5 Car Salesman Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

As the automotive landscape accelerates towards electric and hybrid vehicles, the role of a car salesman is shifting. Gone are the days when knowledge of horsepower and fuel types sufficed. Today, a deep understanding of electric and hybrid technology, charging infrastructure, and sustainability is crucial.

This industry shift means it's more important than ever for your car salesman resume to highlight your sales prowess and expertise in these cutting-edge technologies.

Whether you're a seasoned sales professional adapting to the new market or a newcomer eager to make your mark, crafting a resume that reflects these changes is critical to powering up your career.

This guide, including examples and pro tips, will walk you through the essential steps of constructing a compelling car salesman resume as innovative as the cars you sell.

For even more resume-writing tips and examples for sales jobs, check out these additional guides:

• Car salesman cover letter
• Automotive general sales manager resume
• Sales manager resume
• Sales resume

How to format a car salesman resume

Like many others, the automotive sales industry values professionalism. A resume that reflects high standards suggests you'll uphold the dealership's reputation and effectively handle customer interactions.

A well-formatted resume demonstrates this professionalism and other highly valued skills, such as attention to detail, organizational skills, high standards, and effective communication.

Follow these tips to ensure your professional automotive sales resume ensures hiring managers won't want to let this high-performer drive off the lot:

• Keep it simple. To maintain a sleek, professional appearance, avoid using unnecessary creative elements that may distract from your qualifications.  
• Be concise. Aim for a one-page resume and use bullet points rather than paragraphs when possible to describe experiences and achievements, making it easier to skim.
• Use clear headings. Ensure your resume sections are organized logically and differentiated using simple, precise headings. Bold headings to help organize information and guide the reader's eye.
• Include contact information. A prominent header featuring your name, desired job title, and contact information lets employers view them at a glance.  
• Proofread: Finally, proofread your resume multiple times for spelling, grammar, or formatting errors. Consider having someone else review it as well to catch anything you might have missed.
• Maintain proper ordering: List all entries in reverse chronological order to ensure your most recent and relevant appear first.

An essential formatting element you may or may not be aware of is ATS (applicant tracking systems). ATS analyze resume text for keywords and phrases corresponding to desired skills and qualifications for a specific job. Employers use these systems to quickly sort resumes and prioritize candidates with qualifications closely aligned to the available position.

Here are a few tips to ensure your formatting is ATS-optimized:

• Fonts: Select ATS-friendly fonts matching the overall style of your resume. Some ATS-friendly fonts are Calibri, Arial, and Times New Roman. However, these commonly used fonts can be dull or generic. For more creative font options, try Rubik, Lato, Montserrat, Raleway, Exo 2, and Volkhov, which are all available on the Enhancv Resume Builder.
• Document type: Doc or PDF files are typical for resumes and most easily analyzed by ATS. We prefer PDFs, as they maintain your formatting across different operation systems.
• Headings and subheadings: Ensure resume sections are logically organized and include simple, precise headings. Standard section titles ensure ATS accurately recognizes and extracts information from these sections.

Be sure to include these standard sections for care salesman resumes to ensure your resume includes all the essential information hiring sales managers look for.

When it comes to stand-out skills and qualifications, these are the most sought-after for car salesmen. Be sure to include them within your resume sections.

How to write your car salesman resume experience

The experience section is among your car salesman resume's most essential and impactful sections.

Auto retailers value experience because achievements in past jobs demonstrate your ability to sell. It's also essential to customer service since car buyers prefer buying from knowledgeable and experienced salesmen.  

When describing past work in care sales, be sure to go beyond job duties and utilize descriptions to highlight past successes and achievements.

Include the following elements to construct an impactful experience section:

• Company names and locations: Include the name of each dealership or company you have worked for and its location.
• Dates of employment: List the dates you were employed in each role, typically in a month/year format. This helps hiring managers understand your tenure and stability.
• Job titles: Clearly state your job titles, as these indicate your level of responsibility and the roles you have handled.
• Key responsibilities: Describe your achievements related to primary duties in each role, focusing on those most relevant to the job you're applying for. Use action verbs to convey your involvement.
• Awards and recognitions: If you received any awards or special recognitions, include these as they underscore your expertise and success.
• Achievements and metrics: Wherever possible, quantify your accomplishments with metrics such as sales volumes, revenue generated, rankings, or percentages to showcase your effectiveness and impact. For example, "Increased monthly sales by 30% through strategic client outreach and enhanced presentation of key vehicle features."

This experience item describes an effective car salesman and includes several relevant achievements. However, the lack of quantitative evidence and detail can fail to impress.

By including numbers and statistics, this applicant highlights their achievements and reinforces their stated skills. The applicant also incorporated keyword terms, such as effective needs analysis, product demonstrations, and strong closing skills, in describing how they made these significant achievements.

How to quantify impact on your resume

One of the most effective ways to rev up your resume is with statistics that sell! Whether you've boosted dealership revenue, skyrocketed customer satisfaction scores, or smashed sales targets, your proven track record will make it impossible for hiring managers to pass you by.

Sales is a numbers game. Include numbers and statistics to turbocharge your resume's impact by showcasing your sales prowess through hard-hitting, quantifiable achievements.

Here are a few of the best ways to quantify your superior selling skills using numbers.

• Annual sales numbers: Sales figures demonstrate your ability to generate income.
• Average number of cars sold monthly: This highlights your consistency and capacity to meet sales targets.
• Percentages of sales targets achieved: These showcase your ability to meet or even exceed sales expectations.
• Number of return customers: This indicates your ability to build and maintain customer relationships, fostering loyalty and increasing sales.
• Customer satisfaction scores: These measures illustrate your passion for customer satisfaction, which is crucial in reputation management and repeat business.
• Size of your client base: A large client base shows your ability to manage multiple relationships and juggle many selling scenarios.
• Number of awards or sales competitions won: Recognizes your selling skills and highlights your competitiveness and drive.
• Amount of successful upsells or cross-sells: Demonstrates your ability to maximize the revenue potential of each customer, increasing the dealer's profitability.

How do I write a car salesman resume with no experience

If you have a passion for sales or a strong interest in automobiles and you're looking to test drive a new career in car sales, you can still write an effective resume without prior auto sales experience.

The key to writing a car salesman resume without experience is emphasizing transferable skills, highlighting relevant achievements, and demonstrating a clear enthusiasm for the industry.

Follow these steps to write your experience section without prior experience:

• Compile a list of keywords from the job description.
• List your previous job roles with relevant crossover and showcase the same keyword skills and knowledge from your list. Particularly sales experience and automotive knowledge.
• Add credibility by including quantifiable evidence of transferable sales skills.
• Avoid including irrelevant work experiences or outdated experiences.
• List experiences in reverse chronological order to ensure your most recent and relevant examples appear first.

How to list your hard skills and soft skills on your resume

A resume covering in-demand skills like expert product knowledge and powerhouse sales strategies will accelerate your success in the automotive sales industry and drive your career forward!

When deciding what skills to feature on your resume, be sure to include both hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are the skills necessary to perform a particular job. They typically require study, training, and practice. In auto sales, these are your sales skills, product knowledge, and familiarity with dealer management software like Dealer Track and DealerCenter.

Be sure to include some of these top hard skills in your car salesman resume’s skills section:

Soft skills relate to your personality and work style. They are transferable from one position to another, and many soft skills, such as resilience, persistence, and adaptability, can be directly related to your success as a salesman.

Employers may be willing to train employees in hard skills like dealer software. However, soft skills' intrinsic nature makes them more challenging to teach, making them a valued asset in sales.

Here are a few of the most sought-after skills in car salesmen:

When adding skills to your resume, follow these best practices:

• Format your skills section as a simple list without elaboration or examples.
• Incorporate soft skills throughout your resume, for example, in your personal statement and your experience and education descriptions.
• Target your skills for individual positions using keyword skills from the job description.
• Write skills precisely as they appear in the job description to enhance ATS optimization.
• Never lie or exaggerate your skills.
• Check for consistency between your skills sections and other resume sections. Include skills mentioned in the other sections in your skills section, and vice versa.

By showcasing a combination of hard and soft skills on your car salesman resume, you will demonstrate your readiness and suitability for the role while aligning with potential employers' expectations and requirements.

How to list your certifications and education on your resume

There are typically no formal education requirements specifically for car sales positions. However, some training and certifications can be advantageous.

For example, automotive sales certifications like the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) or manufacturer-specific certifications like Ford’s Certified Sales Consultant demonstrate expertise in automotive sales practices and knowledge.

Here are a few of the top certifications for car salesman:

Additionally, some states do require a mandatory car salesperson license.

Follow these steps when listing licenses and certifications on your resume:

• Include the name of the certification, the certifying institution, and the year obtained.
• Limit certifications to current, unexpired credentials, specifically named or directly related to the required skills mentioned in the job description.
• If a certification requires renewal to remain valid, include the date first acquired as well as the most recent renewal date or a "valid through" date.
• Never include outdated or irrelevant certifications, such as a Ford Certified Sales Consultant Certification, when applying to a Toyota dealership.

