In this guide we will not only talk about everything related to resume writing but even provide you with some bonus tips! Let's dive right in!
How to prepare when writing a visual merchandiser resume?
Below is an extensive guide on how to prepare a resume for a visual merchandiser. Follow the guidelines thoroughly and you will gain the ability to write a perfect resume to ace your next job application.
Let's start if off by conducting preliminary research that you will need to do in order to understand the job market.
Research
Research for a visual merchandiser resume is divided in to the following section, where you first understand the job market and see what competition is out there, the ability to procure a job, what sort of companies are available. Then you focus on what they want, followed by how you can present your professional experiences, and finally how to maximize the information already gained and utilize it on your resume.
Job Market
The research on job market is to understand what sort of roles are being offered in an around the job of visual merchandiser and what sort of companies are there to hire you. The research shall be conducted on websites such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Monster.com, Indeed etc. There websites will give you a sense of whether these roles are available and what is the frequency, whether the market is saturated and whether you shall wait and apply.
Moreover, this is not the only way you shall gain information about the job market. There is always the option to use the power of networking. Contact your previous jobs colleagues, and mentors, and managers, and reach out to them whether there is any scope or whether they have any leads. You can also go physically and go to the store and enquire whether there is a hiring possibility.
Job Description
While you are researching about the job markets on the websites and professional social media platforms you will come across various job descriptions as well. The job descriptions research is a crucial part of the resume creation. Reading up about various job descriptions is how you will get to know what the market is looking for in a candidate. You need to compare and see what various store, and organizations are writing in their job descriptions.
Most of the content will remain the same and by that we mean the responsibilities, however, there will be certain places where the scope of work will increase and the pay might remain the same or even increase or even be less than the average, you need to be carful about these things. You should not pick up more than the responsibilities unless your goals align with the job description.
Resume Formats
Essentially there are 3 resume formats i.e., The functional resume format, reverse chronological format, and the combination or hybrid format. All of these will be further explored in the next section however, we will give you a brief over view of the same. The functional resume format is where you don't have strict guidelines and you keep your skills above your work experience section.
The reverse chronological format is for those candidates, who have vast experience and the order of those are in reverse chronology as the last job is the most relevant one. The combination or hybrid format is where you combine the feature off the functional and reverse chronological in order to maximize your potential as a candidate.
Company Information
The company information research is also crucial for you resume as you need to know about them when. you get to the interview section of the job application process. But more so than that, and before that you need to know whether you will be able to fit in that organization and your goals are aligned with the mission and vision statement. the values align with your values. It is to understand whether you will be able to perform well in the company with all its forces working for and against you.
You can research about the company on various platforms such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, monster.com and even the company website. The last is where you will get the information that the company puts in by itself, the other professional social media platforms is where you will understand form other people about the company, the ex or current employees. They will give you a better understanding of the company then the website itself.
Resume Guidelines
There are endless resources online how to create the perfect resume. However, you need to conduct proper research as we have given you the correct guidelines to do so. There are not strict parameters to create the best resume, however, if you follow the simple steps of research and finding the right templates you are already halfway there. The rest is on introspection and how to use the right words.
Customization
Customization means to blend in the elements of what you learnt about the company, the key words and the skills you have in your resume in such a way the the hiring manager feel that they can relate to it. Moreover, in the section where we explained to you to understand what the company is, you need to utilize their language and their words and phrase and incorporate them in your resume in order to express your enthusiasm and intent to join the company.
Proof reading
Proof reading is the absolute last thing you need to do when you are done with your resume on your own. Does not mean the resume is complete but it needs to be checked. there are various way that a resume should be proof read and the internet and people will give you steps to do so. However, there are few things to keep in mind while proof reading which are; ask your peers, relatives friends anyone who you can reach out to and make them read your resume. Whether it is making sense from the third person, whether the grammar is correct, or the words make sense in the structure they have been put, whether the format and the positioning of the section is bringing out the crux of the resume.
Choosing the right format
- Functional resume format:
The functional format is a basic format for those who are starting out their career, or are switching their profession where the skills they acquired before are not all transferable. The functional format has some guidelines, which are not strict however the people using this resume will want to highlight their strengths and their skills and what extra they have done in order to get the job and role they are looking for. The reason why skills and education section will be put above the experience section is because there is not a lot of relevant experience to show. Therefore, showcasing their education where their grades are great and their skills they gained during their internship or previous jobs that are not relevant to the current role they are applying for come in handy
- Reverse chronological order resume format:
This type of resume is for those who have experience to show for. The previous jobs they worked for are all relevant and the skills they gained are also relevant. The idea is to get to the work experience section as quickly as possible, and not to prioritize skills, education and other sections very aggressively.
The order of all the sections where there are dates involved will all be in reverse chronological order.
