A sales assistant is the face of the company. As a sales assistant, you are in direct contact with the customers, and the way you interact with them and the impact you have on them, good or bad, can determine if a particular customer will return to the store again or not.
A good sales assistant is responsible for assisting the customer and ensuring that the customer enjoys the experience and wants to return. To effectively do that, you need to have outstanding communication skills. You will answer the customer's question, provide information about products, advise the customers, help them find what they need, etc.
But, a sales assistant position encompasses more than just the customer service aspect. Some of your other responsibilities might include processing payments, stocking shelves, taking care of customer's complaints and refunds, making sure the store is tidy and clean, and reporting to the manager.
So, if you are about to apply for a sales assistant role, you need a resume that shows you got all that they are looking for, including:
The ability to provide excellent customer service
Outstanding communication skills and strong interpersonal skills
The ability to multitask and organize
Basic computer skills
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We’ve created this step-by-step guide to help you create such a resume.
In the next 10-15 minutes, you’ll learn how to:
► write a perfect professional profile summary for the position of sales assistant
► quantify your responsibilities and achievements
► format your resume
► overall, create a sales assistant resume that stands out from the crowd and gets you hired
You'll also get:
► a template and sample for a personal profile summary
► a list of 20+ action verbs tailored to a sales assistant’s responsibility
► five examples of metrics to quantify your achievements
► 50+ actionable tips coming from experienced recruiters and resume writers
► a free sample reference list
► a free sample sales assistant resume
Buckle up and let's get into it!
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STARTING POINT: Job Description
Everything you need to cover in your resume is written in the job description (or a job ad, a job posting).
So, before you start crafting the best sales assistant resume, you need to make sure that you understand all the responsibilities and requirements specified there. To find the most important information, look for sections called 'Person specification', 'Essential and desirable skills' or 'What are we looking for?'.
The job description will likely sound like this:
We are looking for a detail-oriented and friendly Sales Assistant to work in our store. The Sales Assistant is responsible for providing an excellent sales service, maintaining a fully stocked store, and keeping the store in perfect condition, clean, and visually appealing.
To be successful as a Sales Assistant, you must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. A good Sales Assistant is eager to provide excellent customer service and make sure that every customer enjoys our store's buying experience and wants to return.
Sales Assistant Responsibilities:
Ensuring customer satisfaction by providing outstanding customer service
Answering customers’ questions and providing information
Advising customers and guiding them to find the product that best fits their needs
Processing transactions
Taking care of refunds and complaints
Receiving new shipments
Making sure the store is fully stocked with merchandise
Keeping the store tidy and visually appealing
Following the company's guidelines and policies
Sales Assistant Requirements:
Experience in sales is preferred, but not essential
Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills
Attentiveness to customers’ needs
The knowledge of processing payments
Basic computer skills
Good organization and multitasking skills
The ability to work in a team
Now that you know what companies will look for, we can start working on a resume that proves to hiring managers and recruiters that you’re the one for the job!
1. Start with your contact details
First things first - open a new Word or Pages document and write down your name and surname.
They are the first thing employers will read on your CV and you want them to be seen and remembered. They should be easy to find, so, put them at the top of the page.
Emphasize your name. Be bold and highlight your name by using a bold font or capital letters. Increase the size of the font to differentiate it from the rest of the text. Make it pop, but not too much. Don't exaggerate by using font size 72. Using 16-24pt, depending on the font, is perfect.
Then, tell employers how to reach you. Below your name and surname, write down your location, phone number and email address.
This part should be short, straightforward and professional – without too many phone numbers or emails to choose from, and with a formal-sounding email address.
It should look like this:
NAME SURNAME City, Country / +44 (0)203 000 000 / name.surname@email.com
2. Write a perfect sales assistant personal statement
Unknowingly, many candidates lose the reader’s interest on the very first sentence in their resume.
The reason is that they start with a vague sentence about their career aspirations that doesn’t add any value – it feels like it’s there just to fill the space.
This ‘full-of-buzzwords-but-meaningless’ sentence usually sounds something like this:
I’m looking for a new challenging opportunity to develop myself and progress in my career. I work well independently but enjoy working as part of a team too. Willing to support your company with my skills and knowledge.
This sentence doesn’t actually say anything about your skills or experience, it doesn’t help you brand yourself as a sales expert and it doesn’t grab the reader’s attention. In other words – it’s doomed to fail.
To avoid starting your resume with an opening sentence that sends your application into the black hole of “thanks-but-no-thanks” resumes, kick yours off in the most effective way – write a powerful personal statement.
A personal statement is essentially a summary of your career.
When done correctly, a personal statement can help you position yourself as an expert and a strong candidate right from the start, which consequently increases the time that employers will dedicate to your resume and your chances of being invited to an interview.
To do it right, fill in the template below:
<adjective 1> and <adjective 2> <current job title> with more than <number> years of experience in <industry 1> and <industry 2>. Strong <key strength 1> combined with the ability to <skill 1> and <skill 2>. Extensive experience of <area of expertise 1>, <area of expertise 2> and <area of expertise 3>. <Insert action connected with your achievement> resulting in <quantify success>. Currently looking to broaden experience and utilise the existing skill set in <specific industry/company/role>.*
*The last sentence is optional.
