Accescompetences.com | Business – Financial News

Whether you are a longtime insurance agent or new to the profession, the pointers below are sure to boost the effectiveness of your insurance sales resume. 1. PROOFREAD CAREFULLY. Any good insurance agent must have an eye for detail. Your resume is your first impression, and if it is riddled with careless mistakes or poor grammar, you can be sure your potential employer will choose from among the other candidates. Have a friend or colleague proofread your resume before you submit it, since it can be difficult to catch your own errors. 2. LET THEM KNOW YOU CAN SELL. Sure your education is important, and your job experience counts for something too, but your employer really wants someone who can close sales. Indeed, regardless of your qualifications, it is your ability to make a sale that will most impress. So make sure your resume highlights your salesmanship. 3. SAY IT WITH NUMBERS. Whenever you have a chance, quantify your accomplishments in numeric form. Include your GPA (if greater than 3.5), closing percentages, corporate rankings, etc. Anytime you have a number that positively represents your ability, put down on paper. 4. STREAMLINE FOR EASY SKIMMING. Supposedly the typical hiring manager devotes less than twenty seconds to a resume. It merely takes a quick skim to efficiently narrow the pool of applicants to a more manageable level. Make sure your most important information stands out so you make the initial cut. 5. DON’T SKIMP ON DETAILS. You want your resume to be easy to read, using lists and bullet points, but you also want enough substance to hold a reader’s attention a second time through. Adding detailed content helps a reader form a more accurate picture of you, and really brings your insurance sales resume to the next level. 6. STICK TO STANDARD FONTS AND STAY AWAY FROM MS WORD TEMPLATES. Word templates are now ubiquitous and overused. If you want your resume to stand apart from others, then take the time to design your own resume. A simple design is sufficient. Additionally, resist the urge to use fancy fonts in an effort to get noticed. Instead stick to a standard typeface. You don’t want your resume to be difficult to read, and you definitely don’t want the font to be the most memorable part of your resume. 7. MENTION EXTRACURRICULARS AND ACHIEVEMENTS. Whether you lecture on financial literacy or have a black belt in karate, you should put it on your insurance resume. Activities and achievements help you stand out and show you are driven and capable. 8. CUSTOMIZE EACH INSURANCE SALES RESUME. Don’t merely make one resume to use. Instead, customize each resume specifically for the job you seek. Take time to learn about the company to which you are applying and use what you find to make your resume more personalized and attractive. 9. DON’T SKIMP ON STATIONERY. Using quality paper makes a big difference. An insurance resume printed on thick, textured stationery is much more impressive than one on a flimsy sheet of paper. Like a handshake, the resume makes your first impression.