- Combination resume format:
The combination or the hybrid format combines the functionalities and characteristics of both the resume format. The writer of the resume can choose to make the focus of the resume on skills by putting them first and in the past experience section they will use reverse chronology. This is the most common type of format that is used since the writer can play around with the sections while not losing focus on the past experience section.
What does a visual merchandiser resume sample outline look like?
Contact info
Full Name: The name should be as per what you have provided in your government IDs
Mobile Number: The phone number that you provide here should always be accessible
Email Address: The email ID should be professional, ideally your name if available, and do not provide your personal email ID as a bonus tip. Create an email ID if need be
Permanent Address: You do not need to provide your whole address, the area and area code are sufficient and this part is optional
LinkedIn Profile: If you do decide to give your LinkedIn profile, then please update it
Resume summary
Resume summary is also called the resume objective. It is essentially a shorter version of your cover letter which will be explained in the coming sections. The summary should not be more than 3-6 sentences and 4-6 lines. In a resume summary you get straight to the point. You start of by stating any key experience that you know will catch the attention of the hiring managers. Then you explain any learning from it and how you collaborated and added value to the organization and the team.
Then you can focus on any achievements or recognition you got for any of your work, which could be by adding direct value or by indirect purposes. The achievement portion in the summary is also crucial because that highlights the extra hard work you put in to get recognized. Therefore, the resume summary will catch enough attention from the hiring managers so that they can skim through the rest of your resume and get a better understanding of who you are.
Professional experience/ work history
Job title and Company:
Please mention the job title and/or designation as per your contract or agreement and mention the name of your company along with it.
Dates of Employment:
Mention only the Month and the year and not the whole date or just the year in 'from-to' format.
Job Description:
The job description can be picked and tweaked in from the job description you received from that particular job, or you can use the internet to search the job descriptions and inspire yourself to put them on your resume. Be precise in how you frame your sentences, and use bullet points along with the right keywords
Key Achievements:
Any achievements or recognitions or awards that you might have received in your professional career can be put here for the relevant job that you worked in. Quantify your achievements as much as possible to show logically how you stand out.
Education section
Please put in all your degree, diploma, or any other formal educational qualification here in reverse chronological order i.e., from latest to first
Degree Name:
The educational qualification name as provided to you in the certificate received from your institution
Institution Name:
The name of your institution as per what is on your certificate states or what the institution writes formally
Location and Date:
The location can just be the area, or the country if the education was abroad and not in the country you are applying your job in, and the date should be in the format of Month-year, 'from-to' format
GPA (Optional):
To mention the grade point average on your resume is optional, however, you can choose to put it if you think your grades were exceptional and should be noticed by the hiring manager.
Skills section
Here we provide to you a well crafted set of skills you can use on your resume as key words. Moreover, these skills need to categorized for you as hard and soft skills, the ones you already posses. and you can use these skills to see whether you need to work on some of them so that you can highlight them in your resume and your cover letter.
📌List of relevant skills for your visual merchandiser resume:
- visual displays
- visual merchandising
- in store displays
- retail sales
- implemented corporate visual standards
- store management
- merchandising strategies
- window displays
- maximize sales
- store sales
- visual guidelines
- store openings
- sales floor
- visual merchandising skills
- merchandise displays
- architecture and department layout
- major department store franchise
- visual merchandising storage area
- corporate visual standards
- timely manner
- visual presentation
- existing visual collateral
- store fixtures
- create displays
- new store openings
- oversaw holiday display setup
- fashion trends
- promotional events
- properly showcase key items
- complement fashion trends
- work with store teams
- crafted counter displays
- maximize customer interest
- current and future trends
- holiday display setup
- created account specific materials
- company training materials
- merchandising and floor moves
- drive store sales
- enhanced aesthetic appeal
- visual marketing
- increase sales
- work with signing and pricing teams
- visual standards
- corporate seasonal events
- soft skills
- display merchandise
- customer readiness standards placement
- visual merchandising standards
- installed vinyl displays
- hand or power tools
- holiday gift card promotions
- visual strategies
- working with cross functional team members
Bonus Tips
Keywords
Key words are essential to any resume, since when the resume goes through the ATS which sis the applicant tracking system, whereby there is no human touch involves, it will read for key words. We have provided you with the most relevant key words which are not going to be mundane and over used in the industry and which you can totally rely on to pamper your resume and get that visual merchandiser role you have been searching for.
Put these key words in your resume carefully and try not to compromise on your point and focus on them blindly. When it passes through the ATS and gets in front of the hiring manager, it should be grammatically correct and not just arbitrary words that are put together to get selected.
