Click here to directly go to the complete retail manager resume sample.

When we think of retail, the first word that pops in our head is 'sales' but retail is not just limited to sales. There is a plethora of options if one wants to explore retail as a career option.

While sales is the dominant aspect of retail, it also consists of logistics, design, administration, and marketing leaving you with multiple options. In order to grab a job in the retail sector, you need a polished retail resume.

This blog shall clear all your doubts by revealing the top strategies that will make your retail resume the best resume in a pool full of resumes.

By the end of this blog, you will be aware of the following things:

• What is the salary of a retail professional?
• How to add the retail resume skills section?
• How to tailor a perfect resume objective for retail?
• How to customize your profile title in a retail job resume?
• How to make professional experience section in a retail resume?
• What to add in the additional information sections of your retail resume?

What is a Retail Resume and why do you need it?

A retail resume is a document of 1 or 2 pages that comprises all the information related to you, that is, your career, education, skills, achievements, and interests.

Your retail resume is your opportunity to communicate important career-centric information to a potential recruiter. Based on the information you present and how you present it, your resume gets shortlisted.

If you think that you can get away with writing an average resume to bring your ideal job home, think again.

The ATS, also known as the applicant tracking system is a big game-changer. It is increasingly used by major companies to revolutionize their shortlisting needs.

The higher you rank in the ATS, the higher is your chances of getting shortlisted.

This is why you need to write an ATS-compliant retail resume today.

If you don't know how to write it, don't worry!

This blog has got you covered and we are just getting started.

Also read: Tips & tricks of writing a shortlist worthy resume

Salary of a Retail Professional

Various websites have cited the below-mentioned figures for a retail professional:

• Glassdoor: $25k - 78.8k per year for a retail professional.
• Payscale: $8.38 - 15k per hour for a Retail Sales Associate.
• Salary.com: $17.8k - 38.7k per year for retail sales staff - full time.

Retail Resume Sections

When it comes to writing a resume, knowing what to put in your resume is important.

To make your resume more objective, resume experts have divided your resume into various sections. You need to include these in your resume.

We have mentioned these resume sections below:

1. Header
2. Personal Information
3. Profile Title
4. Summary/Objective
5. Key Skills
6. Professional Experience
7. Education
8. Certifications (if any)
9. Additional Information (if any)

Read on to learn the 3 stages of resume writing.

How to write a Retail Resume?

When it comes to writing a retail resume, there are 3 stages that you should follow. We have listed them below:

1. Stage 1: Master Retail Resume
2. Stage 2: First Draft of Retail Resume
3. Stage 3: Final Retail Resume

Master Retail Resume

Simply put, a master resume is a treasure chest in which you store all your information such as:

• Details of your professional experience
• Internship details (if any)
• Volunteering details (if any)

In this stage, all you have to do is compile all your career-centric information in one place. Doing this eliminates the need to explicitly look for information which in turn, simplifies the process of composing your resume in the present and updating it in the future.

First Draft of Retail Resume

In the second stage of resume-writing i.e. the master stage, you have to fill out the sections that we have mentioned below:

• Header
• Personal Information
• Profile Title
• Professional Experience
• Education
• Certifications (if any)
• Additional Information (if any)

Kindly observe that you should not write the key skills section and the resume summary/objective section in this stage. This is only done in the final stage.

Read the next stage to find out why these are composed at the end.

Final Retail Resume

As part of this stage, you have to compose the key skills section and the summary section. The reasons are cited below:

• The key skills section is composed towards the second last. The reason is simple. Doing this helps you objectively pinpoint your retail resume skills, which helps you easily draft your retail job resume. The best part? the scope of missing a point gets dramatically reduced.
• The summary or objective section is the last thing that you should get to when writing your resume. The reason this is composed towards the end is that your resume is a conclusion of your entire resume. You cannot write it without erecting your resume first! Moreover, composing this at the end has the added advantage of helping you pick the key highlights of your career, which goes into the making of a vibrant resume!

