The sales industry and those who work in it tend to have a bad reputation. Some people have had negative experiences with people trying to sell them something, and have since then categorized everyone working in sales in the same light. Others might not realize how lucrative a career in sales can be. 

Either way, don’t let the false image of a sleazy guy at a car dealership distract you from the truth: sales can be a great career, and those in it can enjoy and enrich the lives of their customers. Here are a few reasons why sales might just be the perfect career for you to consider.

Related: 5 Reasons Tech Sales Is a Rewarding Career Move

Perceptions Are Starting To Change

Sales is quickly shedding its bad reputation & stepping into the spotlight. The pushy, handsy, over-eager sales person preying on unwilling customers is, thankfully, becoming a thing of the past. People in sales these days are far more dynamic and in tune with the current market, trends and needs of the consumer. 

Part of the reason for this shift is that the modern consumer is more knowledgeable and informed about the product. All it takes is a quick google search, and a customer will know a significant amount of information about what they’re buying. The statistics support this, with an incredible 94% of business to business buyers reporting that they research before purchasing a product. 

A good salesperson will not only be aware of this but embrace it, working with the customers instead of just trying to move stock.  Realizing that you don’t have to be a smooth-talking grifter to be a salesperson has opened the way for interested individuals to learn about the benefits, namely high commissions & flexibility. With perceptions changing rapidly, more people are moving into sales and sales related work.

People are now seeing sales as a lucrative and stable career. Check out re:work to see how you can break into the industry.

You Can Make A Lot Of Cash

Sales is a vast and accessible field that is a necessary part of every industry. Practically every company has a sales team, and they often pay their salespeople well because without them there would be less revenue, or none at all. If you’re good at it, which anyone can be, there’s a decent amount of money to be made. 

After an analysis by Glassdoor, a company who routinely compiles work-based analytics data, it was made apparent that wholesale and manufacturing jobs within sales are those who can make the most money, as well as those in the property sphere. 

In terms of hiring, it’s also been proven that a diverse sales team is essential for the success of a business; that’s why re:work training empowers individuals from diverse backgrounds and untapped communities with the tools and resources to succeed in the sales field. 

In other fields, you’d usually need to work your way up before making good money. In sales, it’s up to you when and how you can begin making the figures you want.

If you are interested in the financial opportunities that sales presents, you can find organizations that are designed to help you break into the field, like re:work. Or, dive right in yourself!

Related: Sales Techniques: 5 tips for Remote Learning 

Peace Of Mind

There will always be a need for people in sales.

No matter what industry, there will always be a vital component of the business that wants to expand its customer base. Even if a company goes out of business, there’s a good chance a salesperson can find another similar job elsewhere, relying on their experience and network connections.

Even when times are hard, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are still utilizing sales teams to try and drive their businesses to new heights, even more so with the market turndown, which will probably continue as the global economy suffers throughout 2020. It’s a skill that you can put to use across many industries, as long as you learn a little about the industry before getting into it. This is because basic sales principles will always remain the same. 

Work/Life Balance

If flexibility is what you’re after, a job in sales can be the perfect fit. In many cases you can work from home, and all you need is a laptop and a phone. It’ll save your employer money because they won’t have to rent an office space, and save you money on the commute. 

Not all sales jobs are like this, but if you can afford to wait and be a bit picky, you can really find something that suits you perfectly. The same goes for targets, or goals. You may work better during the week rather than the weekend. But as long as you hit your goals for the month, your schedule can be flexible; it’s up to you when those targets are hit, which gives you the freedom to play to your own strengths. 

Want a great work-life balance and a lucrative income? Contact re:work for more tips and tricks!

Use It To Push On

Working in sales in any capacity is an excellent way to build your interpersonal skills, which may allow you to succeed in other areas of work, such as procurement or even management. Many successful entrepreneurs & executives gained their success by building on a career in sales. 

If your goal is entrepreneurship, it’s much easier to start your own business if you have a background in sales, especially if you have an excellent client base. For example, in car sales you’ll often see people setting up showrooms who once worked for in a showroom themselves. 

