Sales Assistant Resume Guide 2024: Samples & Tips to Get Hired

A sales assistant role demands a unique set of skills. You need to quickly learn product details and relevant information while delivering top-notch customer service. Plus, you must effectively manage sales targets to keep your bosses satisfied.

But how do sales professionals translate these skills onto a resume?

Our guide is here to help. We'll walk you through crafting a compelling sales assistant resume, complete with examples and key tips. Dive into our article to transform your application and truly shine in the sales field.

How to make a Sales Assistant Resume

Every resume must include details about your past roles, key responsibilities, and both hard and soft skills. Before we dive into your sales career specifics, let's set the foundation for your application.

A successful resume includes several crucial elements that influence its appearance and readability. We'll focus on two key aspects: the layout and the format. Both are vital in shaping your application and making you the ideal candidate.

The layout of the Sales Assistant Resume

It is crucial that your application looks professional, clean, and comprehensive. It's the first most important step in resume writing. Just like marketing activities can drive profitability, so does a great resume layout that convinces employers that you're the right person for the job.

The resume layout ensures that your content is logical and easy to read. To achieve an effective layout, divide your application into distinct sections. Each section should focus on a specific topic. For instance, the experience section will detail your work history.

Here are the essential sections we'll be covering in the article:

• Contact Information
• Professional Objective / Professional Summary
• Work Experience Section
• Education Section
• Skills Section
• Additional Information

The structure of the Sales Assistant Resume

Ensuring your resume stands out is key to job search success. Use right resume format to enhance readability and professionalism.

We suggest the reverse chronological order format. This places your most recent job at the top of the experience section, showing your career progression clearly.

Start with the Header of the Sales Assistant Resume

Now that we've discussed some of the basics, it's time to start writing! It is essential that you start your resume in an appropriate manner.

The first thing a recruiter should see is your contact details. Information that they might use to get in touch with you. You can provide the reader with this information through the contact information section.

Make your resume stand out with the help of our resume builder and example sales associate resume

Example resume header for a Sales Assistant Resume

CORRECT

John B. Himes

Sales Associate

1005 Oak Boulevard

Dover, NH

JohnBHimes@gmail.com

603-978-8113

The title of your resume (Your name) has to appear larger than the rest of the text!

INCORRECT

John B. Himes

Sales Associate

Dover, NH

JohnBHimes@gmail.com

603-978-8113

Is a photo required in the Sales Assistant Resume?

80% of companies in the USA would reject all applications that include a photo for fear of being accused of discriminating against people based on a person's appearance. This also doesn’t stop them from looking at a photo of you on your Linkedin profile, but we don’t recommend including a photo on your resume itself.

Professional Summary or Resume Objective for Sales Assistant?

It is a known fact that hiring managers in retail environments receive countless resumes for every job opening that they have to spend hours sifting through. To get around this time intensive problem, most recruiters will simply skim over most resumes rather than read every one the whole way through.

In order to gain the reader's attention, you'll have to create a section that is going to encompass your extensive experience into a few sentences. A couple of options are available for this:

The resume summary is a great choice for more veteran candidates who've had experience meeting sales targets, working with sales managers, compiling data, and event planning. Write about your top work experiences, skills, and what you look forward to in your next job.

The resume objective is better suited for candidates with little to no experience. The objective statement is the same as the summary, but due to the lack of experience, you'll need to focus on highlighting your skills, career goals, ambitions, and ways you can benefit the company.

Summary Example for Sales Assistant Resume

CORRECT

Professional Summary

Expert Retail Advertising Sales Assistant new and existing clients. Knowledgeable about traditional markets and using niche publications, direct mail, commercial and digital advertising techniques.

INCORRECT

Sales assistant who has regularly hit sales targets and is always on time for work. Great fun and bubbly personality.

Resume Objective Example for Sales Assistant Resume

CORRECT

Objective Statement #1

Bilingual Sales Assistant providing supervision of clients, resolving issues, and building effective relationships. History of superior ability to attract new clients and maximize opportunities to increase loyalty through repeat business. Seeking a similar job position with a retail sales organization.

CORRECT

Objective Statement #2

Talented and motivated sales assistant with excellent communication skills. Driven to achieve the best results for customers. Seeking a sales representative position with a company that values hard work and dedication.

Work Experience on the Resume for a Sales Assistant

Once you've written the professional summary or objective statement section of your application, you'll be starting on the most important part of your resume - the experience section.

The experience section is going to be the largest and most extensive part of your application. It will focus on your past relevant work history and writing about the job description.

Whether you were working in retail or in a wholesale store, making certain that each job description is well written is essential.

Making sure that this section of your resume is clear and comprehensive is essential to the chances of success of your application.

Describe your professional experiences on your Sales Assistant Resume

In order for your average resume to become the best resume, you're going to have to keep a few things in mind while writing the experience section of your sales assistant resume.

Start with your most recent job title at the top of each job description. Include the employer's name and your employment dates next. Detail your main responsibilities and key achievements last.

For other career resources and resume templates, check out our career blog and resume builder.

Examples of professional experiences on a Sales Assistant Resume

CORRECT

Work Experience

Sales Assistant

Brother Retailers
03/2016 - Present

• Engaged customers through suggestive selling, passionate selling, and sharing product knowledge to increase sales.
• Assists with inventory management, ordering of supplies and re-stocking of supplies.
• Continuously improved customer service, brand awareness and company's reputation by providing sales presentations.
• Established a rewards program through processing payments made by customers.

Education in the Sales Assistant Resume

Hiring companies looking for sales assistants and associates typically don't have a formal education requirement for their candidates.

It is true that you can be a high school student and still manage to get the job. However, you'll be able to beat the competition with a well-built resume that's going to have an education section.

