How to Write a Retail CV That Gets You Hired [With Examples]

A retail CV is a job application document used by employees seeking positions in shops, supermarkets, and other establishments that supply customers with goods and products. As a result, such applications often focus on interpersonal skills and customer service, two essential skills in this profession.

In this article, we will teach you how to write a retail CV, show you examples of such a document, and provide a simple template you can use as a guide.

2 Professional Retail CV Examples

Before we delve into writing tips and details, let’s take a look at two examples: a fashion retail CV and a store assistant CV. These will serve as a good guide for your own application document.

Example 1

Example 2

Retail CV Format and Structure

Retail CV format and structure should adhere to the same rules that apply to other types of application documents. In other words, it should be professional, easy to read, and scannable; this will guarantee it passes the applicant tracking system (ATS) checks and reaches a recruiter.

Keeping that in mind, here are a few tips you should follow:

How to Write a Retail CV: 6 Main Sections to Include

To write a successful retail CV, you should include sections such as contact information, personal statement, work experience, relevant skills, and education. Other sections, like certifications, achievements, languages, and hobbies, are optional and may be added if you believe they strengthen your application.

Now, let’s take a look at how to write an impactful retail CV:

#1. Add Your Contact Information

Contact information is a crucial section of your CV because it provides recruiters with the details they need to reach you with an interview invitation. As a result, it’s placed at the very top of the application, where they can immediately see it.

Typically, it contains your name, address, phone number, email address, and, optionally, LinkedIn profile or professional website. Avoid putting irrelevant information there; for instance, your social media, personal blogs, or anything else that’s not related to your work.

Here is what this section could look like in practice:

#2. Write a Strong Personal Statement

Next is a personal statement; essentially, a brief snapshot of your key skills, achievements, and experiences. This section is very short (only 4–5 lines), so every word counts. As a result, many job seekers struggle to write an effective one that immediately hooks recruiters and introduces them to the most important information.

So, a good approach is to write down your job title, one relevant achievement, one or two traits that define your working style, and years of experience in the industry. Then, you need to combine these into a short story using action verbs and professional language.

Also, try to add measurable results to your achievement for additional impact. For instance, mention how many customers you helped in a single day or how your efforts reflected on your store’s sales.

Take a look at our example if you’re still not sure what to do:

#3. Highlight Your Work Experience

Work experience is the crucial section in a retail CV, so you should pay particular attention to it and include all your relevant positions in reverse chronological order. Don’t forget to include your job title, company name, and period of employment for each entry.

Furthermore, each experience should come with several bullet points elaborating on your achievements or responsibilities within the company. We suggest that you focus on accomplishments and back them up with measurable results, but if you can’t think of anything, responsibilities can be just as helpful.

Don’t go overboard with explanations, though. Each bullet point should be a brief sentence, and you shouldn’t list more than six of these. If you have any additional information to share, you can include it in a cover letter.

This is what the work experience section should look like:

#4. Add Relevant Hard and Soft Skills

Though the skills section looks very simple, it’s actually another one that employers are particularly interested in on retail CVs. So, think carefully about what you have to offer and list your relevant capabilities and traits as bullet points.

Standard practice is to start with hard, industry-specific skills and then move on to soft ones. So, for instance, your ability to operate a cash register would be a hard skill, while your time management and communication belong to the soft skills category.

Here is what this section could look like on a CV:

#5. List Your Education

The education section can go underneath the work experience or the skills section; it’s up to you to decide what you want to emphasise. However, skills often play a more significant role than education in retail, so it might be wise to put them first.

When writing about your education, include only your two latest degrees in the reverse chronological order. For example, if you have a master’s degree, you don’t need to add your GCSEs or A-levels to this section; your master’s and bachelor’s will suffice.

The education section on a retail CV may look like this:

#6. Optional Sections

Aside from these key sections, you can include others, like certifications, languages, hobbies, awards, or anything else you find relevant. These can be especially useful if you don’t have extensive work experience or education to write about, as they can pad out your CV.

Once again, ensure that the information you include contributes to the image of a professional in your field. Anything that doesn’t serve this purpose can be left out, as it’s unlikely to interest the recruiters.

Here is how you can talk about your certifications:

And this is what your language section could look like:

Retail CV Template

If you need additional help writing a job-winning application, here is a retail CV template, where you can simply enter your information in the empty fields to customise it:

Retail CV Tips for Different Roles

Retail CVs may differ depending on the role, so now that we’ve established what a general one should look like, let’s take a look at what to focus on for different positions in the field:

Entry Level or No Experience

If you have no prior experience in retail, you obviously won’t be able to emphasise your work experience section. Instead, you should focus on your education, skills, and other strengths you might possess to compensate for what you lack.

It’s particularly important to highlight soft and transferable skills, as they make you more employable in general. So, mention teamwork, communication, time management, and other skills that could help you thrive in retail.

Sales Assistant

As you’ve seen in our sales assistant CV example, you need to focus on your interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, and customer service for this role. After all, sales assistants primarily work with clients, recommending items, providing product information, and assisting with requests.

The best sales assistants know how to instantly build rapport with a customer and convince them to buy a product they didn’t initially plan to get. If you’ve done that in your past jobs, make sure to highlight it as one of your achievements; upselling is a highly desirable skill in retail.

Cashier

A cashier's CV should emphasise accuracy, speed, and the ability to handle cash and operate a cash register. It’s also important to highlight their capacity for working under pressure; during busy periods, cashiers have to handle large numbers of customers, which can be very stressful.

Of course, customer service remains a crucial skill to include in a cashier’s CV, as they must greet clients politely, handle complaints and queries, and create an overall positive experience. But attention to detail and efficiency play an even more critical role in this position.

Store Manager

Store managers ensure smooth collaboration between team members, oversee daily operations in the shop, keep track of KPIs, and perform various other activities to help the business grow. As a result, they need excellent leadership, communication, conflict resolution, teamwork, and organisational skills.

In addition, they should focus on their past management experiences and achievements, as those are likely to improve their chances of getting hired. An educational background in management can also be helpful, though it’s not mandatory.

Create a Job-Winning Retail CV

If you need extra help writing an application for a retail position, use our CV builder to create one within minutes. All you need to do is enter the required information in the designated fields and choose an appropriate CV template; your document will be ready for submission within minutes.

And if you don’t want to fully rely on our builder, consider browsing through our CV examples instead. They can serve as inspiration for writing your own, especially because we have an extensive selection for various industries and roles.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, our guide has explained how to write an effective retail CV for any role you set your sights on, be it cashier, sales assistant, or store manager. The key is to focus on your past achievements in the field and desirable skills, such as customer service, communication, organisation, and time management.

Retail CV FAQ

#1. How to make retail sound good on a CV?

To make retail sound good on a CV, you should highlight measurable achievements, use professional language, and emphasise transferable skills. Working in retail teaches you a lot about customer service, management, and high-stress environments, so it can contribute to your employability.

#2. How do I write a retail CV with no experience?

To write a retail CV with no experience, you should focus on your transferable skills, education, achievements, and projects. These will compensate for what you’re lacking, especially if you can demonstrate you are proactive, communicative, and easy to work with.

#3. What skills do retail employers look for?

Retail employers look for excellent conflict resolution, listening, teamwork, persuasion, and organisation skills. In other words, soft skills often play a significantly larger role in securing a job in retail than hard skills, which include operating the cash register, handling cash, maintaining cleanliness, and stocking shelves.