Write a dynamic resume profile
In this section, you can summarize your retail sales experience and boast achievements to draw attention from the first lines. As a sales professional, you can mention delivering exceptional customer service, expanding client base, surpassing monthly sales targets, and many more. Include 1-2 achievements with numbers.
The entire section should take 2-4 sentences, so be super selective about what to include. Ideally, you should tailor it to your target retail job so that your career highlights look super relevant to their current business goals.
Focus on relevant experience
The retail industry is easy to break into even with little or no experience. If you're writing a retail resume for the associate position, list any experience you have to show that you're proactive, can work with customers, and are ready to drive sales.
For a retail supervisor or a store manager, the situation is different. Focus on experience relevant to your target job and industry. Use specific examples to demonstrate your skills and experience in delivering excellent customer service, creating marketing strategies, and exceeding sales goals. Highlight your results of work and impact on previous employers (more on this below).
Use a reverse chronological format starting with your most recent position in retail. Include your 3-4 most recent jobs with job duties and achievements, and skip the jobs you had before (or keep only job titles and company names).
Add achievements and metrics
Each retail or customer service representative should have achievements and stats, as they are super easy to track. If you don't add any achievements or results, the hiring manager might assume that you underperformed. On the other hand, with even a few achievements and numbers you'll look as a proactive, result-driven employee, which is valuable in the retail industry.
To make your resume more impactful and objective, include customer satisfaction ratings you received, your ability to enhance sales performance, and skills in consulting customers and resolving conflicts. As a manager, focus on your ability to ensure effective inventory management, train associates, and drive overall store profitability.
Examples of achievements to include
- Taught retail associates new sales processes and techniques, increasing average check size by 15% and boosting customer satisfaction rate by 35%
- Optimized store displays and optimize store performance during busy holiday weeks, exceeding sales targets by 40% in Q4 2023
- Implemented a new customer loyalty program, increasing repeat purchases by 23% and generating more than $80,000 in sales extra per month
Use a dedicated Skills section
Your Skills section is a great place to list some key competencies, as many recruiters review it in the first place. Make sure to include a mix of hard and soft skills to give a broader picture about your strengths and competencies. Use keywords from the job description to make your resume more relevant and pass the ATS screening for sure.
Here are the skills to include in your resume for a retail job:
- Inventory management
- Sales techniques
- Sales management
- Cash register
- Sales forecasting
- Visual merchandising
- Social selling
- Product knowledge
- CRM systems
- Business development
- Customer service
- Communication skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Problem-solving
- Team leadership
- Closing
List education and credentials
All retail resume examples have a dedicated Education section, as it is a must to include. If you have a college degree, include it at the top. Add a school name, degree, and relevant coursework, if any. If you didn't go to college, include a high school information.
Here you can also list additional training and certifications. They can increase your employability and show the potential employer that you are passionate about the field.
Did you know? Most entry-level retail jobs don't require a college degree. Such jobs include sales associate, sales representative, and sales clerk. Moreover, these positions often offer on-the-job training so you can get started with a new career successfully.
If you're looking to move into the managerial position in the retail industry, in many cases, you'll need a Bachelor's degree. Employers prefer candidates with degrees in business, management, or marketing. Yet, investing in your education is worth it, as the median salary for sales managers in the US in 2024 was $135,160.
Keep it short and sharp
Ideally, your resume should be one page long. Experienced professionals can extend to the second page, but if possible, make it one page too. Remove jobs you had many years ago, irrelevant job descriptions, and other details that don't help sell your candidacy to the employer.
Tailor it to the job description
Optimize your retail resume to each position you're applying for. Adjust at least your Summary section and most recent job if you're in a hurry. Sending out 10 tailored resumes usually generates more responses than 100 generic applications.
Use keywords from the job posting to tailor your retail resume even more. You can insert the must-have qualifications as skills or expand on them in your Experience section. Resumes that look more relevant get a higher ATS score and eventually are reviewed by hiring managers in the first place.
Keep the formatting simple
As you customize the resume templates, don't change the initial formatting much. Our templates are designed to pass ATS software, so leaving the formatting unchanged increases your chances for success.
Format your job descriptions with bullet points for better readability. Avoid any complex formatting such as graphs, tables, charts, and images. Use a common, easy-to-read font. These simple tricks will help you pass the ATS check and also keep the document easy to read for a hiring manager.
Things to do before submitting your resume
After you've finished writing your retail resume, here are a few steps to take before sending it out:
- Read through the resume multiple times to correct grammar, language, or formatting issues. Use software like Grammarly to fix any errors.
- Use a professional resume template to make the document easy to read and visually appealing.
- Get feedback from a certified professional resume writer or a hiring manager. It will help you correct any shortcomings that you might not be aware of and maximize interviews.