Another point, that can’t be stressed enough, is that sales skills are always going to be in-demand skills. You’ll learn how to effectively collaborate, persuade, adapt to different situations, talk to and find common ground with people from different walks of life, manage stress, and figure out how to hit key targets and KPI’s. 

It can be a challenging role if you’re working in a saturated market, but that only adds to the satisfaction of doing well! 

Bottom Line

The sales role has changed over the years, and people’s perceptions about it are changing as well. Now is the perfect time to break into the industry because the demand is higher than ever, and there are more resources for training now than ever before! You can learn skills that are transferable to any & every aspect of life,  enjoy the opportunity for flexibility and creativity, pursue entrepreneurship & and reach new financial heights.

If you choose a career in sales and stick with it, your hardwork will pay off. That’s a guarantee.

Related: Career Advancement as a Sales Underdog: 3 Tips

It can be frustrating applying for a job when you have no work experience, especially if companies are making it a requirement. Don’t be discouraged! Even with no experience, a good resume can make a huge difference. 

Here are some tips to fill out a resume with no experience.

Related: Talk Less, Read More: Book Recs from a Female CEO

Start With A Brief Bio

A lot of people will avoid writing a bio on their resume, even if they have plenty of skills and experience to share. When you don’t have the experience, it’s highly recommended to bulk up the resume with a bio. This doesn’t need to be a life story, but perhaps a short paragraph on your skillset to showcase who you are & why you are valuable to potential employers.

 Try to stick with words that are more relative to the workplace rather than being too generic. For example, if you’re a good listener, then perhaps you could translate that into taking direction well or working efficiently both in a team and individually. When you lack experience, this can be an excellent opportunity to show the interviewer that your personality is a good fit for the job.

If you’re struggling to create a bio, ask your friends and family how they would describe you professionally. There’s no shame in getting a little help!

Need help getting a job? Check what re:work training have in store for you

Figure Out The Layout

The layout is an important one because the recruiter is going to be seeing a lot of applications, and many of them are going to have the same generic format. You want to consider the traditional ways that resumes are laid out and then figure out how you could make it stand out from the rest of the applications. That doesn’t mean you should be implementing crazy ideas or something out of the ordinary; instead, it’s the finer details that might help bring your resume to life.

The types of formats you’d usually have for a resume are chronological, functional, and hybrid (a mixture of both). Chronological order refers to the time sequence in which the events have occurred. For example, events in 2013 will come after 2012. A functional one focuses more on the skills, so this might be a better way of laying it out to benefit you. 

Don’t Overcomplicate It.

Try not to overcomplicate the resume and keep it simple and to the point. Most resumes are one page, but two is pushing it. Anything longer than two pages will usually be dismissed because of the amount of time that the recruiter will have to use to go through it. Think about font sizes and clearly label each section of your resume so that the recruiter can skim over it. It’s helpful to bold fonts to focus on the crucial elements. 

Make sure that you’ve perfected the content so that there are no punctuation, grammatical, or spelling errors. Otherwise, this makes it look as if you’ve rushed it or are inattentive. Have a friend or family member read through it to give you some insights on what to add or take out. You can also look at their resumes to get some idea of what to put in yours.

Add some variations to your words to prevent being repetitive. However, you should avoid using overly complicated words in every other sentence, so you don’t’ look too pretentious.

Related:Career Advancement as a Sales Underdog: 3 Tips

Note Down All Your Achievements

Achievements are something to be proud of, and it can tell the recruiter or person reading the resume more about you as an individual. It’s probably worth mentioning more than any other experiences you have had. Again, try to make it relative to the job industry that you’re applying to or at least something that can be attributed to the work rather than you winning your school’s talent show. Unless it was significant in some professional capacity and related to the job you’re going into, try to avoid off-topic achievements if possible. However, it’s essential to try to factor in all the accomplishments you’ve made in your life. This is something that the recruiter is likely to ask you during the interview.