📌List of relevant keywords for your visual merchandiser resume:
- holiday gift card promotions
- plenty rewards program launch
- installed vinyl displays
- visual merchandising standards
- customer readiness standards placement
- corporate seasonal events
- visual standards
- signing and pricing teams
- increase sales
- visual marketing
- enhanced aesthetic appeal
- holiday display setup
- maximize customer interest
- crafted counter displays
- complement fashion trends
- promotional events
- fashion trends
- department manager
- oversaw holiday display setup
- visual merchandisers
- existing visual collateral
- timely manner
- corporate visual standards
- visual merchandising storage area
- major department store franchise
- architecture and department layout
- visual merchandising jobs
- merchandise displays
- sales floor
- store managers
- visual guidelines
- store manager
- visual merchandiser position
- sales associates
- maximize sales
- window displays
- retail sales
- retail stores
- store management
- implemented corporate visual standards
- visual manager
- retail sales skills
- retail sales associates
- visual merchandising position
- in store displays
- visual merchandiser
- visual merchandising
- visual displays
Cover letter
Cover letter goes along with your resume. It is a narrative of your personality, and is read as an essay by the hiring managers. The cover letter provides you as a candidate of visual merchandiser for the job you are applying to a chance to express yourself. The cover letter has broader guides to follow as below:
Header
The header is very similar to your resume header and contains your personal information i.e., Your full name, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile (optional)
Salutation
The salutation is how you greet to your hiring manager or the reader. You can start with 'Dear hiring manager', 'Respective Hiring Manager' or 'To whomsoever it may concern'.
Introduction
The introduction of the cover letter is where you show the hiring manager your enthusiasm for the role you are applying to, and show your eagerness to prove that you are the best candidate. The introduction entails some of the language picked up from the company website, from their mission and vision statement and link it back to you. The hiring manager in the introduction will look to gauge the company fit by the way you express your intent. While you are showing your enthusiasm you should let the reader know from where you got to know about the job and how can you add value at a superficial level.
Body
The main body of the cover letter is where the hiring manager will need the most convincing. As it is the body you need to highlight you key experiences and how you added value to the organization/s you were working for previously. You should mention any key projects and the skills you gained and developed as part of those organizations. Here is where you will materialize your enthusiasm which you expressed in the introduction.
The key experiences you mention, try to quantify them as much as possible i.e., worked for 50+ hours a week, and covered 10 stores in a span of 5 months to attain the position of manger and managing over 10 employees. Quantifying your experiences adds hundred times the value then not as you are representing your addition to the organization in a logical manner.
The next part in your main body of the cover letter comes from the achievements and recognitions you have garnered over the years. The achievements and your awards should also be quantified if possible, and show the process and journey behind attaining them. In the earlier example you were promoted to manager visual merchandiser and managing 10 employees where as no one was able to do it is your achievement and you got recognized company wide through an email, certificate and bonus. All of which you can put in here and show how you were able to dot it.
Conclusion
The conclusion of your cover letter is where you sum up your experiences and show your last bit of enthusiasm. You relate yourself to the company and share how you can add more value by bringing in your experience, education, and skills to the table. The skills you previously highlighted can be brought to attention here and the hiring manager can know how aggressive you are in your pursuit to show your value as a candidate.
Closing
The closing part of the cover letter is where you type in your regards i.e., 'Sincerely' or 'Warm Regards' and sign off your full name at the end.
References
References are also key to your resume. Usually you would want to the hiring managers to talk to your managers, your seniors and management when they call your references, as they can-clearly explain to the hiring manager how you have added value to their organization, and how you improved, and also the skills you developed over time.
This will give the hiring manager a chance to know your from a third person perspective. they are looking for how you added value to the organization and not what you gained from them, since working for the role you are applying to the hiring manager will always want to know whether you can give more than you can take.
There should ideally be not more than 3 references, it is not a fixed number, however, the hiring manager will not contact more than 3 people to know about you. They might even stop at one, however, that one does not pick up then you should have other references too.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have given you the tools i.e., the research, the skills, the action verbs, the key words, the ability to form your resume in a nutshell, now you are ready to create a perfect resume. You can access the templates and have formats already ready for a visual merchandiser and therefore, reduce more of your time in thinking about where to place what, now you just have to put in your points. and you are good to go.
You can check out our resume example collection and resume builder to write your resume with ease. Our resume builder is similar to ChatGPT, equipped with AI it will help you write your resume within minutes. That's all, good luck with the job search!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do I need a cover letter with my visual merchandiser resume?
Yes, cover letters make a big difference for you by making a better impression on the hiring official. You can read more about cover letters in the article above.
How can I choose the best visual merchandiser resume example?
Make sure you consider these points when choosing:
- Your professional level
- Your particular skills and experience
- Area of retail sales that you want to work in
- Your goal for next job
- Your profile
How many references should I include on my visual merchandiser resume?
You should include 3 references on your visual merchandiser resume. Read more about references section in the article above.
