The recent recession has caused a decline in jobs across many industries, creating a pool of highly qualified talent not seen in years. Many businesses are taking advantage of these candidates to fill sales positions that offer high-reward and low-risk to the company. This trend has allowed the sales sector to remain strong, experiencing a 9.63 percent increase in the number of sales jobs posted to SalesJobs.net, a Beyond.com career community, in January 2009 compared to December 2008.
According to SalesJobs.net, in Q4 2008 the top positions for sales jobs were Sales Manager (67.96 percent), Pharmaceutical Sales Representative (14.56 percent) and Cashier (5.44 percent), with the top cities for jobs ranked as Houston, New York and Chicago. Of the sales jobs posted in Q4 2008, 67.3 percent were looking for a candidate with less than one year of experience and 63.4 percent required at least a four-year degree, which provides hope to college graduates entering the work force in the next few months.
With the increased quantity and quality of competition in the job market — SalesJobs.net reported a 27 percent increase in sales professionals looking for a job over the past year — listed below are a few steps from the Sales Survival Guide that professionals can take to stand out from other candidates to land their next job.
- Know Your Competition. Conduct research on skills and experiences required for the position and identify how you compare to similar candidates. What is an appropriate salary? Do you have the right level of education?
- Create a Brag Book. Showcase professional achievements such as letters of recommendation, noteworthy sales statistics, presentations, performance reviews and awards. Bring relevant information along to job interviews.
- Take Action. Locate niche career communities focused on the sales industry to access highly relevant jobs and networking tools to help improve the chance of getting noticed by sales employers. These sites are much more focused than general job boards.
- Nail Your Job Interview. Leverage your research to prepare the right questions, present new ideas and demonstrate value to the potential employer. Use your brag book!
For in-depth career tips and resources, sign up today for a free copy of the Sales Survival Guide at http://www.SalesJobs.net/Guide.