Consider All Your Skills & Education

The majority of us will have an education, and when it comes to skills, this can vary from person to person. Make sure that you jot down all your academic achievements, and if there’s a lot, then try to condense it down to the most recent ones, and do an overview of the grades or qualifications you have received. The further you go down the line, the less you’ll need to factor in high-school education, but with the lack of experience, education becomes a vital asset.

Skills can vary from physical to verbal; you could be a good public-speaker or a good listener. Think about all the skills you have and list the ones that make you stand out. This should be tailored towards each job you apply to, so it matches with the position you’re going for. Make sure this section of your resume accentuates your best attributes.

re:work training can network and get you hire at the top corporate tech firms

Conclusion

If you lack some skills or experience, then it’s worth expanding your resume by looking at opportunities through re:work training. This training provides you with the resources necessary to succeed in the tech and sales industry. They leverage their network of corporate hiring partners to get you to notice by top software firms.

Don’t give up when it comes to your job search. Not every business will hire simply because you have the experience. Several factors contribute to you getting an interview, and skills and education play a significant role. You can also get a sense of the person by the feel of the resume, and of course, the bio section.

So what are you waiting for? Create your dream resume and get the skills you need with re:work training.

Related: Sales Techniques: 5 tips for Remote Learning 

Building & maintaining a diverse workforce has a myriad of benefits. For starters, it shows that you have an inclusive and open company culture that doesn’t support prejudices or bias. Secondly, diversity will improve creativity & innovation within your company.

Hiring people from different walks of life and ethnic backgrounds creates an environment where unique experiences are considered a strength in the workforce, not a weakness. This inclusive environment ultimately translates to a better and bigger pool of knowledge to utilize. 

If you’ve already taken steps to create a diverse workplace, kudos! However, every company can make improvements when it comes to diversity and supporting an inclusive culture in their workforce.

The best way to get started is through purposeful recruitment. It’s essential that your recruiters have a growth mindset & are searching for potential candidates in diverse pools. If not, your business is in danger of missing out on fresh, untapped talent!

Related: Diversity in the Workplace as an Employee Benefit

What is Workplace Diversity 

Workplace Diversity is an ideal work environment in which people from differing backgrounds can collaborate, innovate & feel free to be their authentic selves. It’s more than a concept, & has clearly been proven to produce better results than a homogenous workforce. Businesses therefore are encouraged to move forward into today’s best practices for recruitment by checking both their unconscious and conscious bias. Often the common biases are gender, or race. These are inarguably significant when looking at diversity, but they don’t encompass the entire problem. 

Inherent diversity often includes demographic characteristics like race, sex, and age. However, acquired diversity, on the other hand, include factors such as education, experience, values, knowledge, and skills.

Are There Really Benefits to Having Diversity?

As stated before, it’s been proven! Forbes has concluded that a diverse workspace directly correlates to internal innovation and business growth. Not only that, but there is statistical proof to back up this claim. A study of more than 500 companies and organizations concluded that every 1% addition to racial and gender diversity meant a 3% to 9% increase in sales revenue.

These results are no surprise. Having a diverse set of people from various backgrounds in your organization means you’ve got more experiences to call upon, people who are accustomed to different situations, have unique skills and can provide fresh ideas.

How Can You Increase Diversity?

To increase diversity, you need to look differently, not harder. 

First, you need to start searching for diverse talent in diverse places. Look into communities that are virtually untapped instead of going to the same old job fairs or university campuses. 

Second, craft your job posting strategically.

Avoid using strong, dominearing words, and try to keep the post as neutral as possible. On the same note, you should ensure your policies are inclusive & equitable. For example, ask yourself: does our dress-code policy marginalize a specific group of people? If the answer is yes, consider what that could mean for your workplace environment. 

Third, it’s beneficial to examine your working policy to determine what can and can’t be adjusted. For example, most people want to avoid a huge commute to work each day. Is it possible for them to work from home sometimes? 

This is the sort of thing you can think about ahead of time & establish in your recruiting strategy. Having a more flexible working policy in place gives your employees a chance to implement the proper work-life balance, and therefore tends to be the most attractive attribute to a job posting.

