Ensure your CV layout is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.
Retail CV Template (Text Format)
PERSONAL SUMMARY
Dedicated Retail Staff with 6+ years of experience in retail environments. Recognised for my ability to communicate with customers, provide exceptional service, and upsell products. Seeking to fill the Assistant Retail Manager position at Tiffany & Co. and help your team surpass its sales goals.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Burberry, London Borough of Islington
Sales Associate, September 20XX – present
- Assist 50+ customers daily in finding merchandise, providing recommendations that have led to a 12% annual increase in sales
- Implemented a new inventory tracking system, improving organisational efficiency
- Exceeded sales goals by over 27% for two consecutive months
- Manage merchandise displays, highlighting new inventory with the goal of increasing sales
- Maintain at least a 96%+ customer service feedback rating
- Encourage 40+ new patrons per month to sign up for Burberry’s newsletter
Debenhams, Leeds
Retail Sales Associate, May 20XX – August 20XX
- Repeatedly exceeded monthly sales quotas by 20%+
- Increased revenue by upselling new merchandise and making informed recommendations
- Memorised Debenhams’ product inventory to provide better advice to customers
- Fielded customer complaints and offered workable solutions, leading to a 10% decrease in full refunds
- Maintained a consistent ‘A’ rating in customer experience satisfaction surveys
Primark, Leeds
Customer Assistant, May 2018 – April 2020
- Checked out upwards of 150 customers daily, ensuring they each had a seamless, pleasant experience
- Provided friendly and personable customer service, improving feedback ratings by 20% over 6 months
- Maintained 100% accurate records of store inventory
- Carefully monitored shop floor to prevent shoplifting and similar incidents
EDUCATION
University of Leeds (20XX–20XX)
BA (Hons) Business Management
Upper second-class honours (2:1)
Dissertation Title: Implementation of Effective Sales Tactics
King Edward VII School (20XX–20XX)
A-levels: Maths (A), French (A), English Lit. (A)
GCSEs: 10 Grades 9–4, including Maths, English,, and ICT
KEY SKILLS
- TokenWorks Magnetic Card Reader
- Plexis Software Plexis POS
- Conversational French
- Inventory management
- Merchandising
- CRM software
- Loss prevention
- Product knowledge
ADDITIONAL SKILLS
- Time management
- Customer service
- Communication
- Organisation
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
- Avid swimming, trained alongside Olympic athletes at university
- Amateur vogue dancer
- Regular attendee of sci-fi conventions
6 more job-specific retail CV examples
Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.
Want to see some retail CV samples? Here are six more examples for you to draw inspiration from, all free to download for Microsoft Word:
1. Retail assistant CV
Why this is a good retail CV
- Uses a bold colour scheme: A splash of colour will help your CV stand out. In this case, the applicant uses orange and grey to ensure recruiting managers see their CV.
- Includes numbers: Numbers (for example percentages, £ amounts) will put your achievements into context, like how this applicant mentions they onboarded 3 team members.
- Employs lines to break up content: Lines separate this candidate’s work experience section, making it easier to read.
Download this retail CV example
2. Retail manager CV
Why this is a good retail CV sample
- Uses a simple CV template: A basic and simple template might appeal to you if you don’t like a flashy CV design or if you’re applying for jobs at more traditional retailers like John Lewis or Marks & Spencer.
- Employs introductory paragraphs: Especially for senior roles like retail managers, a short introduction describing the company you’re working for/worked for and your responsibilities can give recruiting managers context and let you focus on your accomplishments in the bullet points underneath.
- Effectively uses bolding: Each accomplishment on this CV is introduced by a phrase in bold that specifies the type of accomplishment the applicant is detailing.
Download this retail CV example
3. Luxury retail CV
What makes this a good retail CV example
- Focuses on achievements: A good CV focuses on your accomplishments rather than your duties. Don’t simply describe your day-to-day duties, but highlight times you made a positive impact for your employer.
- Emphasises company names: As you can see, each company name stands out with the job seeker using bold and ALL CAPS for each one. Recruiting managers can see at a glance that you’ve worked at prestigious companies, like Tiffany & Co. in this example.
- Makes good use of space: This CV doesn’t look cramped, yet the applicant uses all the available space. For example, they fit their contact details into the same area as the place where their name would go.
Download this retail CV example
4. Fashion retail CV
What makes this retail CV example stand out
- Uses a two-column CV design: Most CVs use a one-column CV layout, so using two columns will help your CV stand out.
- Utilises a bold colour scheme: As you can see, this CV example’s left sidebar has a solid blue background (with white text for good contrast). This is an effective way of making your CV look good and get attention from employers.
- Highlights its personal statement: Because your personal statement is the first thing an employer will see, you need it to stand out. Here it draws the eye by being in its own column and being in a different colour text.
