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 clerk sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to craft the perfect sales clerk resume experience section
Perfecting the experience section: sales clerk resume checklist.
- Be careful with bullet points: use no more than 4-6 per position;
- Mention only positions that are relevant to the job you’re applying for;
- List your experience in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Highlight your results by using numbers – e.g. percentage increase/decrease in an important metric that’s followed by - your hard work;
- Use action words whenever possible… but more on that below.
Need examples? We looked through thousands of Sales Clerk resumes and gathered some examples of what the ideal experience section looks like. Check them out below!
- Handling inquiries from clients and coordinate with various parties to ensure clients’ requirements are met.
- Prepare daily delivery reports for clients e.g. Nike, Apple, Lane Crawford
- Compile, sort and file records of office activities, business transactions, clients’ agreements.
- Maintain and update filing, inventory, mailing, and customer database systems.
- Handle registered mails and external hand-delivered items properly and keep timely and accurate records.
- Reduced time to produce monthly statements by 20% through automation of the process using Excel macros
- Increased sales invoicing accuracy by 15% by implementing a double-checking system before sending invoices to clients
- Streamlined the debtors service process, which led to a 25% reduction in customer complaints and improved relationships with clients
- Managed a portfolio of 50+ clients with a total monthly revenue of £500k
- Processed up to 200 invoices per week with 99% accuracy using accounting software
- Maintained and updated the company's vendor database, resulting in a 20% reduction in duplicate payments
- Resolved invoice discrepancies and disputes, leading to a 30% reduction in outstanding payments
- Managed the accounts payable email inbox and responded to vendor inquiries in a timely and professional manner
- Achieved over £1 million in sales revenue in the last year through a combination of upselling and cross-selling techniques.
- Implemented a new customer service strategy that led to a 15% increase in customer satisfaction scores.
- Managed inventory and stock levels to ensure optimal product availability and minimize waste.
- Assisted with the preparation of monthly financial reports, including balance sheets and income statements.
- Implemented new data tracking and reporting procedures, resulting in a 25% reduction in reporting errors.
- Provided financial analysis and forecasting support to senior members of the finance team.
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action verbs for your sales clerk resume
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Impressing recruiters with a top sales clerk resume skills section
Checklist for an impressive Sales Clerk resume skills section:
- List both hard and technical skills that are important for the role;
- Check what the job description says and add some keywords based on that;
- Focus only on relevant skills;
- Try not to list things such as “communication”; rather, highlight your soft skills in other sections of your Sales Clerk resume.
Top skills for your sales clerk 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.
Recommended reads:
Sales clerk resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your sales clerk 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 Clerk 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.
Crafting a strong summary for your sales clerk resume
Checklist: The perfect Sales Clerk resume summary section
- Add a couple of keywords from the job description;
- Mention some of your most valuable skills and characteristics;
- Highlight your top achievements (and add numbers!);
- Use no more than 3-5 sentences to guarantee readability and keep - the hiring manager interested.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your 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.
Recommended reads.
An impressive education section: Sales clerk resume
Sales clerk resume: education section checklist
- Highlight your highest education degree;
- Include the degree subject, year of graduation, and institution name;
- Mention some of the awards you’ve received during your studies;
- List your certifications (incl. the body that’s issued them);
- Entry-level positions: Give preference to courses that are relevant to the position.
Top Certifications for your Sales Clerk Resume
Sales Training: Practical Sales Techniques
Sales Hacking: Essential sales skills, sales strategies and sales techniques to sell just about anything!
Sales Training: How To Close More Sales
Closing Sales: Sales Training Course: Sales Skills; Selling Techniques; Sales Strategies for B2B, B2C Direct Sales
Sales Machine: The Sales Training B2B Master Course
Learn Sales Strategies & Sales Techniques to Sell ANYTHING for Entrepreneurs, Startup, B2B Sales, & Business Development
Business Development & B2B Sales for Startups- Sales Valley
The Complete Startup Playbook for Business Development & B2B Sales to learn Lead Generation, Pitching, & Closing Deals.
NLP For Sales, Persuasion & Influence: Certified NLP & Sales
NLP Sales Skills: Powerful NLP Techniques For Sales, Persuasion & Influence Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Sales
Recommended reads.":
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Sales Clerk. 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 right format for your sales clerk resume
When it comes to formatting your Sales Clerk resume, there are certain things you need to keep in mind. These include your level of expertise, your total years of experience, and the position and company you’re applying for, to name a few.
You can choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological format is just that – all your experience listed in a reverse-chronological way. It’s great for experienced professionals who have been in the industry for many years and have no career gaps.
The functional skills-based resume, on the other hand, focuses on skills, education, and personality traits, rather than experience. This makes it great for graduates, people with less experience, or bigger career gaps. The idea is to show you’re the perfect match without putting too much emphasis on your lack of relevant experience.
If none of these sound suitable, go for a hybrid (or combination) resume. It’s a mix of experience, skills, and personality traits. It’s also considered modern and innovative because of its non-traditional structure and sections. Here, you can add details about what your typical day looks like or what your life philosophy is. In short, the hybrid resume format shows who you are, both as a professional and as an individual.
More tips on perfecting your resume style and layout:
- Choose a traditional 12p font;
- Make sure your resume margins are no bigger than an inch;
- Go for a one-page template. If you have broad experience and can’t fit your resume on one page, choose a two-page resume template
- Save your resume as PDF to avoid formatting issues and unauthorized editing.
Recommended reads:
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.
More sections worth adding to your sales clerk resume
If the industry, company, and position you’re applying for allow for that, you could include other sections in your Sales Clerk resume. By doing this, you’ll show the recruiter that you’re a real human and not a robot.
Here are some ideas:
The right kind of creativity for your sales clerk resume
Several years ago, everyone preferred keeping a safe distance from creative resumes. Today, adding creativity to your CV is considered cool, innovative, and one of the best ways to stand out.
You can add a creative section that describes your typical day or even go for a colorful creative template. No matter what you choose, make sure to keep the position, company, and industry in mind. Otherwise, you risk looking silly.
What makes a great sales clerk 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.