Want to increase diversity in your workplace? Contact re:work for more information!

Kill The Unconscious Bias

Let’s be honest: we all have unconscious bias’ towards others, whether it be about race, gender, sexuality, etc. It might have been ingrained at a young age by a family member, or it’s just something that’s grown over time. Regardless of how it came to be, it can be a difficult thing to nail down.

You can check out our website  for more information; we are not a recruiting agency, but we use a unique and tried approach to bring diversity to the tech industry. By empowering black and Latinx individuals, especially women of color, with the right education, resources & opportunities, re:work has been able to introduce companies to a diverse & work-ready set of employees.

Don’t forget that enrolling in an unconscious bias course can also help you in the future. Remember, if there are other people in your company other than yourself who are in charge of employment or recruitment, then they will also need the training to help ensure they make an unbiased hire. 

In some cases, it might be worth rolling out this kind of training to your whole workforce. It can be a long process, but just try to bear in mind the overall positive impact it will have on your team. As they are sifting through applications or conducting an interview, they will have the tools they need to make an unbiased decision. They will be able to make a hiring decision based entirely on performance or resume content, not on any subconscious bias or personal preference. If you start implementing this strategy, you’ll find that diversity in your workplace will come naturally.

Related: Don’t Need It? re:route Relief to Those That Do.

Use Tech For Success 

Technology can really help you to build & support diversity in the workforce. Positive intentions aren’t enough to beat issues in the early stages of the recruitment process, and unconscious biases can get in the way with hiring both the best candidates and those from diverse backgrounds. 

 People who work in recruitment and talent departments need support from their organizations to implement a system and processes that have proven to be effective at increasing workplace diversity. 

Technology can play a significant role by helping recruiters sift through resumes as they come in. It’s tedious and time-consuming, but technology can do it for you by scanning the document and picking out the keywords and qualifications which you’re looking for, without seeing anything else that may cause bias.

All you have to do is set up the software and look out for qualified candidates. If you wanted to look at it yourself, you could offer a blind resume application, where no personal details are on the resume to elicit any bias.

Lastly, consider using a blind interview, where you use technology, so you can’t see the person in question. The only thing heard will be their voice, which won’t disguise their gender, but it goes a long way in cutting out the unconscious bias.

Check out re:work’s program  to improve diversity in your tech company

Bottom Line

Depending on which industry you operate in, you’ll find different methods and what works for you. Implementing systems that effectively support diversity in the workplace can be tough, but is necessary and worth it.  Continue to check your unconscious bias, practice looking differently by tapping into other communities, and adopt a growth mindset through continued learning. 

If you pass these practices onto your workforce, you’ll be well on your way to being a more inclusive and a more successful team. With the technology out there to help you, there’s no excuse. 

Modern companies are rightfully making this a priority, so if you want to stay competitive and acquire some of the best workers out there, you need to pursue diversity through recruitment in a consistent way.

Related: 5 Reasons Tech Sales Is a Rewarding Career Move

Going to college can still have a myriad of benefits, but let’s face the facts: the market and professional landscape are changing rapidly. Today, some of the most sought-after employers and companies require experience in the field, versatility, and originality over a degree. A candidate that created his or her own educational or professional path can often be just as valuable if not more so than a college graduate. 

The job market has also changed, opening up opportunities in the technological sectors that not only don’t require a degree but are also some of the highest-paid professions out there. Looking for a change? re:work is here to help!

Related: re:work From Start to Finish

Web Developer

Web Developers are the professionals responsible for creating the visual style of websites. However, depending on the field of expertise, they might also take charge of the technical aspects of building a website. Some candidates hold a degree in computer science, but most employers base their decision on skills and experience instead. Web developers must have strong foundations for some programming languages, including CSS, HTML, or Javascript–all applications that can be self-taught.

Average salary: $59,514

Graphic Designer

If you want to explore your creative side, becoming a graphic designer can be an excellent option. While some still create illustrations and fonts by hand, these professionals are responsible for creating designs and layouts to communicate a particular product or service. Obtaining a degree in this field is not essential, especially if you have a portfolio to show. In terms of the daily tasks of a graphic designer, these will be agreed between you and your employer and can change from project to project.

