What skills should a Real Estate Sales Agent put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, Coordination, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Real Estate Sales Agent list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Agent Business Builder, Argosy Legal Systems Power Closer, Canva, and CMA Stuffers. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Real Estate Sales Agent work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Real Estate Agent, Realtor, Realtor Associate, and Sales Agent. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Real Estate Sales Agent need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 43% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Real Estate Sales Agent role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Real Estate Sales Agent resume example

A resume for a Real Estate Sales Agent needs to show the work itself: rent, buy, or sell property for clients. Day to day that means work like this: prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases; present purchase offers to sellers for consideration. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Real Estate Agent
Realtor
Realtor Associate
Sales Agent
Real Estate Salesperson
Real Estate Rep
Agricultural Real Estate Agent
Apartment Leasing Agent
Apartment Leasing Consultant
Apartment Rental Agent
Building Consultant
Buyers' Agent
Closing Agent
Closing Coordinator
Contracts Specialist
Home Sales Consultant
Industrial Real Estate Agent
Land Agent

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases.
Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.
Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources.
Confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
Promote sales of properties through advertisements, open houses, and participation in multiple listing services.
Compare a property with similar properties that have recently sold to determine its competitive market price.
Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds.
Interview clients to determine what kinds of properties they are seeking.
Contact previous clients for prospecting of referral business.
Review property listings, trade journals, and relevant literature, and attend conventions, seminars, and staff and association meetings, to remain knowledgeable about real estate markets.
Answer clients' questions regarding construction work, financing, maintenance, repairs, and appraisals.

33 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Acrobat
Agent Business Builder
Argosy Legal Systems Power Closer
Canva
CMA Stuffers
Commercial and industrial development project cost analysis software
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
DataBasix Technologies Lead Commander
DeLorme Topo USA
Digital contract software
Document creation software
DocuSign eSignature
Easypano Tourweaver
eGrabber ListGrabber

98 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Desktop computers
Digital cameras
Global positioning system GPS receivers
Laptop computers
Laser printers
Measuring wheels
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Personal digital assistants PDA

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Yardi

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Speaking
03Negotiation
04Coordination
05Social Perceptiveness
06Critical Thinking
07Persuasion
08Service Orientation
09Reading Comprehension
10Time Management

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
Sales and Marketing
English Language
Law and Government
Administrative
Administration and Management
Computers and Electronics
Mathematics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

43%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
24%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
10%Less than a High School Diploma

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Real Estate Sales Agent do?: Rent, buy, or sell property for clients. Day to day that includes work like prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases and Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.
What skills should a Real Estate Sales Agent put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, Coordination, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Real Estate Sales Agent list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Agent Business Builder, Argosy Legal Systems Power Closer, Canva, and CMA Stuffers. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Real Estate Sales Agent work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Real Estate Agent, Realtor, Realtor Associate, and Sales Agent. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Real Estate Sales Agent need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 43% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Real Estate Sales Agent role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.