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| Sales professional Julissa Machado landed a job within 30 days using personalized pitch decks. Photo courtesy of Julissa Machado |
When Julissa Machado, 27, decided to pivot from recruiting to sales in 2024, she knew the odds weren’t entirely in her favor. She didn’t have formal sales experience, and like many job seekers, she was entering a job market where hundreds of applicants were vying for the same role. So she decided to ditch the traditional cover letter and instead, send custom-designed visual decks that told her story in a more vibrant, targeted, and company-specific way.
The results? She landed a sales development representative (SDR) role at a software company within a month.
From Recruiting to Sales: A Bold Pivot
Julissa had spent her early career in recruiting, but as she considered her long-term goals, she saw sales as a better fit both in terms of growth and compensation. The challenge was convincing hiring managers that she could make the leap without direct experience.
Rather than relying on generic templates or hoping her résumé would magically rise to the top, Julissa took a creative risk. She remembered a trick she used while working for a previous manager who hated reading résumés. To help him sift through candidates more efficiently, she started making short, visually engaging slide decks that highlighted candidate strengths and he loved them.
That insight sparked an idea: what if she applied the same approach to her own job search?
Cover Letter? No, Thanks. Here’s My Slide Deck
Each deck Julissa submitted was personalized to the company she applied to. She downloaded brand guidelines directly from company websites matching colors, fonts, logos, and even adding design flourishes to make her presentations look like internal assets. She wanted each deck to feel like it belonged at the company before she even walked in the door.
“If a recruiter sees my headshot next to their company’s branding,” she explained, “it subconsciously tells them I already fit in.”
Each presentation had seven slides, carefully designed to show her value, passion, and alignment with the employer.
Slide-by-Slide Breakdown of Julissa’s Job-Winning Deck
Slide 1: My Name and Your Logo
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| Machado's first slide has her name in the company's font. Julissa Machado |
Julissa kept her opening slide simple: her name front and center, with the company name just below. It established immediate relevance.
Slide 2: A Personal Quote
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| Machado used an Arnold Glasow quote for her second slide. Julissa Machado |
The second slide featured a quote that reflected her mindset or values. It wasn’t just motivational fluff it helped convey tone, character, and a bit of inspiration before diving into hard skills.
Slide 3: Skills and Qualifications
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| Machado added her picture to her qualification slide. Julissa Machado |
On slide three, she outlined exactly how her skills and past roles aligned with the job description. She made sure to reference specific responsibilities and even mirrored the company’s own language when possible.
Slide 4: Who I Am
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| Machado listed six things about herself. Julissa Machado |
Here, Julissa highlighted her soft skills and standout traits things like being “client-focused,” a strong communicator, or an “eager learner.” This slide gave hiring teams a sense of her work personality.
Slide 5: My Impact and Achievements
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| Machado's big wins spanned four years. Julissa Machado |
This was her opportunity to brag a little and she did, but strategically. She focused on quantifiable results, like time saved or revenue generated in previous roles. She framed her wins as transferable to sales success.
Slide 6: Shared Values
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| Machado used Canva to design her decks. Julissa Machado |
This slide focused on alignment with the company’s culture and mission. Julissa researched each company’s values on its career page or LinkedIn, then explained how her own values mirrored theirs. She even added a custom image like the company’s HQ or a branded event photo to show attention to detail.
Slide 7: A Grateful Goodbye
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| Machado's last slide thanked the recruiter. Julissa Machado |
The final slide was a simple, professional “Thank You” that wrapped the presentation with a clean, respectful close.
The Time Investment Paid Off
Creating the decks wasn’t fast. Each one took several hours far longer than typing up a one-page cover letter. But that time investment paid off. Julissa said she received more responses and interview invitations than she had with traditional applications.
“It’s more work, but it’s worth it,” she said. “What other people aren’t willing to do that’s where you have a real opportunity to stand out.”
What You Can Learn from Her Strategy
Julissa’s approach worked for three key reasons:
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She aligned herself visually and culturally with each company before ever getting a callback.
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She delivered content in a way that was easier to digest than a block of text.
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She showed not just told that she could sell, by packaging herself as a product with clear value.
If you’re struggling to stand out in a competitive market or making a career pivot without direct experience consider following Julissa’s model. It requires effort and a bit of design savvy, but even a simple version could make your next application rise to the top.