Download this retail CV example
5. Entry-level retail CV
Why this is a good retail CV example:
- Uses a one-page design: If you don’t have much work experience, use a one-page CV to get all of your key information onto your CV without having a mostly empty second page.
- Includes a relevant qualification: This applicant doesn’t have formal work experience (apart from a school work placement), but their BTEC qualification in customer service and sales management can help convince employers you’re prepared for an entry-level role.
- Incorporates a work placement: As mentioned above, this applicant only has a work placement. Work placements typically last a week or two in Year 10 or 11, so you might think there’s not much to say. But the candidate maximises this placement by mentioning the skills they developed and what they accomplished in those two weeks.
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6. Retail worker CV
What makes this retail CV example effective
- Adds CV icons to draw the eye: To help employers see their contact details (and hopefully call to offer an interview), this CV includes CV icons. Consider adding them to your own CV.
- Uses prominent section headings: Each section heading (like Personal Statement) is presented in a larger font size, ALL CAPS, and bold to quickly direct the employer to each section.
- Employs action verbs: Beginning each bullet point with a CV action verb will make you seem proactive, and helps your sentences be short and direct.
Download this retail CV example
How to write a retail CV
The UK’s retail sector is one of the largest in Europe, and 3½ million people earn a living working for British retailers, so you can too!
You just need to write a strong retail CV. Here are 4 tips to get you off to a strong start:
1. Start with a strong retail CV personal statement.
A good personal statement introduces the rest of your CV, so it should sum up your experience, qualifications, and skills. Here are five good retail CV personal statement examples:
No-Experience Retail Personal Statement
Enthusiastic and dedicated, with a keen interest in retail. Highly motivated to learn and contribute effectively in a dynamic team environment. Possess strong communication skills and a genuine passion for providing outstanding customer service. Have an A-Level in Business Studies.
Retail Personal Statement (Experienced)
Experienced retail professional with over two years in fast-paced store environments. Skilled in customer engagement, sales generation, and inventory management. Proven ability to enhance customer satisfaction and drive business goals.
Retail Manager Personal Statement
Accomplished retail manager with a strong track record in improving sales figures and customer satisfaction ratings. Expertise in team leadership, operational management, and strategic planning. Committed to fostering a positive store environment and achieving top performance.
Luxury Goods Retail Personal Statement
Professional with extensive experience in the luxury retail sector, delivering exceptional customer service and maintaining high standards of client care. Expert in handling high-value transactions and knowledgeable about current luxury market trends.
High Street Fashion Personal Statement
Fashion-forward retail specialist with a deep understanding of high street trends and customer preferences. Proven ability to increase sales through visual merchandising and effective customer engagement. Passionate about delivering the latest styles to consumers.
2. Include a list of retail skills
Ideally, you’ll have mastered all of the skills mentioned in the job description for the role you’re applying for. Here’s a list of the most common skills for retail CVs for jobs in the UK and Ireland:
First, here are 15 hard skills:
And, here are 5 useful soft skills for the retail sector:
3. Add numbers to each bullet point
Numbers can help put your achievements into context. So whether they’re percentages, amounts in pounds, or some other kind of metric, add them to your bullet points. Here are some examples of good work entry bullet points with numbers:
Bullet points for a retail CV
- Managed a team of 10, achieving a 15% increase in efficiency
- Trained 5 new employees, enhancing team productivity by 20%
- Achieved £200K in annual sales for the financial year 20XX
- Reduced stock wastage by 30% through improved inventory practices
- Increased average customer basket size to £35, up from £30
- Oversaw daily cash handling of up to £5,000
- Implemented a loyalty programme, growing membership by 25%
- Conducted 50+ product demonstrations per week, boosting sales
- Organised 10 promotional events that increased foot traffic by 40%
- Negotiated with suppliers to cut costs by 10%, saving £3K annually
- Increased customer satisfaction scores by 15% through service improvements
- Achieved a record of £10K in sales during a single promotional event
- Streamlined queue times, reducing average wait by 50%
- Led a store refurbishment, completing the project £5K under budget
- Enhanced e-commerce sales by 35%, adding £25K in annual revenue
4. List any retail-relevant qualifications you have
Qualifications will show employers you’ve got special training in retail-based areas. If you’ve got one retail qualification, add it to your education section, but if you have a few, consider a separate ‘Qualifications’ section.
Here are some common qualifications recognised by employers:
Takeaways
To make an effective retail CV, we suggest you:
- look at good retail CV examples
- write an effective CV personal statement
- include your retail skills
- add number-heavy bullet points
- list retail-sector qualifications
Sources
- Prospects
- Department for Business and Trade (His Majesty’s Government)
- National Careers Service (His Majesty’s Government)
Our editorial process
These retail CV examples and tips were written in line with our editorial process, which means they were written by a CV writing expert and then edited and approved by a certified CV writing professional (CPRW).
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