When you include relevant keywords here, it will sound something like this:
Customer-oriented sales assistant with 5 years of retail sales experience. Strong communication skills combined with an ability to understand customers’ needs and interests and provide guidance. Achieved the best rank in average dollars sold per sale and maintained it for 8 consecutive months. Extensive experience in arranging window displays, processing transactions, and dealing with customers’ complaints.
This is an example that fits well with the job description that we started with.
However, it’s important to know that when it comes to your personal statement, one size won’t fit all. You’ll need to customize this paragraph for each application.
So, don't forget to tailor this section and fill it with the same keywords that you found in the job posting for your desired position.
Depending on the key aspect of the role, customize your personal statement accordingly to highlight the most relevant experience and skills.
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3. Structure your work history
The work history or the professional experience section is the most important part of your resume.
Every word you add to the work experience section counts. Therefore, this section needs to be nothing less than perfect.
The most common (and the best) way to structure it is to apply reverse chronology, starting from your current job and then listing older ones.
For all jobs you include in your resume, you need to have the following information:
name of the company
your job title
time-frame (starting date - ending date)
description of your responsibilities
Pay close attention to the formatting. Choose one formatting style and stick to it.
For example, if you decide to write the time-frames on the right side of the page, keep them there throughout the whole resume. Don't move them to the left side or anywhere else.
Additionally, if you decide to write it in the following form:
08/2016 - 07/2019
....don't mix it with:
May 2014 - July 2016
from 2014-05-15 to 2016-07-15
or any other variation
Even though this might seem like a minor thing in your resume, paying attention to such things is the best evidence of your eye for detail, which is one of the things employers expect from the best sales assistants.
4. Describe your responsibilities and achievements
The key is to tailor your job descriptions to the job you are applying for and to keep only relevant information.
Going back to the job description, here is the list of responsibilities for a sales assistant:
Ensuring customer satisfaction by providing outstanding customer service (1)
Answering customers’ questions and providing information (2)
Advising customers and guiding them to find the product that best fits their needs (3)
Processing transactions (4)
Taking care of refunds and complaints (5)
Receiving new shipments (6)
Making sure the store is fully stocked with merchandise (7)
Keeping the store tidy and visually appealing (8)
Following the company's guidelines and policies (9)
In your resume, you need to prove to them that you can be successful at performing all these tasks. On top of that, since you are looking for a job in sales, your resume needs the be the best evidence of your top-notch ability to write engaging content.
If you want to showcase skills they are looking for in candidates, writing a job description that looks like this won’t be enough:
Sales Assistant ABC company, 2017 - today
Key responsibilities:
Answering questions
Transactions
Merchandise
It simply doesn’t say anything about what you have done and – more importantly – what you achieved.
Instead, describe your responsibilities in this way:
Sales Assistant ABC company, 2019 - today
Key responsibilities:
increased customer satisfaction to 8.1 NPS (27% increase) by providing bespoke customer service, answering customers’ queries and advising them on the best products for their needs (1, 2, and 3)
processed $10K - $15K per day cash and credit card transactions with 99% accuracy (4)
ensured 98% customer satisfaction rate while handling complaints and refunds in a proactive and positive manner (5)
maintained visual appeal of the store by performing all cleaning, stocking and organising tasks in the sales area (7 and 8)
Don't worry if you can't capture all the requirements in your employment overview. It's likely impossible, especially if you didn't have exactly the same job in the past.
Instead, sprinkle as many keywords or matching verbs from the job ad as you can all over your resume - in the personal profile section at the beginning, in the job descriptions of different roles, and in the list of your skills.
Furthermore, in the description above, you can see a few additional rules that should be applied:
a. Use bulleted lists.
b. Start each bullet point with a verb.
c. Be consistent with the tense you are using.
e. Quantify your responsibilities or achievements whenever possible.
A. USE BULLETED LISTS
Describing responsibilities in bullet points is the gold standard of resume writing.
It is much easier to highlight the relevant information in a bulleted list. Additionally, reading bulleted lists is quicker, easier and more understandable.
Write 5 to 7 bullet points for your job. As you go down memory lane and back to your older jobs, reduce the number of bullet points – two to three will be enough.
Wondering how you can describe everything you have done within 3-7 bullet points?
The key to writing strong bullet points is tailoring the descriptions to the job and including only information relevant to the job.
Think about every word and bullet point you include. Assess the value of each sentence in your resume by asking yourself if it shows valuable experience, achievement, knowledge or a skill that you could use in the job. If the answer is "no", "not sure" or "maybe", tweak it or remove it.
B. START EACH BULLET POINT WITH A VERB
Bullet points should be concise, straightforward and focused on what you did, not on what the role was about.
To write such bullet points, avoid repetitive phrases at the beginning of each bullet point, such as ‘I am responsible for/in charge of/I did’.
Also, avoid starting with nouns.
For example, if you just write ‘project management’, it won’t mean a lot to readers, as project management includes a variety of tasks and people responsible for each – from managers to administrators.
