5 essential skills to include in your retail cv

5 Essential Skills to Include in Your Retail CV

Do you enjoy socialising with customers and helping them make smart purchase decisions? Are you interested in sharing your previous experience or knowledge about specific brands or products?


Then, a retail job is an excellent choice for you. Besides the satisfaction of boosting a store’s sales targets and helping customers, retail work also often offers flexible hours, competitive pay, and opportunities to grow further in the company. 


But to be a successful retail assistant, you need certain skills to make you a better candidate for the job and help you stand out from the competition. 


Below are five important skills you should highlight on your retail CV to show employers you can represent their brand and succeed in a retail environment:


1️⃣Excellent customer service 


Retail jobs involve working directly with the public, so list your customer service skills. Customer service entails helping customers find what they’re looking for, answering their questions, and offering suggestions for products they might like. 


Your services can make or break a person’s shopping experience, so employers want to know you’ll portray their store in a positive light. Add this skill to your retail CV to show you’re good at interacting with customers and recommending products to them as they’re communicating their needs to you.


2️⃣Teamwork


If you’ve actively participated in a team in the past, chances are you can work effectively with other retail assistants, supervisors, and shop managers. For instance, when there are several customers and long lines at the till, employers look for someone who can listen closely to instructions and take the initiative to keep a store running smoothly.


Also, there may be times when you’ll need to relay customer concerns to other staff members or even contact different departments to resolve issues. So don’t forget to mention your teamwork skills in your retail CV’s skills section or work experience section.  


3️⃣Time management


Like the rise and fall of fashion trends, retail environments can be fast-paced and chaotic. So telling HR personnel you have good time management demonstrates you know how to prioritise multiple tasks and work efficiently to meet your store’s goals.


For instance, in addition to completing customer transactions, shop managers may ask you to track inventory, keep the shop tidy, and display products in an organised and presentable manner. 


4️⃣Attention to detail


Accuracy is vital in a retail business because even a simple mistake on the till could result in unhappy customers and a loss of profits. 


In addition, being detail-oriented is essential because you’ll need to pay attention to your store’s most current promotions and be well-informed and knowledgeable about the products you’re selling.


So ensure you’re a reliable candidate and can handle money transactions independently by emphasising your attention to detail on your retail CV. 


5️⃣Working under pressure


Because stores need to meet their daily, weekly, and monthly sales targets, convey on your retail CV that you’ll be successful at upselling products and services to customers. 


You can show shop managers you’re up for the challenge by listing your ability and examples (if possible) of times you worked well under pressure. 


For example, if you’ve had to solve a problem with time constraints, deal with an unexpected situation outside of your control, or handle multiple issues at once, then these are all solid ways to show you’ll be a great addition to a retail team.


If you have some or all of these above skills, then you’ll make an ideal retail assistant! And if you’re still unsure how to write a high-quality retail CV, try looking at different CV examples or using a CV builder to increase your chances of being successful in your job search.

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