Average salary: $45,261

Mobile App Developer

The popularity of this job is rising rapidly, and securing your place in such a job market can be life-changing. An increasing number of businesses and companies require apps to support their websites and online presence. In some cases, such apps can help the business streamline relationships and communication processes with their audience. Among the responsibilities of a Mobile App Developer are coding, debugging, and testing new apps. There are several reasons we could list about why skills and experience are valued more than a degree in this field, but the most obvious is that app developing is still a relatively new career path. However, sector growth over the next ten years is predicted at around 30%.

Average salary: $69,478

System Analyst

If you are known for your analytical eye, this is the job for you. System analysts leverage the power of IT to diagnose the current status of the business and plan future moves. Such systems are also essential to understand the changes needed within a company and how to implement them. While you won’t need a degree to access an entry-level position, rest assured that the increasing market competition has made System Analysts a hot commodity. In turn, this has opened up new opportunities for career advancement for professionals in the field. 

Average salary: $65,917

Junior Data Analyst

While still in expansion, this sector is predicted to continue rising in future years, and at an alarming rate! Data is what successful companies feed on to understand their consumers, craft ad hoc marketing campaigns, and ultimately design products that appeal to a particular audience. The sector offers such attractive opportunities that even entry-level positions boast impressive salaries. Among their responsibilities, Data Analysts will organize, analyze, and interpret data sets. Requirements to access these jobs depend on the employer – some might require a bachelor’s degree, but there are many who don’t.

Average salary: $48,927

Related: 5 Reasons Tech Sales Is a Rewarding Career Move

Digital Marketer

If you are interested in marketing and it’s unique challenges, this is one of the best careers to undertake. Digital Marketing is the primary channel for companies to reach out to customers and other businesses. Aside from being familiar with SEO and SEM techniques, you will need to be creative, innovative and ready to adapt! Tested skills in content and email marketing is a huge plus, and experience in the field will often override degrees. Utilizing your unique point of view and making the most of your personal experiences is crucial. Often Digital Marketers will choose to specialize in a specific area of this field.

Average salary: $49,970

Cybersecurity Analysts

Cybersecurity is an essential yet extremely complex sector that offers brilliant opportunities for most candidates. Most of the ones who decided to undertake a 4-year degree in this subject would have applied directly for higher-level positions, creating a gap at the beginning of the ladder. However, even entry-level jobs in the field are high-paying and extremely sought-after! These won’t require you to hold a degree and offer you attractive career advancement opportunities.

Average salary: $62,000 (average, entry-level positions)

Multimedia Artist

If you want to find a more profitable career that does not require you to leave your art behind, becoming a Multimedia Artist could be a viable option. These experts often develop animations and effects through the use of several programs. Electronic media today is taking over the traditional way of creating art, and can usually be found in adverts and video games. While some candidates have a bachelor’s degree, it is not required. 

Average salary: $52,115

Software Engineer

Software engineers are in charge of designing, developing, installing, and testing software. Some specialize in an area of this sector since the field is vast and expanding. However, just like in the case of web development, software engineering is still a self-taught skillset. There are only a few related courses that can benefit candidates. While it might change in the future, professional experience is valued as much as a degree today.

Average salary: $75,000 (entry-level)

Computer Support Specialist

More businesses and entrepreneurs rely on technology, software, and apps to run their business smoothly. Like everyone else, they also have to deal with technological issues, some minor, some that can bring their work to a grinding halt. A computer support specialist or technician allows employers and consumers to breathe easy by keeping their systems and operations running smoothly. 

Average salary: $47,033

Conclusion

Some jobs in the tech sector do require a bachelor’s degree. However, most of them don’t, and this industry is growing and diversifying rapidly.  Securing one of the above positions for yourself will allow you to build your experience and eventually move onto bigger and better things. Are you ready for a new career? Start with re:work training!

Related: re:work careers

• All information regarding average salaries from Payscale.com