Retail Resume: Professional Experience

The professional experience section of your resume is of utmost relevance to your job application. After all, a recruiter takes a judgment call on your suitability for the job based on the details you provide in this section.

Your goal here is to curate an impeccable professional experience section that is embedded with all the relevant information about you.

You also have to be extra sure that this information is presented effectively.

Here are 3 easy steps that can help you accomplish these twin-goals:

• Use the STAR Format
• Frame one-liner points
• Use Grouping & HIghlighting

We will now discuss these points in detail.

STAR Format

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

Situation- The situation under which you were assigned a given task/tasks
Task- The assigned task
Action- The tools/techniques/strategies you applied to complete that task
Result- The outcome of your hard work, your contributions or achievements

Benefits of using the STAR format:

• The STAR format makes use of the cause-effect relationship in your resume which further helps you write a thoughtful achievement-driven resume.
• Using the STAR format, you can endorse your professional contributions objectively using performance figures.
• This helps you present and prove your skills impactully.

Eg: Kickstarted an in-house retail workshop program leading to a 30% increase in brand awareness and sales.

Framing Points

The hallmark of a good resume is great readability.

It needs to encourage the recruiter to read your resume, not ignore it.

This is why using paragraphs is considered a big NO while composing your resume. A great alternative to using paragraphs is one-liner points.

Here are two examples to prove our statement:

Retail Resume Example 1:

"As part of my role as a Retail Manager at Company X, I was in-charge of handling customer service which included greeting customers, briefing them about the products, and playing the part of a shop assistant if they wanted further assistance. I was able to do this with 100% success. My effort to personally connect with clients led to better client relations and satisfaction. My instinctive skills in marketing strategy and its implementation increased the sales by 50%. Outside of my marketing & client facing responsibilities, I was also responsible for training and managing a team of 30 retail clerks. My training methods led to 90% improvement in performance which led to an overall improvement in the company's marketing & sales initiatives".

Retail Resume Example 2:

• Handled customer-service with 100% success
• Implemented marketing strategies leading to a 50% increase in sales
• Deployed high-level communications leading to 98% customer satisfaction
• Led a team of 30 retail clerks leading to 90% performance improvement

Why example 2 is better than 1?

• It uses bullets instead of paragraphs, hence increasing readability
• It start with an action verb
• It uses performance figures to quantify the contribution and achievements

Grouping & Highlighting

Retail Resume Example 1:

• Organized inventory and completed tasks with 100% accuracy
• Recruited and trained 10+ retail associates in company practices
• Assisted ~50 customers daily & recommended the best items in the store
• Increased Spanish-speaking customers by 50% due to my proficiency in Spanish
• Achieved 98% customer satisfaction as per customer service feedback surveys

Retail Resume Example 2:

Customer Assistance & Client Building

• Assisted ~50 customers daily & recommended the best items in the store
• Increased spanish-speaking customers by 50% due to my proficiency in spanish

Recruitment, Inventory Management & Best Practices

• Organized inventory and completed tasks with 100% accuracy
• Recruited and trained 10+ retail associates in company practices

Key Achievements

• Achieved 98% customer satisfaction as per customer service feedback surveys

Grouping & Highlighting: Analysis

• Example 1 uses one-liner points while example 2 uses grouping & highlighting alongside one-liner points.
• Grouping as the name suggests is the practice of grouping similar points under unique subheadings. While highlighting is the practice of highlighting two-three relevant words, generally your career highlights and performance figures by marking them in bold.
• Using grouping, you can distinguish your key roles & responsibilities. This helps the recruiter identify your main roles in one glance.
• Using highlighting, you are directing the recruiter's attention to the key highlights of your career as they stand out like tar on white snow.

Also read: Dos and Don'ts of crafting a stellar professional experience section

Retail resume sample for professional experience section:

Retail Resume: Header

Your resume header is one of the most important aspects of your resume.

