10 popular graduate jobs in sales

When you think of sales, it’s likely that a call centre pops into your head, a swarm of identical headsets in tight cubicles. Yet while telesales is still a lucrative industry for talented salespeople, this sector has evolved significantly over the years.

Nowadays, you could be dealing with technical products, managing accounts, developing strategies or networking at events, so it’s worth having a think about what graduate role might suit you best.

It would be near impossible to cover the whole spectrum of sales jobs out there, even at entry level. But to help you get your head around the options, we’ve picked out ten of the most popular jobs for graduates in sales.

1. Sales Executive Prove your worth for constantly meeting and exceeding your sales targets as you take the first rung on the ladder. Sales executives are the soldiers driving the retail army, selling products and services to the masses.
2. Field Sales Executive Like the thought of throwing travel into the mix? A field sales executive spends their time out and about, whether that’s door-to-door sales, meetings with potential clients, or exhibiting at events to encourage sales and sign-ups.
3. Telesales Executive If you’re a natural on the phone, you’ll thrive as a telesales executive. You could be dealing with inbound or outbound calls – or both – to seal the deal with potential customers thinking of buying from your company.
4. Sales Analyst Data – and interpreting what it means – is essential to the long-term success of a business. Sales analysts look beyond the numbers to determine trends, feeding this back to the team to help a business improve its sales strategy.
5. Technical Sales Representative Harness your niche in a certain area, such as science, business or IT, to sell complex or high value products and services. You’ll be a strong communicator, supporting potential customers and closing deals with aplomb.
6. Business Development Executive For graduates full of ideas and passionate about business, shaping the strategy of a sales team – and ultimately the organisation as a whole – is an attractive path. Being a business development executive will give you the chance to network, pitch and plan for success. 
7. Sales Consultant Not all sales happen overnight, which is why sales consultants work on building relationships with prospects until they are ready to buy, investing their time and energy into securing a long-term contract or particularly lucrative deal.
8. Account Manager Once clients are on board, businesses need account managers to keep them happy. A graduate account manager will look after a portfolio of clients, ensuring their needs are met and striving to grow the value of their account.
9. Territory Manager Some graduate schemes give you the opportunity to gain leadership experience from day one. Territory managers look after a group of stores or field sales executives, ensuring the region stays on track.
10. Sales Recruiter Got an eye for raw talent? Sales recruiters help organisations fill roles across the board with ambitious, persuasive and skilled sales candidates who will drive the performance of a team.

Read: Qualities You Need to Work in Sales

As you can see, there’s so much variety on offer for driven graduates looking to prove themselves in the rewarding world of sales. This makes narrowing down your options all the more important, especially when it comes to the sector you’d like to sell in.

Do you want to draw on your degree, by entering media, pharmaceutical or IT sales? And would you prefer working towards targets, or thinking of the bigger picture? By identifying the type of role best suited to you, it will be far easier to find the perfect job in the vast ocean of opportunities.

Internships are a great way to find out more about a role and to get an insight into a professional environment or company. Browse the latest sales and commercial internships to get started.