INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Store, Retail, & Product Sales positions are at a -1% growth rate, which is little to no change. With that said, there are currently 4,092,900 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to decrease by -26,800 to 4,066,100 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Store, Retail, & Product Sales jobs was $27,320 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $10.18 per hour, and the highest 10% more than $27.70 per hour.
Our conclusion? The Store, Retail, & Product Sales job market is facing competition due to decreasing demand.
Top sales assistant sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
Things to remember when writing your sales assistant experience section
Sales assistant experience section checklist:
- Keep it short: use no more than 4-6 bullet points per position;
- Go for short, easy-to-read sentences to keep recruiters engaged;
- Focus on relevant job experience that will enhance your application;
- Describe your experience using the C-A-R (challenge, action, result) methodology;
- Ditch buzzwords and go for power words instead.
To illustrate it more clearly, we’ve collected some of the best experience section examples from real Sales Assistant resumes. Check them out below!
- In my current role as an office sales assistant, I serve and provide consumers with recommendations about any products and services they are interested in. Responsibilities include:
- Providing customers with advice on the right products for them.
- Dealing with customer complaints, and escalating the issue to management level if necessary.
- Organising deliveries in and out of the warehouse.Dealing with customer emails.
- Very clear communication abilities both in person and on the phone.Reminding customers of any company promotions.
- Meeting and greeting visitors to the office
- Handling incoming / outgoing calls, correspondence and filing
- Faxing, printing, photocopying and scanning
- Organising business travel
- Entering sales invoices
- Handling of cash and credit cards on a daily basis while taking in payments
- Opening,dating,copying and circulating incoming post
- Circulating documents via post and email
- Checking stationary levels and ordering new supplies
- Ensuring office procedures and systems operate efficiently
- Contributed to consistently good monthly sales figures which allowed the store to come 2nd in our sales targets against all Jack & Jones stores in the world
- Trained new recruits to the store, to make sure that they were fully competent within their role
- Actively contributed in team meetings and discussed key areas to improve on store performance
- Replenished stock on a daily basis, in addition to helping with visual merchandising ideas
- Took part in numerous successful charity events which the store organised and sponsored
- Received multiple compliments from customers in relation to my customer service approach and skills •Cashed up at the end of every shift done as well as following closing procedures
- Developed new process for employee evaluation which resulted in marked performance improvements.
- Explained information about quality, value and style of products to influence customer buying decisions.
- Created attractive product displays to enhance customer experience and sales.
- Enhanced customer satisfaction ratings by resolving issues efficiently.
- Provide information regarding warranties, product care and maintenance for any of the products and services the store offers.
- Manage point of sales processes including register operations, receiving and processing cash or credit payments sales.
- Do stock taking every 1/3 years. Run a weekly stock checking to make sure item not lost or sold wrong product.
- Achieved 100% in personal salesman target sales.
- Ensuring stock levels are well maintained. Promoting store cards or special offers.
- Advising & serving customers. Assisting customers in order to help them find what they need.
- Providing customers with information on pricing and product availability.
- Provide information regarding warranties, product care and maintenance for any of the products and services the store offers.
- Manage point of sales processes including register operations, receiving and processing cash or credit payments sales.
- Do stock taking every 1/3 years. Run a weekly stock checking to make sure item not lost or selling wrong product.
- Achieved 100% in target sales
- - Ensure high levels of customer satisfaction through excellent sales service.
- Assess customers needs and provide assistance and information on product features.
- “Go the extra mile” to drive sales.
- Maintain in-stock and presentable condition assigned areas.
- Actively seek out customers in my networking.
- Remain knowledgeable on products offered and discuss available options.
- Team up with co-workers to ensure proper customer.
- Answering customer queries in an effective and efficient manner over the phone and in person
- Operating on tills, processing refunds and counting end of business day takings stored in cash office
- Restocking shelves, price checking, price changes, locating new lines, effectively using SAP software
- Helping customers find products on sales floor and in warehouse using SAP
- Record customer orders manually and through SAP
- Work in store warehouse with pallet truck and delivering products onto sales floor
- Participate in guided seasonal store layouts in specific time frames
- Exceptional sales skills gained from organising sales to small and large stores.
- Great communications skills gained from interacting with clients.
- Excellent customer service skills demonstrated by providing client assistance.
- Sourcing new candy suppliers and coordinating new projects
- Working closely with multicultural teams
- Assisting in the sales process with Nordics customers and first contact with prospects
- Advising and helping customers with purchases
- Handling reservations made in store
- Organising transfers between stores
- Making calls regarding deliveries and orders
- Dealing with complaints made to store
- Working as a cashier and handling all refunds made in store
- Re-organized something to make it work better
- Identified a problem and solved it
- Come up with a new idea that improved things
- Developed or implemented new procedures or systems
- Worked on special projects
- Been complimented by my supervisor or co-workers
- Increased revenue or sales for the Organisation
- Contributed to good customer service
- Evaluated daily sales receipts and analyzed hourly trends to check if the sales team met or exceeded specific volume goals.
Oversaw inventory and product merchandising displays to ensure each setup met company guidelines - Enhanced the customer experience when entering and walking through the store by focusing on sincere greetings, productive conversations and active listening
- Supervising shift work
- Training new junior team members
- Training junior employees to become senior employees
- Money handling (banking and creating a float)
- Opening and closing the store
- Achievements - being promoted to a senior role
- Visual merchandising
- Outfitting and styling
- Money handling at the register and banking
- Stock maintenance and rotation (unpacking and steaming)
- Working towards achieving individual and team key performance indicators
- Working with POS systems.