Even if you don't have any higher forms of education, including a high school diploma in your resume is an excellent way to impress recruiters.

Should you start with education or work experience on a Retail Sales Associate Resume?

Many resume writers often face the dilemma of whether to start their resume with the education section or the experience section. What should you do?

The answer can vary from person to person because it all depends on the applicant's experience level and how long they've worked in the sales industry.

For beginners with limited experience, start your resume with a detailed education section. If you're an experienced sales associate, lead with your work experience. Place your education details after your professional experience.

How to properly list your education in a Sales Assistant Resume?

We've talked extensively on the importance and value of a proper education section, but you may be asking yourself, "How do I begin writing the education section of my sales associate resume?". Don't worry; we've got you covered!

You can utilize these tips for writing a successful education section on your sales associate resume:

• Indicate the name of the school, address, and years of attendance.
• Be sure to only include a GPA if it's high. Only include this information if your GPA is above 3.5.
• Use bullet points to list all your relevant coursework, basic information, and extracurriculars that could be relevant to the position for which you're applying.

Example of the education section of a Sales Assistant Resume

CORRECT

Education

Bachelor's of Science in Hotel & Restaurant Management

University of Ohio, Ohio

2011 - 2015

Or if it’s a high school diploma, then:

CORRECT

Education

High School Diploma

Sunset Valley National High School / Henderson

2011 - 2015

Skills to put in the Sales Assistant Resume

As a retail sales associate, you need diverse skills for daily tasks. Strong interpersonal communication is essential. You must also pay close attention to details in your workspace.

If your resume's experience, education, and summary sections haven't fully showcased your skills, add a dedicated skills section. This allows you to highlight additional abilities relevant to a sales associate role.

What are the main skills sought for in a Sales Assistant Resume?

As we've mentioned before, there are a lot of varying skills you require. Not only do you have to be great at communicating with people, but you also have to be organized and careful. Here's a list of all the top skills we believe can be beneficial to your retail sales associate resume:

• Team Leadership
• Business Development
• Customer Service
• Payment collecting
• Reporting to Store Manager
• Retail industry expertise
• Weekly Payroll
• Reporting
• Product management and pricing
• Product merchandising
• Excellent communication skills
• Advertising
• Order processing
• Detail oriented
• Organizational skills
• Performing sales transactions

Additional Headings for your Sales Assistant Resume

Now that the main sections are written, you might be wondering what comes next?

If your resume doesn't contain enough information to fill out a resume page, or the content itself isn't strong enough, then we recommend adding additional sections.

Additional headings or sections can enhance your application in several ways. They provide further insight into your work experience and capabilities, as well as who you are as a person.

Additional sections can be about anything, as long as they're related to the job ad. For example, try to focus your interest section on how your specific interest could be useful in a retail store environment such as something that involves communication or people skills.

Certification section in a Sales Assistant Resume

Every line of work values professional work experience and job-related skill set, but what if we were to tell you that you can go further?

You could enhance your application even more by providing the reader with proof of your expertise as a sales associate!

A great way you can do this is by adding a certificate section to your resume.

You might think that there aren't a lot of certificates that can be useful as a sales associate. However, we're here to show you that that's not the case.

Here are some certifications that you can get and include in your sales associate application:

• Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP)
• Certified Inside Sales Professional (CISP)
• SPIN Selling Certificate
• Challenger Development Program Certification
• National Association of Sales Professionals

Interests in a Sales Assistant Resume

Adding an interest section to your application may seem pointless at first. However, an interest section can improve your resume in several ways - especially in the sales industry.

Showcasing your hobbies and interests, like sports, can demonstrate your communication and interpersonal skills to recruiters, revealing valuable traits beyond your professional experience.

Languages in a Sales Assistant Resume

Another very useful section you can add to your application is the language section. The language section is a great way to showcase your multilingual capabilities to the recruiter.

This section comes in extra handy when the job posting has a specific language requirement. In these cases, having a language section can make or break your application.

Summary: Key Points for Writing a Perfect Sales Assistant Resume

Resumes must showcase a candidate's abilities clearly and concisely in order for the application to be successful during the job search. Keep these key points in mind when writing your resume:

• Start your resume with your name; always make sure the title of your resume is your name.
• Highlight your knowledge, experiences, career goals, and skills in a resume objective or professional summary.
• Professional sales resumes must contain a section about work experience. Bullet points make job descriptions easier to read.
• Put skills in your skill section that correspond with the job description.

Additional Information About The Sales Assistant

There has always been a steady demand in the retail industry or any other industry where workers with sales experience are needed. The salary levels remain healthy and steady also. It is safe to say that the sales industry isn't going anywhere.

It is estimated that sales assistants earn an hourly wage of between $13 and 16 per hour based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additionally, according to the latest trends, the job market for sales associates isn't projected to fluctuate. However, brick-and-mortar retail stores will decrease in number due to the rise of online stores.

Frequently Asked Questions for a Sales Assistant Resume

How do you describe a Sales Assistant on a resume?

You'll be able to describe your experiences and capabilities as a through the resume layout. The sections of your resume are designed for specific kinds of professional information about yourself. For example, write about your work experiences in the work experience section.

What are your duties as a Sales Assistant?

You are responsible for assisting customers throughout the buying process. Customers will greet you when they enter the store, assist them in finding specific products or teach them how to use them, and ring up their purchases at the cash register.

What skills does a Sales Assistant need?

Here are a few examples of skills that are required:

• Team Leadership
• Business Development
• Customer Service
• Payment collecting
• Retail industry expertise
• Weekly Payroll
• Reporting
• Product management and pricing
• Product merchandising
• Excellent communication skills
• Advertising
• Order processing
• Detail oriented
• Organizational skills