Sales development representative (SDR) resume keywords

We counted the skills in 464 open sales development representative (SDR) job postings from 107 employers, including Samsara, Airwallex and Block. The ones employers ask for most are sales (94% of postings), prospecting (60%) and marketing (53%). 77% of the postings mention AI, though often in the company's description rather than as a skill the job needs.

Top skills and tools in sales development representative (SDR) postings

#KeywordShare of postings
1sales 94%
2prospecting 60%
3marketing 53%
4Salesforce 43%
5business development 38%
6campaign management 28%
7quota attainment 23%
8CRM 23%
9cold calling 21%
10go-to-market 20%
11SaaS 17%
12Sales Navigator 16%
13onboarding 16%
14sales pipeline 14%
15ZoomInfo 13%
16automation 9%
17KPIs 9%
18manufacturing 9%
19payments 9%
20customer experience 9%
21lead generation 9%
22B2B 8%
23partnerships 8%
24customer success 7%
25SaaS sales 7%
26logistics 7%
27fraud prevention 6%
28cybersecurity 6%
29MEDDIC 6%
30sales operations 6%

Share of the 464 postings whose description names the skill (plurals and common spellings, such as “JS” and “JavaScript”, count as one).

Soft skills employers mention

communication · 20%leadership · 13%coaching · 13%collaboration · 9%mentoring · 8%cross-functional · 7%ownership · 7%self-starter · 7%creativity · 6%team player · 4%

Show these through results in your bullets (“led a team of six”) rather than listing them as adjectives.

Languages

German · 5%

How to use these keywords on your sales development representative (SDR) resume

  1. Start with the posting, not this list. These are averages across 464 jobs; the one you're applying for has its own priorities. Use this page to spot common gaps, then match the specific posting.
  2. Name skills the way employers do. If you use “sales”, “prospecting” and “marketing”, write those exact words. Applicant tracking systems and recruiters search for them, and a close synonym can be missed.
  3. Put each skill in a bullet that shows a result. Naming Salesforce inside a bullet about what you achieved with it, with a number where you can, is stronger than listing it alone in a skills section.
  4. Add only what's true. If you've worked with “Salesforce”, “business development” and “campaign management” but your resume doesn't say so, add it. If you haven't, leave it out: interviews expose padded resumes quickly.

How these numbers are calculated

Every figure comes from open sales development representative (SDR) job postings on MANY Hired, imported from employers' own career pages. For each posting we pick out the skills, tools, certifications and qualifications its description names, then count how many postings ask for each one. A job counts as sales development representative (SDR) by its title. Updated October 28, 2026.