Here's a couple of fun facts that you should know to write your resume header with perfection:

• Your real full name is the resume header of your resume.
• You should always write your real name as your resume header. This gives your resume an individual identity of its own.
• For example, if your name is Lenny Kravitz, You should write your resume header as "Lenny Kravitz" in the top-most part of your retail resume.
• If you have a middle name (Lenny Mary Kravitz), write your header as "Lenny M. Kravitz".

Given below is a retail resume sample illustrating the ideal resume header of your resume.

Retail Resume: Personal Information

Most people tend to fill unnecessary information in this section. Using this information, a recruiter gets in touch with you.

For example, it should include details such as:

• Your functional mobile number
• Your professional email ID
• Your location

Hiration Pro Tip: Do your research on the resume guidelines for the country that you're targeting and customize your resume accordingly. Try to avoid highly personal details such as your political views and religious beliefs as this might lead to biased hiring.

Mobile Number

The mobile number you provide on your resume should be correctly filled as the recruiter will contact you if he/she finds you suitable for the job profile.

Here's some things you can do to perfect this:

• Add the country code as a prefix before your mobile number.
• Example: +1 28372 29101.

Hiration Pro-Tip - Add only that number in your resume on which you are active 24X7 and make sure that this is accurately presented in your resume. Doing this will see to it that no opportunity is missed due to something as simple as a typo.

Email Address

Your email ID is important as it is the official mode of communication between you and the recruiter. This is why your email ID should look "professional" too.

Hiration Pro-Tip: Using childish nicknames as your email ID communicates unprofessionalism. Try to avoid it and keep it strictly professional. The best way to do this is to use your name followed by the domain name. Eg: Full_name@xyz.com

Location

Your location can make an impact on the way a recruiter evaluates your resume because it tells the recruiter about your city of residence.

Using this information, a recruiter gets in touch with you.

Hiration Pro-Tip: Mention only your city name and state code in the location. Do not mention your complete residential address as it is not needed.

Retail Resume Sample for Personal Information

The retail resume sample that we have mentioned below illustrates the ideal personal information section.

Also read: What is the correct way to compose a personal information section?

Retail Resume: Profile Title

Your profile title is a skill statement that you make to the recruiter.

It communicates important career-centric information about you such as:

• Your most recent job title
• Your functional industry
• Your level of seniority

Most people tend to exaggerate their profile titles in their resume. If you do it, stop right away!

Hiration Pro Tip: Any exaggeration of your profile title is likely to be seen as a deliberate fabrication on your part to be considered eligible for a more senior role. Thus, you should not exaggerate your profile title but instead truthfully compose it.

In the meanwhile, take a look at the retail resume sample that we have mentioned below. It demonstrates the ideal profile title for your retail resume.

Retail Resume: Education

Your educational background is an important part of your professional identity.

While professional experience transcends in importance over your educational background, your degree still carries weight especially when you're an entry-level worker.

This section consists of important details such as:

• The courses you have pursued
• Name of your university
• Your percentage in the courses pursued

Retail Resume: Certifications

Certifications play an important role when it comes to a retail resume.

If you do not have a glorified degree or a master's to your name, you don't have to worry. This section has got you covered!

Moreover, in situations where you're competing head-to-head with someone who has the same skill-set and professional expertise as you, having a certification gives you a winner's advantage!

So if you have relevant certifications, add a certifications section in your retail resume because that can do wonders for you.

You should mention the following details in your resume:

• Certification name
• Name of the certifying body
• Location of the certifying body
• Date of enrollment & graduation

This information is to be presented in a horizontal line in the format we have mentioned below:

{Name of the Certification} | {Affiliating Institution} | {Location} | {Enrollment & Graduation date} (in month & year format)

Retail resume sample for certifications section:

Also read: Should certifications be added to a retail resume?

