The sales job market is crowded right now, and recruiters are reading a LOT of applications. So what actually gets someone through the door?
We asked Stephanie Loewenstern, who recruits go-to-market roles for Airspeed across the US and London. Her answers were refreshingly practical.
Show hunger and grit, then explain why you fit
“For a sales position, you need to have hunger and grit, especially in the market we’re in right now.”
Hunger on its own isn’t enough, though. What stands out is a candidate who can take the skills they’ve already built in the real world and clearly explain why those skills make them a fit for this specific role. That translation is the job. If you can’t sell yourself, it’s hard to believe you’ll sell the product.
Your LinkedIn gets read before your resume
This one surprises people. Stephanie says most recruiters look at a candidate’s LinkedIn before they look at the resume, and sometimes it matters more.
If you’re going for a sales or marketing role, start building a presence there. Post, comment, engage with people in the space. It shows you’re active in the field and that you know how to build connections, and that same muscle is what books meetings once you’re in the seat.
Put real results on the page
When Stephanie does read your resume, she’s looking for two things. First, the companies you’ve worked at and what stage they were at, and how that lines up with where Airspeed is now. Second, your numbers. She wants to know exactly what results you produced, and whether they line up with the goals of the team you’d be joining.
What she doesn’t want is jargon. You can pack a resume with buzzwords and stats, but if it doesn’t tell your story or make your value clear, it doesn’t count for much.
Your best sales story might not come from sales
Booked 30 meetings that turned into a pile of revenue? Great, say so. But Stephanie also pays close attention to what people have done outside their day job.
One of Airspeed’s recent hires played Division 1 sport, and that kind of background translates really well to the day to day of a sales team: the discipline, the competitiveness, the ability to take a loss and go again. The same goes for someone who spent a year committed to a volunteer organization and did a ton of fundraising outreach, or someone who built an online store from scratch.
“There’s a way you can find something in your personal life, or a personal passion, that you can bring to the table.”
Putting yourself out there and building relationships for a cause you care about is the same skill as getting on the phone or messaging a prospect on LinkedIn. Make that connection for the recruiter, don’t leave them to guess.
Send something nobody else sends
Here’s a story worth remembering. Two SDR candidates sent Stephanie a Loom video. Both came from industries well outside the usual B2B SaaS path, and she’s honest that based on their backgrounds alone, she probably wouldn’t have looked at their resumes. The video changed that.
Very few people do this, which is exactly why it works. A short, personal video explaining who you are and why you want the role is a sales move, and recruiters notice it.
Use AI, but keep it yours
Stephanie gets a ton of outreach from candidates, and the generic AI-written messages blend together fast. The ones that get her on the phone explain what the person has actually done and why it fits Airspeed, in a way that clearly came from them. She goes deeper on this in the GTM skills that matter more as AI moves in.
Treat the interview like a sales process
Because it is one. A few things Stephanie looks for:
- Good questions. The quality of your questions tells her more than a rehearsed answer.
- Follow up. If a question came up that you couldn’t fully answer, or the interviewer raised a concern, follow up on it afterwards. That’s exactly what a good rep does with a prospect.
- Rapport. You don’t need to fake a shared love of Star Wars, but finding genuine common ground helps people relax, and that’s a really good first step in any sales conversation.
- Research. Know the company and why its product matters to the people who use it. For Airspeed, start with what it does for sales reps and what the culture looks like from the recruiter’s chair.
The short version
Build your LinkedIn, put real numbers on your resume, tell the story behind your experience (including the bits outside work), skip the jargon, and do something that makes you memorable. Then show up to the interview the way you’d show up to a discovery call.
We’re hiring SDRs and AEs in the US and London. See our open roles
