INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wholesale & Manufacturing Sales positions are at a 5% growth rate, which is slower than average. With that said, there are currently 1,625,700 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 77,600 to 1,703,300 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Wholesale & Manufacturing Sales jobs was $65,420 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $31,950, and the highest 10% more than $129,200.
Our conclusion? The Wholesale & Manufacturing Sales job market is wide open for candidates.
Top merchandising manager sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a merchandising manager resume experience section
Merchandising Manager Resume Experience: Checklist
- Use either chronological or reverse-chronological format when listing your previous jobs;
- Mention only relevant positions that add value to your resume;
- Briefly state the challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome them;
- Highlight the results from your efforts (for bonus points, add numbers, percentage rates, etc.);
- Forget about buzzwords! Use power verbs instead.
Use the examples below to build your own experience section!
- Merchandising Manager of United Colors of Benetton:
- Responsible for the creation, planning and implementation of a successful product strategy which meets the territory specific product requirements and delivers on sales, productivity and margin targets.
- Drivers of the demand forecasting process, and responsible for placing and tracking buys for the full price business.
- Making annual sales forecasts and tracking realization rates and updating the budget.
- Managing the OTB planning and assortment plan.
- Monitor and enhance the sell through.
- Checking the purchase invoices.
- Managing all return processes.
- Managing Women's Leathergoods & Shoes across 33 stores in 8 countries.
- Advised an estimate of more than 1500 customers on best buy home improvement products
- Trained associates with the implementation of COM 2.0 software
- Exceeded 80% sales target, helping the store reach its overall target.
- Promoted to Senior Sales Associate December 2010
- Created a clientele list within first week consisting of 15+ clients.
- Exceeded all expectations for 12 consecutive quarters within top 15 in district sales.
- Led national team with highest sales growth at 13%.
- Followed customers through entire sales process, closing individual sales of $100,000+
- Develop and execute site merchandising and content strategies to drive sales and conversion growth
- Manage the e-commerce activities of the site on women and women's sport category
- Drive the product assortments for campaigns with external business partners
- Work in-line with sales support, visual arts, warehouse and transportation departments
- Leading the merchandising team across all marketing channels (onsite and offsite).
- Managed to achieve growth of 100% YoY sales with merchandising contribution and initiatives.
- Managed various types of campaigns; category campaigns, product launches and main events like White Friday Sale and Everything For You Sale. From deals planning to allocating an onsite placements for categories and partners through execution of the campaigns along with post campaign reports with over 50,000 deals per event.
- Having weekly reviews for all category merchandisers, overviewing our traffic performance and product view volumes for each category to maintain and achieve the categories targets.
- Evaluating daily marketing activities and their impact on products, categories and overall sales.
- Worked closely with commercial team to make sure of understanding their product types and how to best highlight our selling points or new launches.
- Driving the first launch of FMCG online campaigns for The Egyptian market and partnering with Nestle group
- Being a part of first omni-channel activity targeting A &B+ customers with high end products. This project was to enhance the brand image in the biggest and most famous summer homes in Egypt destination; defined best-selling items based on buyers’ scheme as well as introducing summer essential products for fashion and personal care.
- Created daily process flow between graphic designers, social and paid marketing teams to ensure smooth and clear way to feature our offers, deals and campaigns
- Supervising Marketing and Communication Team and Creative agencies to make sure brand's values and image are followed;
- Managing brands relations and b2b orders. Bringing 2,000 contacts of the most important fashion brands.
- Developing relations with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in UK and in USA
- Deepen fashion trends, attendance in many fashion shows.
- Ovew merchandising for high-volume retail store with QR 1M daily average sales.
- Managed receiving, inventory, shrinkage, and quality control on merchandise of QR 1M in value
- Led and Managed a Team of 47 Merchandisers and 70 Porters
- Developed and Executed Confectionery Planograms for Stores for better product assortments.
- Worked closely with Operations Manager to ensure implementation of company policies and procedures, proper staffing and scheduling, and payroll processing.
- Brand Image Manager for the 19 Louis Vuitton boutiques present in Italy, with the main goal of guaranting the application and the constant respect of the VM guidelines received from Paris HQ, ensuring attractive and sophisticated product displays and windows
- Direct report to Italy Head of Merchandising
- Managing of 5 Area VIsual Merchandisers located in strategic LV boutique in Italy to monitor and implement guidelines on a daily basis, organizing instore VM training to support the sales team in their VM activities and take adgavnted from the proximity to the stores to act and react quickly
- Responsible to revise and adapt WW brand guidelines to the specific local market needs in order to support and boosts the sales thru the correct and effective product presentation at store level
- Training & Coaching the Area VMs in order to adapt the store product layout to the company strategic needs and novelties
- Constant team working with both Male and Female Merchandiser to select the correct product for the stores according to clients tipology and spending power, store location and collection strenghts
- Presence on field to support the Area VMs work and sharing feedbacks and best practices from store to store and with Paris
- Concept creation and development of culturally relevant window and VM schemes for over 1,500 stores across the world.
