Writing a Retail CV
Brought to you by CV Writers in association with Guardian Jobs
How to write a great retail CV
The competition for retail jobs is always fierce. This makes having a compelling CV all the more important. Your CV needs to stand out amongst many other candidates and demonstrate a wide range of customer service, sales and financial skills. A good retail CV should clearly demonstrate achievements in order to make the job of saying ‘yes’ to calling you to interview as easy as possible. This is the fundamental role of the CV.
Professional look and consistency
Your retail CV needs to look professional. Make sure the formatting is consistent and there are clearly labelled headings so the reader can move around the CV quickly to focus on areas of interest. Use a contemporary typeface like Tahoma or Calibri and ensure the point size is a minimum of 11. Research carried out by Adzuna in 2019 found 9 out of 10 CVs contained misspelled words. Incredible isn’t it? You cannot rely on spellcheck software – get someone else to proof read your CV.
Write a focused profile
A professional profile at the beginning of the CV acts as your introduction. In the first sentence, position yourself as a ‘retail assistant’ or use the job title of the role you are applying for. This helps to engage the reader from the outset and see the relevance of your retail CV. Then give some insight into the personal qualities that make you a great retail professional. Be original and say something different.
Achievements
The single most important factor in the success of your retail CV is to demonstrate achievements. These could be direct, relevant achievements in a similar role for another retail company. They could also be demonstrated through transferable skills acquired doing something different. For instance, customer service and financial skills can be attained in a wide range of scenarios. Be specific in the examples you give and support these with facts and figures.
ATS systems
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) filter out about 70% of CVs before they even reach human eyes. They work by comparing your CV to a job description and analysing key words and phrases to match. The best way to help your CV pass through ATS filters it to take an individual approach in applying for jobs. Read the job description and person specification for the role and mirror the key terms and phrases in your retail CV. Do this for each job you apply for.
Your retail CV only has one chance to have an impact. You’ve got provide a compelling reason to call you to interview so make sure your achievements stand out and that the CV looks professional, contains the right key words and is focused to your target roles.
This article is written by Neville Rose, Director of CV Writers.
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