How to Make a Perfect Retail Manager Resume?
Do perfect resumes exists?
Yes, they do!
The objective of a resume is to get you an interview with the recruiter. If your resume does that, it is a good enough resume.
So what makes a perfect one?
The perfect resume puts yourself in the top 3% of the list: the recruiter remembers these resumes and you can demand a higher salary.
If you have created a perfect resume as a retail sales manager, the only reason you don’t get an interview is when they can’t afford you.
Before getting into detail, let’s have an idea of the general guidelines while writing a modern resume:
- Single page resume is the modern standard.
- Short and clear resumes perform the best.
- Prioritize your strengths.
- Research the keywords from the job advertisement.
- Pick the right template.
- Use the right layout and structure.
What to include in your retail manager resume?
Simple answer: what is relevant to the position you apply for.
Defining our layout will ensure that we only include relevant information and eliminate the rest.Here’s what we suggest for a retail manager resume:
- The header with name and contact information
- Professional summary/ objective summary
- Work experience
- Education
- Skills
- Additional sections: certifications, languages, interests
How to structure your retail manager resume?
When it comes to structuring the resume, resume format plays a vital role–making the experience section easily accessible to the hiring manager.
There’re three standard resume formats frequently used:
- Reverse Chronological Order
- Functional
- Hybrid
Reverse chronological order format has been the dominant one–lists the experience section giving priority to the most recent experience. Functional format lists the experience section breaking it down to the relevant skills while the hybrid format is a combination of the above two.
For the retail manager resume, we suggest you use a reverse-chronological format in most cases as many recruiters are familiar with that. The objective of a format is to make your information more accessible and clear.
How to create a resume template?
The resume template determines the overall look and feel of the resume. It includes the fonts types, fonts sizes, color theme, and how different information is organized into sections.
If you’re creating your own resume template, make sure you consider the following points:
- Pick colors for the background, font, and sections based on the position you apply for. You can also use the brand colors of the supermarket/ shop you apply for. That will make your resume stand out from the rest.
- Maintain consistent margins throughout the document.
- Maintain consistent fonts and font sizes throughout the document.
- Export the resume in PDF or MS Word format based on the requirements mentioned in the job advertisement.
Guess what! We have the largest library of ready-to-fill resume templates which you can use to create a stunning retail manager resume the way you want, all in ten minutes.
The Header & Contact Information
This is where your resume starts: here you should state your name and contact information. Though pretty straightforward, many candidates make the mistake of overstuffing information and omitting the relevant ones. Here’s an example:
💡 CORRECTHenry Lawrence
Assistant Manager-Retail
henryl23@gmail.com+1 234 24 24 57
https://www.linkedin.com/in/malisalaw
🛑 INCORRECTAssistant Manager
Henry Lawrence
henrylawrence@kmart.com+1 234 24 24 57
101, main street, apt 20,
Washington DC
USA
Make a great impression with your header by following these tips:
- Start with your first name and last name.
- Avoid using the email from the current employer.
- If not requested in the job posting, do not provide the full mailing address.
Demonstrate Your Experience in Retail & Management
No doubt you already know that the experience section is the most important in your resume. In fact, some hiring managers only go through this section in the shortlisting process.
Most retail shops and independent recruitment agencies now use AI-powered applicant tracking systems for the first level of shortlisting. Therefore, it’s very important that your resume experience section is optimized for this. Naturally include the keywords mentioned in the job description and the relevant industry-specific words.
Check out these examples:
INCORRECTAug 2016 to Present
Manager- DShop
- Increase sales
- Analyzed sales trends
- Created annual sales forecast
- Community Outreach
- Inventory control
- Achieved sales targets
CORRECTAug 2016 to Present
Manager- DShop
- Developed marketing strategies to achieve annual retail growth of 18%
- Identified sales trends and communicated to the senior management to take the necessary product and market expansion decisions
- Developed sales forecasts with the senior management analyzing customer trends, previous sales performance, and sales growth rate
- Implemented visual merchandising strategies to achieve higher customer profitability
- Carried out weekly inventory control measures to cut lead time by 30%
- Introduced employee development and training programs that led to an increased customer satisfaction figure from 20% to 28% while reducing employee turnover by 15%
- Planned daily operations to achieve top-line sales goals
- Created a positive work environment achieving company goals and financial objectives
One experience section is so generic though it includes the keywords and this is what more than 90% of the candidates write. The other one is well-targeted and answers the most significant questions the recruiter is having.
No experience? No problem
If you do not have the right experience to become a retail manager, first you should apply for a relevant internship and at least get some experience in the same industry. But remember, you don’t need to be a retail manager to write a great experience section for your next job.