- Communicating with other stores for product transfers.
- Delivering a high level of customer service
- Working as a team to create a maintain a safe work culture
- Understanding fashion and trends
- Excellent communication skills
- Follow Work Health and Safety regulations policies and procedures
- Maintains records related to sales, returns and inventory availability.
- Delivering high level of assistance by locating products and checking store system for merchandise at other sites.
- Assisting customers with prompt and polite support in-person and via telephone.
- Maintain knowledge of current sale discounts and promotions.
- Involved in various implementation projects (see projects section) and various presales activities.
- Understanding client's needs and planning product solutions,
- Managing current customer network,
- Approaching in a problem solving manner to client's compliance
- Gathering data from the market concerning trends, competition, and market needs,
PRO TIP
In writing your Sales Assistant resume, you will no doubt want to list your previous duties - as you should. But steer clear of just listing your duties, instead of your achievements. Make your resume stand out by communicating what you have done, and not merely what the job needed you to do.
Action Verbs for your Sales Assistant Resume
Recommended reads:
The Best Way to Write Your Sales Assistant Resume’s Skills Section
Sales assistant resume: skills section checklist
- Scan the job advert for keywords worth including in your resume;
- List both hard and transferable skills;
- Leave room for discussion: include some of your skills in other sections of your resume;
- Focus on skills that prove your expertise and leave the irrelevant ones behind.
Top skills for your sales assistant 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 picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
Sales assistant resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your sales assistant 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
Recommended Reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Sales Assistant resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Writing a strong sales assistant resume summar
Sales assistant resume summary checklist:
- Mention your position and total years of experience in the field;
- Highlight 1-2 of your top achievements;
- Go for shorter sentences and keep them to the point – don’t include anything that doesn’t support your application;
- Add 2-4 keywords present in the job description.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a professional taster. Use it wisely. Effectively convey your professional profile and let the hiring manager know that if they hire you, they won’t be disappointed. Make sure to include keywords from the job description too! Elaborate on your abilities further in your experience section. Again, cater to the job description.
Recommended reads.
Adding education, courses, and certifications to your sales assistant resume
Education section tips and tricks.
- Add info about your highest degree level, incl. year of graduation, place of study, and degree subject;
- Mention some education-related awards you’ve received;
- Share a bit more about your certifications (if they are relevant);
- Entry-level applicants: Tailor your education section by including classes that are relevant to the position you’re applying for.
Top certifications for your sales assistant resume
Sales Training: Practical Sales Techniques
Sales Hacking: Essential sales skills, sales strategies and sales techniques to sell just about anything!
The Complete Sales MBA: 10 Sales Skills Courses in 1
Accredit Yourself With the Sales Skills MBA - All There is to Know on Ethical Sales (Scripts, Examples, Pitchdecks inc.)
Sales Fundamentals, Sales process, Sales tools, Sale skills
Selling skills | Sales language | Handle objections | Seal the deal | Use a prospect board | Follow up on sales
Sales Skills Mastery 1: Sales Training For Beginners
Selling Techniques and Sales Strategy that Every Salesperson Ought to Know - Sales Training For the Modern World
Sales skills: A complete sales training to increase sales
Sales Training: Learn the best sales strategies & sales techniques to close more and skyrocket your sales.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Sales Assistant. 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.
The best format for your sales assistant resume
Choosing the right format for your resume might seem difficult, regardless of whether you’re a newbie or a master. In short, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The choice you make depends on your level of experience and the company you’re applying for.
The reverse-chronological resume format is great for you if you have at least 10 years of experience, no employment gaps, and are not looking for a career change. Here, you are expected to list all your previous jobs in a reverse-chronological format, starting from your most recent position and going back to the oldest one. It’s perfect for experienced individuals who are looking for a straightforward way to highlight their expertise.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is great for recent graduates or professionals with large employment gaps. It focuses on skills and education, rather than experience. This makes it ideal for showing you’re the right fit without putting too much emphasis on your lack of (relevant) experience.
If you’re looking for something a bit more creative, go for the combination resume format. It’s a mix of the reverse-chronological and the functional skills-based formats, which makes it ideal for all types of applicants. What’s more, it’s considered modern and innovative, and isn’t this what you want your application to feel like anyway?
After choosing the right format for your Sales Assistant resume, it’s time to perfect the layout and style.
- Go for traditional 1-inch resume margins;
- Choose a simple resume font, sized 10-12p;
- Make sure that the length of your resume matches your applicant profile: try to fit in a one-page template; two-page templateare suitable only for candidates with over 10 years of experience.
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid issues around formatting and unauthorized editing.
Looking for more ways to make your application stand out? Read this article!
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Test your draft Sales Assistant resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company, your position, and your general desire to experiment and showcase your creative side, you might want to add some additional sections to your resume. Some examples include:
Creating a memorable sales assistant resume
You want your resume to put you in front of other candidates even when the competition is high, right? Right!
One of the easiest ways to do this is by adding a drop or two of creativity. You can choose a colorful and out-of-the-box template, or maybe even put a ‘what my typical days look like’ section at the bottom of your resume
It’s totally up to you. Just make sure to match the level of creativity to the industry, the position, and the company.
What makes a great sales assistant 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.
