Most sales job postings in Boston ask for one to three years of experience. That leaves a lot of people stuck: you need experience to get hired, and you need to get hired to get experience.
The good news is that some sales roles are built for beginners. Here's how to find them and what to do to land one.
1. Look for roles that include training
Search for "entry-level sales," "sales representative, no experience" or "sales trainee" in Boston and the surrounding towns. Then read the posting closely. A company that's serious about hiring beginners will tell you how it trains people: who teaches you, how long it lasts and what you'll learn in the first few weeks. If the posting doesn't mention training, ask about it in the interview.
2. Show the skills you already have
You don't need a sales résumé to show sales skills. Hiring managers look for:
Talking with people. Customer service, serving, retail or coaching all count.
Competitiveness. Sports, competitions or anything where you worked toward a goal.
Coachability. A time you took feedback and got better quickly.
Resilience. A time something didn't go your way and you kept going.
Put these on your résumé and have one short story ready for each.
3. Consider face-to-face sales
Face-to-face B2B sales means meeting business owners in person, learning what they need and helping them find the right product. It's one of the fastest ways to learn sales because you get real conversations every day, with a team lead beside you giving feedback.
It also builds skills that carry into any career: confidence, reading people, handling objections and closing.
4. Treat the interview like your first sale
The interview is your chance to show how you'd sell. A few things that stand out:
Research the company. Know what they sell and who their customers are.
Ask good questions. Ask what top reps do differently, or what a great first month looks like.
Be confident, not perfect. Nobody expects you to know sales yet. They want to see energy, eye contact and how you handle a question you weren't ready for.
Ask for the next step. At the end, say you're interested and ask what comes next. In sales, that's called asking for the close.
5. Apply and follow up
Apply to a handful of roles at once, and follow up within a few days. Being responsive is a sales skill too, and hiring managers notice.
Start your sales career at North Co.
North Co. is hiring Entry-Level Sales Representatives at our office in Woburn, MA, just north of Boston. No experience is needed. You'll get:
hands-on training from day one
a mentor in the field
base pay plus uncapped commission
a clear path from Sales Representative to Team Lead, Assistant Sales Manager and Sales Manager
See open roles and apply. Graduating soon? Apply as a new grad.
