Sales Associate Resume Example and Tips

A retail sales associate deals directly with customers, selling various products and goods. This role demands excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the emphasis on customer service. In addition to working on a sales floor, responsibilities can also include maintaining stock and refilling display shelves.

To create a retail sales associate resume that sets you apart, take reference from our resume samples and tips.

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Sales Associate Combination Resume Example With Experience

Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-Class Retail Sales Associate Resume

  1. Summary In your summary statement, provide a brief rundown of your top skills, work history and achievements as a product of your abilities. Tailor this statement to the job at hand, and in a few sentences, describe what you can bring to the position. For example: “Enthusiastic and experienced Sales Associate specializing in the sale of home improvement items.”
  2. Skills Since a retail sales associate is often the first point of contact between a potential customer and company, employers value rapport-building skills. List specific sales and interpersonal skills such as strong persuasion skills, product knowledge and understanding customer demands. Also mention qualities that speak well of your flexibility, and abilities in areas such as team building and training interns/new employees.
  3. Work history Look to feature experiences you’ve had dealing with customers and increasing company revenue. Focus on quantifiable work-related accomplishments such as “exceeded monthly sales quotas by consistently using effective sales techniques” or “increased product sales by 20% after becoming product ambassador.”
  4. Education Include your highest qualifications, along with the school/college name and location. Include any additional courses or certifications that relate to the retail industry, as well as any fluency in foreign languages.

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Find the Right Template for your Resume

Use these three employer-approved templates to create your own professional customized resume.

Pinstripe

This layout brings your name and contact information to the forefront, with centered headers clearly separating each section, making them easy to scan.

Fresh

This template’s dual-column approach cleanly differentiates sections, while the bold header catches the eye.

Centered

This design places the focus on your summary statement, while the streamlined layout allows for easy customization, depending on if you want to stress skills or experience.

Find even more templates at MyPerfectResume’s resume templates page.

Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume

  • DO include soft skills Much of what makes a good retail sales associate depends on intangible abilities, such as collaboration, building rapport with colleagues and customers, and having a good attention to detail. Feature soft skills in this vein, including qualities such as punctuality and flexibility.
  • DO quantify your achievements Employers are less interested in your work history than they are in the abilities you’ve used and developed. Quantify your value by using phrases like “interacted with more than 50 customers per day on a regular basis” and “improved customer conversion by 15% when selling a specific brand.” You can also include phrases like “lowered theft by up to 40% by watching customers and reporting to the security team.”
  • DO use strong action verbs Describe your strong action verbs like “accomplished,” “increased” and “completed.” This reinforces your image as a confident, competent employee.
  • DON’T add unnecessary, irrelevant information On average, employers only spend a few seconds going through each resume, so irrelevant information (such as listing work tasks unrelated to a sales associate job) increases the risk of important details being overlooked. Keep your sentences short and concise. For example, write “Demonstrated product knowledge as well as polite and friendly customer service” rather than “I am an experienced retail associate with in-depth product knowledge and experience in handling customers with my polite and friendly manner.”
  • DON’T use the same resume for all job applications When applying to different jobs in the same industry, prepare different versions of your resume for each job. Tailoring your document for specific jobs can better address what employers are looking for, and allows you to present the best skills and experiences to fit their needs. For example, a phrase like “resolved customer queries about technical specifications” fits an electronic equipment retail role, while “maintained stock inventory database and product fulfillment” better fits a consumer goods position. Our resume builder is the perfect tool for customizing your resume for each application.
  • DON’T forget to proof-read your resume Demonstrate your professionalism and attention to detail with a mistake-free resume. Check your document for typos as well as grammatical and spelling errors. Run a spell-check and proofread carefully, while also reviewing your facts and details and making sure everything is accurate, and properly tailored for the specific employer.