Writing a retail sales associate resume and going through the job hunt are agonizing tasks, you keep waiting for interview calls, answers of whether you have been selected or not, hoping for good compensation and impressing the hiring managers!
What if someone gave you a detailed roadmap of how to take turns and how to handled twists on the path? Because we are here for just that! With this article, we will help you get all the answers and some tips to help you get that job!
Sometimes, you might think that doing a job is easier than getting a job! Job market is very competitive these days and hiring managers are hard to impress.
(Source: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/retail-sales-workers.htm)
As a job candidate you have to offer something extra to be able to stand out, meeting the noted requirements is not enough anymore.
As a retail sales associate, you are basically responsible for retail sales however, your resume needs be much more detailed with your experience, retail sales skills and such.
Let's talk about it! 👇
Guidelines for a professional resume
📌 Here are some of guidelines you need to follow to ensure your retail sales associate resume is written in professional manner.
- Always use past tense and third person in your language throughout your retail sales associate resumes.
- Avoid using pronouns to ensure your language is formal.
- Use as many as actions verbs as you can.
- Use bullet points whenever describing details.
- Proofread your resume twice and remove any spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and ensure factual accuracy to avoid bad first impression and lack of professionalism. It will also reflect your skill of paying attention to details.
- Label your resume document in simple manner with your name and the term 'resume' or 'CV', so that the document reader can figure out what they are opening easily.
- Your retail sales associate resume will be viewed on various mediums and it will pass through many applicant tracking systems, your document format should be compatible with them all. Save your retail sales associate resume in word document or PDF document format.
- Quantify the details with numbers whenever you can.
- Avoid fluff content and non-industrial jargon.
What does a retail sales associate resume include?
Now let's talk about retail sales associate resume in particular. The retail sales associate resume includes experiences of a retail sales associate which can also be other relevant roles such as cashier, customer care representative and so on.
The retail sales associate resume also include relevant skills such as excellent customer service, communication skills and interpersonal skills.
A retail sales associate resume should be inclusive of all the relevant details and answer all the hiring manager's questions. Meaning your resume should be very informative.
Apart from the sections discussed later in this guide, a retail sales associate resume can also have extra sections for language proficiency because it adds value for customer interaction and customer satisfaction. You can also add any relevant personal interests in a section.
As a retail sales associate, you might have some good references to offer and you can add those in your retail sales associate resume as well.
How to begin?
Anything you do, begins with a little research. Going to watch a movie in theatre? You check the reviews and ratings. Reading a book? You check the plot summary and author. Writing a retail sales associate resume? You need to research the role, the industry and the job description.
Prior research improves you and makes you better at what you are about to do or in case of a movie, makes sure your money and time are not wasted!
Go through a number of various job ad and the job description and understand the role responsibilities thoroughly. It will help you understand what does a hiring manager expect from you.
Explore the industry in which you want to work, understand the product and services, increase the product knowledge so you can perform well in your interview and showcase your knowledge in your retail sales associate resume.
This research will also help you figure how you can write your resume in a manner that will make you stand out and impress the hiring manager as well.
The research is the first step! Along with research you can also check out some retail sales associate resume examples and resume template.
Which format is right for you?
Second step is choosing the resume format because without an outline you can't figure out how to start or where to start.
Events have itineraries, planes and movie theatres have sitting charts, your sales associate resume will have an outline too- with the resume format.
📌 There are many formats however, for a professional resume, you have 3 options:
- Functional resume: This resume format focuses on the skills section and helps you highlight your skills along with education in the scenario where you don't have significant experience to showcase. It is suitable for freshers and recent graduates.
- Reverse chronological resume: It is defined by the reverse chronological order of experiences in the experience section. Emphasis is on the significant or extensive work history. This format is suitable for those who have experience which speaks volumes for their candidacy.
- Combination resume: As the name suggests, it is a combination of above two, focusing both on the skills section and the experience section. It helps prove candidacy through relevant and transferable aspects of skills and experience. The format is preferred by those who are looking to change their career.
For you, the reverse chronological resume format might do the trick! So let's talk about how to write your retail sales associate resume now!
What to include in the resume header?
First of all, you will be faced with the resume header! The resume header should include your name and contact information along with your photograph and LinkedIn profile link.
Mention your full name first, then mention your mobile phone number where you are easily reachable, include area code and write it in professional manner. Next up should be your professional email ID.
You can also include your home address and photograph, however neither are mandatory. If you include your LinkedIn profile link, make sure you have curated your LinkedIn profile carefully and you are active on LinkedIn.
The information provided in this section must be accurate and written properly so the hiring manager can contact you easily.
How to make the resume summary intriguing?
The resume summary is short and with that short resume summary, you have to intrigue the hiring manager enough so that they take a look at your whole resume instead of putting it down after going through the summary.
