Successful sales engineers need to have a unique skillset combining sales know-how and interpersonal skills and experience with highly developed technical product knowledge. On the sales side, they can be responsible for supporting sales representatives or managing clients through the sales funnel, and building and maintaining relationships with new and existing customers. Sales engineers also need to apply extensive technical knowledge of their company’s product and effectively communicate to clients in detail about how it meets their requirements.
You may hear sales engineers called by different names: technical sales engineer, application engineer, and field engineer. Although their day to day roles may differ slightly, in most cases their core responsibilities are the same.
The sales engineer could also provide ongoing technical support and consultation, and act as an intermediary between the client and product development team.
Because the role involves a high degree of technical understanding, it is recommended that sales engineers have a bachelor’s degree in science, engineering or a related field. They can acquire skills in sales by entering the field as a sales representative, then moving up to associate sales engineer, then eventually a full-fledged sales engineer.
Although not essential, there are several certifications to consider to enhance your credentials. Examples of certifications include:
Recruiters seek candidates that can build strong customer relationships, possess strong technical aptitude, and can present effective solutions for their clients. This is a unique, challenging role that can provide lucrative pay and a rewarding career.
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Many aspects of a sales engineer’s role overlap with traditional sales and technical positions. Their key responsibilities include preparing detailed technical presentations for clients, support and work with sales representatives to understand the customer’s problems and provide solutions, collaborate with product development teams to improve products and to research and recommend new products.
This resume effectively highlights the career growth of an early to mid-career sales engineer. They have a strong background with a degree in Mechanical Engineering matched with solid experience in sales, ideal qualities for the role.
This resume sample opens with a statement summarizing the candidate’s progressive experience and key achievements as a sales engineer. This helps grab the recruiter’s attention and encourages them to read on.
Ah, a Technical Sales Engineer, you're the bridge between customers and engineering teams, an extension of both worlds. It's your magic that converts complex technical concepts into simple solutions that customers comprehend and get excited about. Your resume needs to paint this picture. Nowadays, companies are increasingly looking for candidates who can solve intricate problems using data-driven reasoning. Also, many are setting their sights on candidates who can demonstrate the ability to lead and manage projects singlehandedly. Make this your focus when crafting your resume.
Hiring managers are looking for Technical Sales Engineers who understand their products inside out. Use your resume to communicate your technical skills. Demonstrate how you've used them in the past to solve customers' problems and generate sales. List any relevant technical certifications you hold.
As a bridge between technical teams and customers, your communication skills are paramount. Highlight instances where you've successfully translated technical jargon into user-friendly language. This could be anything from presentations, webinars, or simply explaining a complex product to a less-technical customer.
The title technical sales engineer is considered to be interchangeable with sales engineer. Both roles have many of the same responsibilities described above. This resume highlights the mid-career of a technical sales engineer.
Showing increased responsibilities as a technical sales engineer on your resume through action verbs like “led”, “supervised” and ”initiated”, demonstrates initiative and professional growth.
This example highlights several measurable achievements from the candidate’s current and past roles as a technical sales engineer. In this case, adding specific numbers to reflect increased profits, savings and other activities adds impact and credibility.
In some cases, companies may divide sales engineering roles into pre- and post-sales positions. In the case of the pre-sales engineer, they will usually have deep knowledge of the product, and may even have contributed to its development. Their key role is to support the sales engineer and function as a product expert by demonstrate its capabilities and benefits to the client, and usually aren’t involved in the sales process. This template shows a candidate relatively early in their career.
In the Skills section of this example, the candidate is careful to only include technical skills that are specific to the role. To make the most impact, read the job description carefully and only include the skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for.
Don’t be shy about showing your career growth, especially if you’ve taken on greater responsibilities within a short timeframe. Recruiters and hiring managers will see your ambition and initiative.
We spoke with hiring managers at top companies like Cisco Systems, GE Healthcare, and Rockwell Automation to get their best tips for creating a strong sales engineer resume. Sales engineers need a unique mix of technical knowledge and sales skills to succeed in their roles. The following tips will help you showcase both on your resume and increase your chances of landing an interview.
Sales engineers need to have a deep understanding of the products they are selling. Make sure to showcase your technical skills and knowledge on your resume.
A summary is an optional section at the top of your resume that provides an overview of your experience and qualifications. While objectives were once popular, they are outdated and should never be used. Instead, a well-crafted summary can help you stand out to hiring managers and set the stage for the rest of your resume.
For sales engineers, your summary is an opportunity to highlight your unique blend of technical expertise and sales skills. Focus on your most relevant qualifications and experiences, and tailor your language to the specific job you're applying for. Keep it concise and engaging, and avoid repeating information that's already covered in other sections of your resume.
Your work experience section is the heart of your resume. It's where you prove to employers that you have the right experience to excel in the sales engineer role.
In this section, we'll cover what to focus on in your work experience section, and how to make your achievements and expertise stand out to recruiters and hiring managers.
Each of your achievements and bullet points on in the experience section of your sales engineer resume should emphasize your sales and technical abilities. Sample action verbs for your resume are listed below. These action verbs are related to leading projects, undertaking new initiatives and growing business objectives. Don’t repeat action verbs more than twice on your resume - use different verbs to highlight different experiences.
For more related action verbs, visit Sales Action Verbs.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
When writing your resume for sales engineer roles, you should emphasize your sales and interpersonal skills, advanced technical abilities, accomplishments, and demonstrated career growth. These are crucial elements that will make your resume stand out to recruiters and hiring managers.
Remember to always carefully research the role you’re applying for and include skills that are relevant to the position. This will help ensure your resume is well targeted to the role and makes it past the resume screening stage.
Here are some hard skills from sales engineer job postings to consider adding to your resume. to only include keywords that are relevant to the role.
You can also consider adding these skills to a Skills section on your resume.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Sales Engineer job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
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