How to Screen a Sales Development Representative Resume: Must-Haves, Red Flags and a Scoring Rubric
SDR CVs are short and often thin, and that is fine: the role is usually early-career. Screen for the behaviours that predict outbound success, which are persistence with a method, coachability and comfort with rejection, and for numbers wherever they appear.
- Read for evidence before matching keywords: a sales development representative CV should show what the candidate built, ran, closed or decided, with a result. The must-haves below are the four things the job cannot be done without.
- Must-haves: any role where they persuaded strangers repeatedly: sales, fundraising, retail, recruiting, campaigning; at least one number: quota attainment, meetings booked, calls per day, conversion. Nice-to-haves raise a candidate; they do not rescue one missing a must-have.
- Red flags are patterns, not single lines: claims of 'exceeded targets' with no target or number, and three sales roles in eighteen months with no explanation.
- Use the five-criterion rubric on the page, weighted so that results with numbers counts more than job description match. It is written to be pasted into WadeCV as a role and scored automatically.
- Spend three minutes per CV with the rubric and write one line of evidence per criterion. Screening decisions with evidence attached can be explained to the candidate, to the hiring manager, and to anyone who audits them later.
Must-haves
- Any role where they persuaded strangers repeatedly: sales, fundraising, retail, recruiting, campaigning
- At least one number: quota attainment, meetings booked, calls per day, conversion
- Evidence of coaching taken: training programmes, a manager's feedback, a measurable improvement
- Written communication in the CV itself that is clear and error-free
Nice to have
- Experience with a sales engagement or CRM tool
- Prior exposure to your buyer (industry, function)
- A ramp story: what they achieved in the first quarter
- Promotion or expansion of responsibility within a role
Red flags
- Claims of 'exceeded targets' with no target or number
- Three sales roles in eighteen months with no explanation
- A CV that is itself poorly written or careless
- No persuasion experience of any kind
The rubric
Score each criterion from what the CV shows; weight 3 counts three times weight 1. In WadeCV, create the role with these criteria and every CV is scored this way automatically.
| Criterion | How to measure it | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Job description match | Match between prior selling context, buyer type and the role as written | 2 |
| Years of relevant experience | Months or years in outbound or persuasion roles, weighted lightly for an entry role | 1 |
| Results with numbers | Quota, meetings, conversion or activity figures stated and plausible | 3 |
| Coachability evidence | Training taken, feedback applied, improvement shown over a period | 2 |
| Written communication | Clarity and care of the CV and any cover note | 2 |
How to read the CV
Read the CV as a writing sample. An SDR's first touch with a prospect is written, and a CV with careless errors predicts careless outreach. This is the one role where the document's own quality is evidence.
Then look for numbers and for movement. 'Booked 22 meetings a month against a target of 15' is a strong bullet. 'Promoted to senior SDR after two quarters' is a strong bullet. 'Responsible for outbound prospecting' is the job description, not evidence.
Be generous about where persuasion experience came from. Selling phone contracts in a shop, raising money for a charity, recruiting members for a society: all of these teach the same thing, and the candidates who did them well often out-perform those with a year of unremarkable SDR work.
Frequently asked questions
How much experience should we require?
For an entry SDR, none in sales specifically. Require evidence of persuasion and of coachability from anywhere. For a senior SDR, require numbers from an outbound role.
Should we screen out job-hoppers?
Ask, do not assume. SDR teams have high turnover for reasons that are often the company's. Two short stints with a reason are fine; three with no reason is a pattern.
Is a cover letter useful for this role?
More than for most. Ask for a short note on why this company, and score it as an outreach sample.
Related guides
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