Sales role “translation” problem (from Brazil to Canada)

Hi everyone. I worked in the Brazilian federal government as a civil servant for 12 years but decided to tackle new challenges by migrating to Canada and starting anew. I'll be moving to Toronto at the end of the month, so I was updating my resume and found some “translation” problems related to sales roles and activities.


In 2021 and 2022, I worked at the Ministry of Human Rights in a position that, in practice, was a clear sales position, but inside the government we don't call it sales, and we don't have formal sales departments. We use our own cryptic terminology that even the civil servants don't understand very well, so I need to be able to translate my tasks and duties to English using jargon intelligible to salespeople, as I am interested in working in sales in the Canadian private sector.


Below is my attempt at explaining in my resume the main points of my job during that period. I would love an external critique and suggestions on how I can word things better to improve my chances of success in getting an SDR/BDR role in the Canadian market.


Summary: Expertise in designing and proposing solutions tailored to customer needs, ensuring alignment with company offerings, and improving sales closing.


Solutions advisor (presales) | Feb 2021 – Jan 2023 | Ministry of Human Rights, Brazil

  • Member of a team that sells human rights projects from the ministry portfolio to members of parliament (for funding) and to NGOs (for execution). In 2021 and 2022, the team closed 70 deals worth $7 million CAD.
  • Conducted meetings with prospects and inbound leads to understand their requirements, pain points, and objectives, and designed solutions that met their needs using the available ministry policies, projects, and resources. I had a role equivalent to that of a “sales engineer” in the private sector.
  • Worked closely with the account executives, providing them with technical and policy knowledge to bolster their sales pitches. Also collaborated with policy teams to provide feedback from stakeholders, which led to projects improvements.

If it helps in any way, there is also the link to my LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandovmacedo/ with not only this job but all my professional experiences in Brazil.

👨‍🏭 Resume
7
oldcloser
Arsonist
6
💀
2 words x2
Well done.You're qualified.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
5
🦊
I think I'd like working with you.
oldcloser
Arsonist
4
💀
Sometimes it just ain't so complicated
jefe
Arsonist
6
🍁
I think it actually looks pretty good - and it's great that you've quantified your achievements.
As @saaskicker said, you'll want to be able to explain what those projects really are.
My only suggestion would be to capitalize your title so it reads Solutions Advisor (Presales)
Bienvenue à Canada, and good luck!
Toronto is a great city.
saaskicker
Celebrated Contributor
5
Enterprise AE
description looks solid to me for anyone looking for an SDR job. only question would be what is a human rights project? might be something you can speak to during the recruiter screen
1
Solutions advisor
Hi, @saaskicker, thank you for your message and encouragement. If a recruiter asked me in a call what the human rights projects are, I would answer something along these lines:

The human rights projects are government-approved solutions to common human rights problems that are eligible to receive funds from members of parliament. For example, we have the “Vans of Rights”, which are customized vans used for itinerant legal assistance in high-vulnerability communities. The ministry designed the modifications to the van, contracted Fiat to manufacture it, and established a partnership with state-level public defender offices to use it. If a member of parliament wants one in their state, they can get it using money from their annual projects budget. All the ministries have their portfolio of projects eligible to receive funding, and the amount of funding available globally is quite limited. Our job was to sell the projects under the responsibility of our sector to representatives and senators. We have to convince them to invest in our projects and not in the projects of other ministries or even in projects from other sectors of our own ministry. These were quite complex sales, usually involving a lot of customization to meet the requirements of each client, local partners, and laws and regulations.

What do you think about it? It is hard to explain clearly without getting technical and talking about the specificities of the Brazilian government's inner workings.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
I think if you start at the "All the ministries" part and explain from there, it's a good way to frame what you did without getting too specific. You could get into further detail about the vans if needed, but I think that part is a bit confusing and unnecessary when the rest explains the nature of the projects quite well.
saaskicker
Celebrated Contributor
0
Enterprise AE
whatever you can say to make it sounds like sales, prospecting, etc, how ever it has trained/helped you move into an SDR role is all you need to highlight.
GDO
Politicker
1
BDM
Seems a good explanation
pirate
Big Shot
0
🦜☠️ Account Executive
I think it looks pretty solid! All the best with your new life in Canada! Keep us posted on your progress
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