If you are looking for a sales assistant job in Ireland, it is important to inject your personality into a CV. This is especially the case if your experience is limited. The good news is that this is a role where you can land an interview even if it is your first attempt at finding a job.
As a retail sales assistant, your duties include selling products and services to customers, while also providing advice, and perhaps even handling complaints.
When it comes to creating a sales assistant CV, focus on experience and key skills. If you have little of the former, emphasise the latter! And don’t forget to accompany your CV with a tailored cover letter that will help you stand out.
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How to Write a Sales Assistant CV
When you are writing a CV for the role of sales assistant, it is difficult to decide precisely what needs to go in it. If you are looking to enter the retail sector, bear in mind that hiring managers are extremely busy individuals who receive dozens of applications for every opening.
Your goal should be to create a sparkling CV that immediately grabs their attention. The key is to be concise. No words must be wasted when condensing your skills, experience, and achievements into a CV.
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CV Structure – What to Include in your CV as Sales Assistant
At the end of this short guide, you will have the opportunity to download a sample CV for the role of customer sales assistant. It will follow this structure.
Personal Information
Include your full name, address, mobile number, and email. Make sure you use a professional sounding email address.
Sales Assistant Personal Statement
If you’re hoping to have a successful career in sales, the first step involves selling yourself to a hiring manager! In this introductory paragraph, you have the chance to highlight the kind of person you are; outline your skills, experience, and suitability for the role.
Retail CV Personal Statement
In the retail sector, employers value staff that display the right attitude. It is a good idea to emphasise that you’re a people person who genuinely cares about helping customers enjoy their visit.
- Include a personal profile/CV objective section beneath your personal information
- Keep it to 4-5 lines
- Briefly describe your retail experience, achievements and include hard data if possible
Education
Include the name of your school/college, the years attended, the name of the qualification, and the modules if relevant to the role of a sales assistant. It is not necessary to go back any further than secondary school. Also:
- Emphasise your education if you have limited work experience
- Sales assistants with plenty of work experience can limit educational information to the name of the school, dates attended and any qualifications earned.
Sales Assistant CV Skills
It is important to focus on this section if your employment history is a little light. Your core skills should relate to the industry and showcase your suitability for the job.
- Focus on 8-10 skills and include them in bullet point form
- Before you add any skills, check the job ad to see what skills are required
- Match your skills to what you read
- Don’t forget to include both hard and soft skills
Retail CV Skills
Demonstrating your strong retail skills is a crucial element of being hired as a sales assistant. Take some time to consider your main skills, and match them with what’s on the job ad. Sprinkle evidence of your skills in a work environment throughout your CV. For the record, the best skills for sales assistants include:
- Customer service
- Marketing
- Sales
- Multitasking
- Communication
- Time management
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Organisation
- Decision-making
Employment History
- Enter the information beginning with your most recent position
- Add the dates of employment and name of the employer
- List your duties and responsibilities in bullet point form, but try not to exceed six bullets
- Tailor your achievements and duties to what is in the job ad
- Use the right action words when describing your experience
Retail Sales Assistant Employment History
For a retail sales assistant’s duties would include answering customer queries on a store’s products and services, and processing card and cash transactions. If you have a significant work history, make sure it sparkles because it’s the section most likely to land you an interview.
Additional Information
You can add information about your hobbies and interests, but this section is best reserved for any additional qualifications you hold. What do you think interests an employer more: Your love of Shakespeare or customer service training? (Unless the job is in a bookstore!)
- Consider adding additional information such as certifications earned, additional languages spoken, or volunteer work performed
- Use it as a means of distinguishing yourself from candidates with similar skill and experience levels
References Available Upon Request
There is no need to add references in your CV unless the job description specifically asks for them.
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What do sales Assistant employers look for in a CV?
Although the perception is that a sales assistant job is entry-level, it is a mistake to assume that hiring managers aren’t diligent when reviewing applications. Here is a quick overview of what they look for in a CV.
Structure & Formatting Tips
- Keep your CV to a maximum of two pages
- Use section headings, ensuring they are bigger than your standard text and bolded
- Use white space to make your CV seem neat and stick with single-line spacing
- Avoid ‘cool’ fonts; use tried and trusted options like Times New Roman or Arial
- Adopt the standard reverse chronological format, unless you have little work experience, in which case a skills-based CV works better
Template CV for Retail Sales Assistant
Creating a Retail Sales Assistant CV may seem daunting, but with some practice, you’ll soon discover your inner salesperson. Please download our template cv for Retail Sales Assistant.
Sales Assistant CV Template
Barry Johnson
barryjohn1980@gmail.com
0871000000
11 Downtown Street, Uptown, Dublin 7
Personal Statement
I am an experienced sales assistant in the retail sector who enjoys helping customers understand the benefits of the products and services they are looking for. I am a target-oriented individual who loves the challenge of ensuring every customer gets what they are looking for.
As a people person, I find it easy to assist customers and derive genuine enjoyment from my job. My experience extends to supervising a team of staff, and after years working in the industry, I feel that I am ready to take the next step forward by handling more responsibility.
Education History
Dublin City University (2008-2011): BA (Hons) In Retail Studies
Included the following modules:
- Stock management & auditing.
- Analysis of the effectiveness of visual merchandising displays.
- Recruitment methodology.
- Planning, adjusting, and monitoring the schedules of employees.
Acme Secondary School, Dublin (2003 – 2008): Six Honours in the Leaving Cert (Including Maths and English)
Core Skills
- Driven to achieve sales goals.
- Outstanding verbal communication skills which enable me to provide excellent customer satisfaction.
- Knowledge of merchandising displays and promotions.
- Competent and confident with the hardware involved in checkouts.
- Good literacy and numeracy skills.
- Knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel.
- Time management.
Employment History
Lynch’s Superstore, Uptown (October 2016 – Present) – Retail Sales Assistant
In my current role as a retail sales assistant, I serve consumers and provide them with recommendations about any products and services they are interested in. Responsibilities include:
- Handling cash and card transactions.
- Counting up the day’s takings and depositing the proceeds into the safe.
- Ensuring the store is ready for new promotions.
- Handling credit notes and returns.
- Providing customers with advice on the right products for them.
- Dealing with customer complaints, and escalating the issue to management level if necessary.
- Assisting with in-store merchandising.
- Taking in deliveries and filling out stock orders.
- Supervising a team of staff when the manager was not available.
- Ensuring the store’s monthly targets were met.
Johnson’s Foods, Dublin (November 2013 – October 2016): Sales Assistant
In this role, I worked as part of a shop floor team and reported directly to the store’s manager. Duties included:
- Reporting to the manager daily.
- Cleaning and tidying the store, and ensuring stock rotation was carried out for the following day.
- Processing customer transactions.
- Welcoming staff and providing them with advice on the store’s products and services.
- Reminding customers about the store’s promotions.
- Making sure that the shop floor was always in pristine condition with displays perfectly maintained.
- Ensuring the store’s counter was always manned.
- Creating the shop window’s displays.
Additional Information
I like to remain active because it enables me to maintain a high level of energy at work. I enjoy playing football and basketball. I also ensure that I keep up to date with the latest developments in the retail sector by reading industry publications.
References Available Upon Request