To ensure your retail sales associate resume has an intriguing summary, you need to write it using bullet points no more than 5 and no less than 3. The details should be crisp and concise and inclusive of action verbs and numbers for quantified details.
You need to mention your job title first followed by first bullet point that states your total years of experience and a little background.
Next, you need to mention your key accomplishments and relevant skills or your top skills that are noteworthy. You can also mention any other details that are remarkable and intriguing from your profile as a sales associate.
At last, mention what kind of opportunity you are looking for and how you will contribute with you experience and relevant skills.
How to describe your experience?
Describing professional experience is simple yet you need to keep certain things in mind. You need to mention your job title, employer name and employment period before each experience.
While describing the details, use bullet points, action verbs and numbers. Include all your usual responsibilities along with exceptional performances and skills.
You should mention the obvious tasks as well as peripheral aspects of your role to showcase how thorough and dedicated you are.
You need to reflect how knowledgeable you are when it comes to assisting customers because without product knowledge you cannot achieve the customer satisfaction.
Retail sales associate positions require thorough knowledge of product and services so that the interaction with customers leads to sales rather than customer disappointment.
📌 Here are some of the tasks, aspects of your job that you can cover in your experience section:
- Inventory management
- Retail sales
- Outstanding customer service
- Assisted customers
- Quality customer service
- Retail industry
- Deliver excellent customer service
- Product knowledge
- Retail skills
- Exceed sales quotas
- Sales goals
- Credit card payments
- Monthly sales quotas
- Retail management
- Retail facility
- Marketing strategies
- Assisting customers
- Customer needs
- Obtain merchandise based
- Cash registers
- Exceptional service
- Customer experience
- Inventory control
- Process cash
- Processing transactions
- Guest services
- Stocking merchandise
- Describe merchandise
- Manage store displays
You can also add more responsibilities and tasks that you can think of. Try to cover as many as possible however try to keep the details to sensible amounts as well.
Education section
Your formal education may not be relevant however it speaks to your literacy and abilities to grasp the product knowledge and help the customers.
You can mention your high school diploma along with the name of education institute, you should avoid including the year as it can lead to bias.
You can note relevant coursework and skills you may have learned and developed during your education.
For example, you may have learned communication time management, to maintain knowledge, handling customer needs (if you went to marketing university or did a relevant course or such), understanding retail industry and retail worker skills and so on.
Retail associate resume should showcase the relevant abilities and knowledge meaning you should focus on your skills in every section.
Writing the skills section
Speaking of skills, next up is the skills section. You need to include all the important skills in your retail sales associate resume. Soft skills, hard skills and everything in between.
Some of these skills may be:
- Retail skills
- Communication skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Increasing retail sales
- Positive attitude
- Inventory management
- Assisting sales manager
- Improving customer satisfaction/ customer service experience
- Meeting sales goals
- Processing credit payment/ Credit card transactions
- Providing best customer experience
- Handling selling floor & cash register
Your job application should include all the key qualifications from having assisted customers to store managers and everything in between. You can also refer to various sales associate resume examples to get a better idea of presentation.
A job winning resume should emphasize on key points in every section to highlight them properly. Your ability to meet sales goals or helping store manager with important retail tasks should be highlighted in a way that can assure the hiring manager that you will add great value to their team.
Relevant Keywords
Relevant keywords of your role, responsibilities and industries are the parameters that applicant tracking systems or the ATS use, to filter the resumes and shortlist them for the hiring managers.
To beat the ATS, you just need to include these keywords throughout your retail sales associate resume. Make sure they are included sensibly and not stuffed randomly.
📌 Here is a list of few of relevant keywords that you can use:
- Store manager
- Sales associate job
- Retail sales associates
- Sales floor
- Retail sales professional
- Inventory management
- Sales associates
- Retail industry
- Process cash
- Inventory control
- Credit payments
- Cash register
You need to add more relevant keywords that are applicable for your particular profile, especially from the job description of job ad.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a job winning retail sales associate resume can be written with some efforts. All you need is to keep this guide in mind and consider all the guidelines and tips discussed here.
You can also refer to our resume writing guides and resume examples along with resume template to make your work easier. Now that you know all about writing a retail sales associate resume, you can start your job hunt! Good luck!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Should I include my experience as a cashier on my retail sales associate resume?
Yes, cashier experience is relevant for your role and it can add value to your retail sales associate resume.
How long should my retail sales associate resume be?
Do not exceed the limit of 2 pages. Ideally, a retail sales associate resume should be 1 to 2 pages long.
Is there a specific job experience that must be on a retail sales associate resume?
Not necessarily. Your job titles may vary and your experience may not be of retail sales associate to be specific. As long as you have relevant experiences and skills, your retail sales associate resume will be valuable. Ensure that you include relevant tasks, responsibilities and skills in your work history.
