institution, and the state.
2018-2021 Professional Engineering (PE) Exam, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), Newtown Square, PA.
2016-2019 Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Project Management Institute (PMI), Seneca, South Carolina.
2013- 2016 Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Academy, University of Texas, Dallas, TX.
5,300 hours of project management
42 hours of project management education
2011- 2014 Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Boston, MA.
The best kind of resume for this job will incorporate a balance of technical proficiencies, interpersonal skills, and a sprinkling of sales accomplishments. On average, applicants only really match about 60% of what the recruiters are looking for in their job ads. That’s many resumes being sacked, purely because the correct keywords/ phrases weren’t used. Job ads specify what the employers are looking for, so read them carefully and if it says they are looking for a certain skill, and it applies to you, use the exact words used in the advert. That way, the automated tracking systems won’t delete your application. Remember that soft skills are as important in this regard as hard skills.
The correct usage of jargon will also help to set a good tone for the recruiter. Finally, always strive to make a good first impression.
Classic sales engineer keywords include proof of concept (POC), request for proposal (RFP), territory management, growth, bids, quota, presentation, demo, proposal.
Try not to copy and paste random words though, keep it structured, fluid, and results-driven.
Below are examples of a skills matrix. We suggest this format as it isn’t as boring as bullet points, looks professional as hell, and just easier to read!
| Technical Skill | Interpersonal Benefit Statement |
|---|---|
| Budgets | Detailing project expenses and productivity standards, successfully managing and controlling budgets. |
| Project Scoping | Effectively synthesizing project information, establishing project scopes precisely. |
| Trouble Shooting | Solving critical problems with creative problem-solving and analytical techniques. |
| Resource Planning | Creating work breakdown structures with deliverable orientated precision and completing reliable estimations of human resource requirements to assist project outcomes timeously. |
| Project Management | Prioritizing multidisciplinary teams’ workloads, outlining deliverables, delegating tasks, and resolving conflict with decision-making and coaching skills to guarantee product deliverables are met. |
| Project Life Cycle | Efficiently managing projects with reliable cross-functional project management methods, quality assurance protocols, and change management methods. |
| Regulatory Compliance | Expert level of commercial awareness to produce project results timeously and within budget, adhering to regulatory necessities on scheduling and budget while maintaining safety procedures. |
| Analytics and Investigation | Utilize Critical Path Analysis algorithms for scheduling activities and investigating problems. |
| Assessments and Evaluations | Proficient at applying statistical tools to evaluate and review techniques efficiently. |
| Scheduling | Brilliant time management of time and prioritization assisted by Gantt charts to supervise project schedules. |
| RISE UP certification | Challenger Sales | Sandler Training |
| Salesforce Certification | SPIN Selling | AWS (cloud-based solutions) |
| Oracle Certified Professional (if you’re selling software solutions) | Bachelor of Engineering (any discipline) |
Now you have all your sections needed to impress the recruiter, but that may not be enough. You must prove you’re well-rounded in all aspects of life. Let the recruiter get to know you as a person, and it may be what sets you apart from your competition.
Include things like these:
Sectors: Various
Career Type: Engineering, Sales, Planning, Marketing, Design, Consulting, Programming, Evaluating, Business Development
Person type: Seller, Business Developer, Scheduler, Negotiator, Facilitator, Coordinator, Overseer, Planner, Evaluator, Forecaster
Education levels: Bachelor Degrees to Doctorate Degrees
Salary Indication: An average of $91 481 per annum (Glassdoor)
Labor market: Growth rate of 6% between 2019 – 2029 (BLS)
Organizations: Various