Your approach to writing your experience section will define your exposure in the previous job. For instance, check these examples which are written for a candidate who worked as a sales executive in a retail shop.
INCORRECTAug 2016 to Present
Sales executive- DShop
- Assisted customers
- Reported customer inquiries to the management
- Handled customer complaints
- Performed cashier tasks when necessary
- Store floor planning
- Increased sales
CORRECTAug 2016 to Present
Sales executive- DShop
- Awarded the employee of the month for 3 consecutive months in 2021
- Assisted customers in finding and selecting products based on their specific requirements providing them with excellent customer service
- Answered customer phone calls and responded to web inquiries
- Created a positive and welcoming environment for customers and new employees
- Carried out business administration, merchandising, and floor layout planning activities with the retail manager
- Handled retail operations in the absence of the manager
Even though both approaches have the same experience, the second exposes the employee to more managerial tasks.
Describe Your Education
For many well-paid retail management positions, they mention the education requirements in the job ad. In most cases, the basic requirement is a Bachelor’s degree in any field while a Master’s degree or a professional qualification in sales or marketing are added advantages.
In writing your experience section, use a consistent format to present the information such as follows:
Education
Master’s in Psychology, 2018-2019
Columbia University, NY
GPA- 3.8/4
Bachelor’s degree in Sale & Marketing, 2013-2017
Columbia University, NY
GPA- 3.8/4
The Most Sought-After Skills on a Retail Manager Resume
The resume skills section is not a straightforward section where you list down a set of generic skills. Doing so will make the hiring manager’s task easier: moving to the next candidate.
Instead, do this:
- Refer to the job advertisement to find out what skills they’re looking for from the right candidate.
- Think of the specific skills you have acquired in the previous job that gave good results
- Write a mix of soft skills and hard skills: keeping a total of 5-10 skills.
Soft Skills
- Leadership
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Communication and negotiation
- Business intelligence
- Creative thinking
- Time Management
Hard Skills:
- POS, ERPs, and CRMs
- Sales analysis: trend analysis
- Sales transactions management
- Social media
- In-store logistics
- Microsoft Office
- Visual Merchandising
- Customer service management
Write a Powerful Professional Summary
The professional summary is your sales pitch in the resume. That’s a summary of your cover letter. You already know that you should write different cover letters for distinct job positions, right?
So why do you keep the same resume summary for all jobs?
That’s a common mistake. At least you should change the company name.
What we recommend is to write a professional summary for each job you apply for. It’s a lot of work if you don’t know a simple formula to write a summary.
Your professional summary should consist of two sentences: one describing how you could be a great asset to the potential new employer, the second describing how you were a great employee in your previous job.
Follow these examples:
CORRECTA devoted Retail Manager with over 5 years of experience in sales and marketing in FMCG, looking forward to becoming a Retail Manager at Global Store Retail. During my previous job at Kmart, I achieved an increase in sales of 14% year-over-year for three years in a row.
INCORRECTRetail Manager with 5+ years of experience in Sales joining KMart to provide exceptional customer service.
If you do not have much experience or you’re in a career transition, consider writing an objective summary: this is similar to a professional summary in many aspects. However, instead of highlighting your experience, you should expand on your career objectives and passion.
Additional Sections for Your Resume
Additional sections are a great way to stand out from the crowd. In fact, you can list your most important and employable skills in these sections for better visibility.
These sections often get the recruiter’s attention simply because they are small sections with specific headings.
Under these sections, you can write your professional qualifications, certifications, industry awards, achievements, interests, language fluency, etc.
Certifications
If you have completed a trade certificate or a professional qualification relevant to the job, you can list it here.
Qualifications relevant to retail managers include:
- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
- Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
- Certified Proefessional Sales Person (CPSP)
- Hubspot Content Marketing Certification
- Hootsuite Social Media Marketing Certification
Languages
Fluency in a couple of languages would be an advantage as a retail manager especially if you’re working in a multicultural location. If you’re applying for such placement, you should intriguingly state your language fluency to grab the employer’s attention.
For this, we have the right resume templates where you can attractively list your language proficiency also consisting of many other features.
Interests
Only include this section if you have interests that complement your job as a retail manager. Do not use this section as a filler, writing some generic interests.
Remember, your resume should not include anything that does not add value to the position you apply
Tips to Level Up Your retail manager Resume
Optimize your resume with the following tips:
- Use a tool such as Grammarly to check your resume: a tiny grammar or spelling mistake could ruin your impression to the hiring manager.
- If you have not completed a certificate or a professional qualification related to sales or marketing, consider starting.
- Use numbers to add credibility to your information, especially in experience and professional summary sections.
- Pick the right template that matches your personality and customize it to match the company branding.