Retail Resume: Additional Information

Where do information about you such as your hobbies go?

Where do you pin down your multilingual abilities?

The above-cited information finds a home in the additional information section of your resume for retail.

Being multilingual is a major plus point in the retail industry because this industry is a client-facing industry and having an upper hand at speaking multiple languages can help you persuade non-native customers to buy a product - all because you could communicate with them!

The retail resume example below illustrates the ideal additional information section for your resume for retail.

Retail Resume Key Sections

Retail Resume: Key Skills

You should compose the key skills section at the second end when you make your resume for retail.

This approach is followed because after writing all the other sections, it becomes easy for you to curate this section effectively.

All you have to do is to objectively scrutinize your retail resume, identify your most relevant retail resume skills, and then replicate them in this section.

It's THAT easy.

Moreover, you can also manipulate this section to enhance your ranking in any ATS.

All you have to do is look for keywords in your target job listing. Once you identify them, list the relevant keywords in this section.

The trick here is to not blatantly cut-copy-paste the keywords, but organically incorporate only those keywords that you can justify using in your resume.

Hiration Pro Tip: Make a separate technical skills section. This will help you differentiate your core retail resume skills from your technical or computer-based retail resume skills. Doing this also makes your resume more presentable and organized.

For example, you should include the below-cited skills in the "key skills" section:

• Sales
• Tech Savvy
• Product Knowledge
• Merchandising
• Cashier Experience
• Inventory Management

...... and include the following skills under the "technical skills" section:

• Square
• Shopify POS
• Unicenta
• Quickbooks
• Epicor

Hiration Pro-Tip: You don't need to add supporting phrases or prefix to your skills. For example, avoid using 'Good Understanding of', 'Expert in', 'Experienced in', etc. while listing your skills.

Take a look at the retail resume examples below to learn what an ideal key skills section should ideally look like:

Retail Resume Summary

Now here comes the last section of your resume.

The resume summary is one of the most celebrated sections of your resume for retail, and it should be composed at the end.

The importance of this section lies in its capacity to conclude your resume by summing it up. Your goal here is to communicate your competence and suitability for the job in your resume.

When done perfectly, your resume summary has the potential to get you on the winning side of the recruiter's books.

Hiration Pro Tip: Your retail resume summary should be a compendium of your career highlights. It should effectively articulate the utility of your skills in a 3-5 lines paragraph.

Given below is a retail resume sample showcasing the perfect resume summary:

Also read: How to create an effective summary for retail resume?

Resume Objective for Retail Resume

A resume objective for retail job should be written by those people who fall in the following categories:

• You are an entry-level retail professional with no experience
• You have less than 3 years of work experience in a retail job
• You are a fresh graduate looking for retail sales jobs

This section should be centered on your career expertise. You need to talk about how you can benefit the organization that you're seeking employment in.

Would you like to write an on-point resume objective for retail?

If it's a yes, read Hiration's Guide on Resume Objectives. It has a huge library of retail resume examples and retail resume samples that will help you write a stellar objective for your resume!

Retail Resume Sample

Retail Resume Key Takeaways

• In the retail resume skills section, make a separate heading for 'Technical Skills' and 'Key Skills' to illustrate your skills objectively.

• Use the month & year format for dates across all sections of your retail resume.

• Write a one-line description of the company you have worked in/working in so that the recruiter will get an idea about your previous company. For this, you can include figures around the number of employees, geographic presence, revenue, etc.

• Your retail resume should ideally be achievement-centric by using performance figures wherever possible. This makes your resume more relevant to a recruiter and helps you dramatically elevate your chances of getting shortlisted.

• Begin all the bullet points in the professional experience section with a power verb. Avoid usage of weak verbs such as 'Worked/Working'.

This brings us to the end of this blog.

Go to Hiration's Career Activator Platform and create a professional resume for yourself. Additionally, reach out to us at support@hiration.com and you can get 24/7 professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries.