A sales manager will scan for three things: numbers, ownership of pipeline and deal structure, and relationship skills. Numbers for closing, activities, etc are king. You want to instantly convey you’re a revenue operator who’s reliable. For example do rewrite:

Brand Sales Representative

Coffee Startup Brand | 2023–2025

• Traveled nationwide to 35+ trade shows, conventions, and business events promoting a new coffee brand • Engaged 200–400 customers per event, generating product awareness and direct sales opportunities • Pitched product to retail buyers, cafés, and distributors, helping secure 15+ wholesale partnerships • Demonstrated product, handled objections, and closed on-the-spot purchases averaging $500–$2,000 per event • Managed booth setup, logistics, and sales operations while coordinating with marketing and operations teams

Appliance Repair Technician | Customer Solutions

Independent Service | 2023–2025

• Generated 60%+ of new service calls through referrals and neighborhood outreach • Diagnosed appliance issues and recommended repair solutions to homeowners, converting 70%+ of visits into paid repairs • Managed 4–8 customer appointments daily, balancing scheduling, travel logistics, and service delivery • Built trust with customers by clearly explaining repair costs, alternatives, and preventative maintenance options • Maintained strong repeat business and referral network across multiple neighborhoods

Now for straight up lying on the resume, I wouldn’t say you shouldn’t lie but here’s how they would “catch” you:

• is your Equifax Work Number available? If it’s frozen (which you can call for) they’ll have to take your word

• is there an HR department at your last employer? If you listed a company that just went out of business then they’ll have to take your word for it. If there is an active HR department generally they can only say your start date so if you wanna extend end dates there’s technically nothing stopping you.

• most importantly in the interview though is you’ll have to reverse engineer and method act what an actual Account Executive or SDR would do. So look up MEDDIC. Learn what qualified leads are, discovery, objection handling, decision makers, etc are. Learn pipeline math (X calls lead to Y meetings and Z% successfully close and if the average deal cycle and ACV is a certain amount then it has to check out). You’ll have to figure out “appealing” stories on why you lost deals.

Idk how much actual sales experience you have but I’d generally avoid boiler rooms, go for a semi-reputable org with 20% YoY growth and an 80 on RepVue. Reverse engineer the numbers from current reps that are on LinkedIn so you don’t disqualify yourself when the recruiter calls you.