- Delivered detailed and clear guideline documents for stores internationally.
- Store visits and interaction with extensive regional VMs to ensure displays are up to date and to policy.
- Concept and scheme presentation to large teams and senior stakeholders within the business.
- Delivered the most creative and impactful M&S Christmas windows and in store to date- from idea generation through to design, development and execution.
PRO TIP
Show off real numbers that display your accomplishments in past roles. Instead of listing out your responsibilities as Merchandising Manager, talk about the measurable impact you made to their business. Did you boost their revenue? Increase customer retention? Mention your proudest points on your resume.
Action verbs for your merchandising manager resume
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Merchandising manager resume: the skills section!
How to write a strong merchandising manager resume skills section?
- Make sure to include all types of skills - soft, hard, technical;
- Focus on skills that show your expertise in the field;
- Check the job description for keywords and make sure to add them to your resume – this will help you pass ATS;
- Leave room for discussion – elaborate on some of your strongest skills in other sections of your resume
Top skills for your merchandising manager resume
Salesforce
MS Office
CRM
Forecasting
Cold Calling
Business Development
Customer Service
Project Management
Relationship Building
Time Management
Storytelling
Research / Information Gathering.
Critical Thinking
Problem Solving.
Tech Savvy
Networking
PRO TIP
When describing your experience, don’t go too far from its terminology. Recruiters use ATS systems to filter resumes based on them having certain keywords, so make sure you use at least a few keywords mentioned in the job description.
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Merchandising manager resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your merchandising manager resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Merchandising Manager resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
A career summary for your merchandising manager resume
things to include in your merchandising manager resume summary:
- Your total years of experience in the industry;
- 2-3 of your most remarkable achievements so far;
- How your experience relates to the position you’re applying for;
- A very brief description of your strengths.
resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
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Merchandising manager resume: The education section
Things to include in your resume's education section:
- Your highest education degree – including course, year of graduation, institution;
- Awards received as part of your education;
- Extracurricular activities that have helped you gain relevant skills;
- Certifications that have helped you master new skills and increase your expertise;
- Entry-level applicants only: relevant courses and projects.
Top certifications for your merchandising manager resume
The Project Management Course: Beginner to PROject Manager
The Complete Course for becoming a Successful Project Manager
Become a Product Manager | Learn the Skills & Get the Job
The most complete course available on Product Management. 13+ hours of videos, activities, interviews, & more
Management Skills: New Manager Training Update 2022
Management Skills Certification in Developing People, Leading Teams & Process Improvement in the New Hybrid Work Culture
Advanced Product Management: Vision, Strategy & Metrics
Learn the skills Product Managers use every day. Vision, strategy, & advanced metrics for Product Managers
New Manager: The Basics and More of Being a Great Leader
Go from a slightly uncertain, confused newbie to a confident, skilled manager who builds and leads effective teams.
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PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Merchandising Manager. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
Choosing the right format for your merchandising manager resume
In general, there are three basic formats for your resume:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Some things to consider when choosing the right format for your Merchandising Manager resume include the stage of your career, whether you have all the right skills required for the job or are looking for an industry change, and what field you’re looking to grow in.
The reverse-chronological resume format is the most common one. It lets you describe your most recent job and then move backward. This makes it great for people who have around or less than 10 years of experience and are looking to highlight only their work-related skills and qualities.
If you’re just starting your career journey and reverse-chronological resumes sound too demanding, go for the functional resume format. It’s ideal for showcasing your strengths, personal qualities, skills, education, and the courses you’ve taken, without putting too much pressure on experience and expertise.
Don’t worry if neither of these sounds suitable for you – the hybrid or combination resume format will surely match your needs. It’s similar to the reverse-chronological, but with a catchy twist. Combination or hybrid resumes are great for showcasing both your experience and work-related skills and your personal qualities. Add a “What my day looks like” section for enhancing the jaw-dropping experience!
Here are some more things worth remembering when it comes to formatting your Merchandising Manager resume:
- Choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for traditional resume fonts sized 10-12p;
- Match the length of your Merchandising Manager resume with your experience – choose a one-page template if you have less than 10 years of experience, and be careful with two-page templates – use them only when applying for executive positions;
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid formatting issues and potential unauthorized editing.
Tired of getting rejected? Check out this article on how to craft a resume that stands out!
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PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections suitable for your merchandising manager resume
Depending on the position and the industry, you can spice your resume up by adding some more sections. They will help the recruiter get a glimpse of who you are as a person, besides all your job-related skills and qualities.
Here are some examples:
How to add creativity to your merchandising manager resume
Gone are the days when creative resumes were frowned upon by recruiters!
What’s more, the right amount of creativity will make recruiters remember you and want to learn more about who you are – both as an individual and as a professional.
There are two ways to build a creative resume - add creative sections or go for a more creative design approach in general. Go for whatever suits you, the position, and the industry most!
What makes a great merchandising manager resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