Here's an excellent example of a car salesman certifications section:

How to write your car salesman resume summary or objective

Sales managers often look for a cultural fit to ensure a new hire will mesh well with the dealership's values and existing team. A car salesman needs to demonstrate not just the ability to sell but also a personality and approach that align with the dealership's brand and customer service philosophy.

Personal statements, like a summary or objective statement, are essential on your car salesman resume to effectively communicate your unique values, your passion for the industry, and your alignment with the job opportunity. Ultimately, these statements play a key role in increasing your chances of securing interviews and landing a desired position.

An objective section is optimal if you have limited experience or are applying for your first car salesman job. It focuses on how you plan to use your background, such as in another sales industry, to achieve career goals while contributing to the success of the office.

To write your resume objective, follow these best practices:

• Describe the type of position you’re seeking.
• Share relevant or transferable skills that will help you succeed in the position using keywords directly from the job description.
• Clearly state your career goals and enthusiasm for working towards them in the role.
• Highlight valuable contributions you can make while learning and gaining experience.
• Avoid generic phrases. Instead, focus on specific skills and goals that set you apart.

A summary is preferable for care salesmen with extensive experience since it draws on prior work experiences to illustrate your suitability. A summary aims to highlight your past success as an indication of potential future success.

To write a car salesman resume summary, follow these best practices:  

• Highlight your top skills and experiences that directly overlap with the job description.
• Briefly mention your years of experience to provide context for your level of expertise.
• Write an impactful summary using keywords directly from the job description, highlighting your well-aligned keyword experiences and skills.
• Use details such as naming specific dealer software, vehicle brands, and sales skills to reinforce the relevance of your experiences.  
• Convey your enthusiasm for the opportunity to continue successfully closing sales and providing knowledgeable, friendly service in the available position.
• Be brief. A summary should only be 3-5 sentences.

Be sure to tailor your summary statement to increase its appeal. Check out the statements below to better understand why a targeted summary is more effective.

This generic resume summary lacks the focus that would be built into a more targeted resume. Although it includes various skills and values, they come off as disconnected and too general to stand out for a specific position.

This improved version specifies the candidate's experience in and passion for used car sales. As a result, they emphasize their expertise in matching customers with used vehicles and their ability to drive repeat business in the used car market. Additionally, they are able to incorporate specific quantitative data, such as exceeding sales targets by 20% annually, maintaining a customer satisfaction rating of 95% or higher, and achieving a 30% increase in repeat business. These numbers provide concrete evidence of the candidate's achievements and contributions in previous used car sales roles.

Additional sections for a car salesman resume

Standing out in the competitive car sales job market can feel like navigating bumper-to-bumper traffic. Including additional tailored sections on your car salesman resume provides a more comprehensive overview of your skills, expertise, and achievements and lets potential employers know you're the ideal candidate.

• Professional associations: If you're already a member of any professional associations related to sales, marketing, or the automotive industry. List them in this section, along with any training or networking events you have participated in. To add a professional association check out some of the most popular for automotive salesmen below.
• Languages: Proficiency in languages other than English could be beneficial for a sales role. Mention them along with your level of proficiency to highlight your ability to communicate with diverse customer populations.
• Interests and hobbies: While not always necessary, including a section on automotive-related interests and hobbies can provide a glimpse into your personality and relevant areas of knowledge developed outside work—for example, a strong interest in Indy car racing or attending vintage car shows.  
• Customer testimonials: If desired, you can include a section to showcase particularly flattering customer testimonials. These should be short quotes highlighting keyword skills targeted for a particular position.

If you’re interested in adding a professional association to your resume. Check out some of these popular organizations for car salesmen:

Featuring awards and achievements on a car salesman resume

Achievements, accolades, and awards scream 'success' louder than a revving engine.

A stellar way to ensure your car salesman resume stands out and demonstrates your top skills is to include an achievements section you've received throughout your career. This could consist of sales awards, customer service accolades, or recognition for outstanding performance or contributions to the dealership.

Follow these steps to write an achievements section for your car salesman resume:

• Name the achievement or award, the date received, and a brief description.
• Use keywords and quantifying data in the description whenever possible.
• Limit items to only significant and relevant awards.

The following is and example of how your achievements section should appear on your car salesman resume:

Key takeaways

Buckle up as we review the key takeaways to ensure your resume shifts into high gear and leaves a lasting impression on potential employers.

• Professional resume formatting helps ensure your resume makes an outstanding impression on employers and ranks highly in ATS analyses of qualifications.
• Targeting descriptions for positions at a particular dealership ensures you highlight your most valuable skills and achievements for the role.
• Your education and certifications section should showcase not only your knowledge of sales but product expertise as well.
• Personalizing your resume with additional sections, such as an achievements section, will demonstrate your ability to excel and accomplish sales goals, setting you apart from the competition.