Introduction
When hiring managers select candidates for interviews, they often discard resumes that aren’t professional and well-written. When your resume fits the bill, you have a much better chance of moving forward in the hiring process. Our writing guide will help you draft your resume from the summary statement to sections on skills, work experience, and education. Showcasing your skills and experience in the best light gives you the confidence to apply for the position you want. Use our retail sales associate resume template for Word and tips for writing your resume with style and polish.
Retail Sales Associate Resume Template for Word
123 Fake Street | City, State, Zip Code
E: email@email.com T: 000-000-0000
Summary Statement
Outgoing and charismatic sales associate with five years of experience in retail environments. Dedicated to excellent customer service and performing accurate transactions to help store run smoothly, especially during busy times. Enthusiastic about working in teams, constantly improving product knowledge, and helping customers find exactly what they’re looking for.
Skills
* Positive attitude and outgoing approach
* Fast and accurate in using cash register and other retail sales equipment
* Experience handling customer complaints and de-escalating conflict
* Acute eye for visual merchandising and product presentation
* Responsible and trustworthy in handling cash and store keys
* Committed to educating consumers about merchandise, products, and services
* Self-motivated and able to find tasks during down time
Work History
Lead Sales Associate – Company Name, City, State
2015-present
* Lead team of five retail sales associates in busy women’s clothing boutique
* Assist customers with clothing selection, fit, and questions
* Operate cash register and POS systems and train new sales associates on systems
* Help monitor and control product shrinkage; created inventory system that helped reduce shrinkage by 10 percent in first year on the job
* Actively upsell customers by offering additional merchandise to suit their needs
* Create monthly customer newsletter via email and grow mailing list through customer engagement in-store; signed up an average of 100 new customers each month in first year of newsletter creation
Sales Associate – Company Name, City, State
2013-2015
* Advised customers on jewelry in high-end shop specializing in wedding and anniversary jewelry
* Greeted customers upon entering shop and helped them select products to suit their tastes
* Performed jewelry fittings and advised customers on proper fit for wedding bands
* Handled inventory following proper security measures
* Increased individual sales by 15 percent between first year and second year on the job
* Entrusted with store keys to open and close store and filled in as supervisor in manager’s absence
Lead Cashier – Company Name
2012-2013
* Ran register at busy music downtown music shop, managing sales, returns, and memberships
* Completed audits at the end of each shift and worked to determine sources of any shortages or overages
* Awarded “Best Cashier 2012” for 12 months straight of cash register balance accuracy within plus or minus one dollar at end of every shift
Education
Diploma – May 2013
Fairmount High School
Master Your Summary Statement
Retail jobs often call for the same basic skills, so it’s important your summary statement shows how you can offer something more than the average candidate. Hiring managers often look at the summary statement to quickly decide whether to continue reading your resume or to move on to the next one.
Summary statements are brief and should be limited to three sentences, as seen in the retail sales associate resume template for Word, or three bullet points as in the example below. Highlight your most pertinent experience and skills in retail sales and aim to show how you make a difference.
Retail Sales Associate Summary Statement Example
* Retail associate specialized in clothing merchandising and sales in high-end boutiques
* Exceptional at handling customer needs and expectations with particular attention to suggesting appropriate additional merchandise to accompany main purchase
* Pleasant and professional demeanor with energetic sales floor presence
Perfect Your Skills Section
The skills section is designed to give a brief yet detailed description of the expertise you offer an employer. This section of the retail sales associate resume template for Word is one way this might look; use it as a jumping-off point to craft your own list.As you draft your skills section, bear in mind it’s best to keep the list to about six bullet points without periods. Pull keywords directly from the job description and duplicate them in your skills list so they can align with applicant tracking software systems, also known as ATS. Here are some top skills in the retail sales industry for you to consider: * Describe merchandise and help customers select appropriate products * Run cash register to perform transactions such as sales and returns * Greet customers and help answer questions and resolve issues
Polish Your Work History Section
The work history section shows potential employers the jobs you have held in the past as well as your current or most recent position and your specific tasks and contributions in those positions. It’s a way for you to showcase your experiences as well as accomplishments.While you gather information for crafting your work history section, think about specific examples that include measurable and quantifiable results, as shown in the retail sales associate resume template for Word. In the retail industry, this often means things such as calculating how much you helped to increase a store’s sales volume, how you improved your individual sales record over time, or how you were able to sell additional products and services to customers to meet their needs. Use strong action verbs to start each bullet point describing your experience and accomplishments.Below are two examples of work history descriptions to give you an idea:
Retail Sales Associate – ABC Household – Groton, CT – 4/2012-Present
• Welcome customers to store and provide weekly sales flyer
• Direct customers to appropriate areas of store for finding products
• Sign up customers for loyalty program; averaged 100 customers per month compared to employee average of 60 customers per month
• Performed cash register transactions, including sales and returnsFloor Associate – General Carpets Warehouse – Justine, TN – 11/2010-Present
• Provide sales assistance to customers at state’s largest carpet showroom
• Educate customers about various types of carpet and carpet treatments
• Upsell additional products and services as applicable, such as installation
• Conduct follow-up service calls by phone with contact list and past customers
Refine Your Education Section
In the education section, you show hiring managers your academic background in terms of schools as well as training and certifications. This is especially important in helping potential employers determine whether you meet the educational prerequisites for a job, which in the retail industry often means at least a high school diploma.
In this section, start with your most recent educational degree, diploma, or training program and continue your list in reverse chronological order. As shown in the retail sales associate resume template for Word, you can list your high school diploma if that’s the highest level of education you’ve obtained. If you have a degree, however, you can leave off your diploma. You can also list college-level coursework, even if you didn’t complete a degree program.
Retail Sales Associate Education Section Example
Retail Training Services – Top Check System Sales Training
2014
Midland High School – Diploma
2013