Instead, describe your responsibilities by starting bullet points with action verbs. This will help you save space and readers will save time – it’s a win-win situation for both sides.
The best action verbs to use depend on your experience and industry.
Referring to the job description for a sales assistant role, it’s obvious that you need to use power verbs that highlight your communication and interpersonal skills, organization abilities, and attentiveness to customer needs.
So, some of the action verbs in your resume should be:
Achieved
Advised
Answered
Assisted
Communicated
Consulted
Ensured
Facilitated
Handled
Helped
Guided
Maintained
Operated
Organized
Performed
Processed
Promoted
Provided
Resolved
Sold
Stocked
C. BE CONSISTENT WITH THE TENSE YOU ARE USING
If you are talking about your previous employment or past achievements, use past simple tense – analysed, researched, reported. When describing your current role, use present continuous tense – creating, writing, managing.
D. QUANTIFY YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS (5 examples included)
Numbers help readers understand the impact you’ve made in your position; they grab attention and make resumes sound much more impressive.
If there is one thing that can make your resume outstanding, it’s quantifying your achievements.
Below you can see the same job description, without any numbers:
Provided excellent customer service through answering customers’ queries and advising them on the best products for their needs (1, 2, and 3)
Processed cash and credit card transactions (4)
Ensured customer satisfaction while handling complaints and refunds in a proactive and positive manner (5)
Maintained visual appeal of the store by performing all cleaning, stocking and organising tasks in the sales area (7 and 8)
It’s okay-ish, but it doesn’t sound as strong as it could.
For jobs in sales, include some of the following metrics:
Increase in average dollars (or items) sold per sale
Boost in customer satisfaction
Enhancement in positive feedback score
Increase in average dollars sold per hour worked
Improvement in customer experience
5. Include your education
List relevant education.
Here are a few basic rules:
Start with your highest degree first.
Add other degrees in reverse-chronological order.
If you finished college, don’t add your high school information.
Add other training, qualifications or certificates only if they are relevant to the job.
What information should you include?
the type of degree you earned
your major
the name of your school or college
the year you graduated
Other information, such as GPA, should be included only if requested, or if you are a recent graduate with an impressive GPA. Otherwise, no one will pay attention to it.
Additionally, if you are currently undergoing a professional qualification, don’t forget to specify the expected date of graduation. It is important info that shouldn’t be omitted. Simply state when the expected graduation/certification date is.
6. List relevant skills
The skills section of your resume includes your abilities that are related to the jobs you are applying for.
This is not a mandatory part of a resume. However, if you want to highlight additional skills that you didn’t have a chance to apply or show in your previous jobs, this can be the right place.
Here are some relevant skills or other information to include in this section for a job as a sales assistant:
People you interact with: clients, colleagues, vendors, etc.
Tools used: POS and credit card machine
Projects you contribute to: window displays, store arrangement, etc.
7. Prepare a reference list
Skip the "References available upon request" sentence at the bottom of your resume.
Employers assume you have references and will ask for them, if necessary. And the most common practice is to request a reference list at the end of the hiring process, not upfront.
However, even though you don’t need to include them in your resume, we wouldn’t recommend waiting for the last minute.
Prepare a reference list in advance, securing at least 3-5 references.
Bear in mind that references should be people who have supervised you or had a chance to collaborate with you in an academic or hands-on setting like an internship, job or volunteer position, as they can advocate about your potential for success.
In a new document (separate from your resume), sum up the following information about your references:
name and surname
their job title and company/institution
contact details – phone number and email address
Bonus tips:
1. Give your references a heads up
Before you add someone’s name on the list, ask your references for their approval to avoid any awkward situations.
Additionally, advise them if there is anything they need to know in case your potential employer reaches out to them to avoid any confusion (e.g. if you have changed surname in the meantime since you have worked with them or if your current employer is unaware of the fact that you are actively looking for a job, so this needs to stay confidential).
2. Match formatting style
For a polished look, use the same design and formatting style on your references list that you used for your resume. Having matching documents will help you come across as a well-prepared, detail-orientated and professional candidate.
8. Polish up the formatting
Up until this point, you have been working on the content of your resume.
Now let’s put a cherry on top by polishing up the layout!
Here, little things make a big difference. Choices about font, spacing, margins and alignment affect the overall impression your application makes on the hiring manager. Without the proper formatting, the content loses its edge.
>> You can do it on your own. Or... you can save precious time and pick one of our resume templates and have your application ready in 15 minutes! <<
Here are some actionable tips:
A. Font
Select a professional, readable font for the body of your resume. Avoid too complex, unprofessional or hard-to-read fonts. Choose between Calibri/Calibri Light, Arial, Corbel, Cambria, Georgia, Source Sans Pro/Light.
Another factor in making your words highly readable is setting an appropriate font size. Generally, you should stay between 10 and 12 points.
B. Headings
Employers should be able to navigate through your resume with ease and they need to know where to look for specific information at first glance.
Differentiating the headings of each section in a professional way can help. You can:
● Write section letters in capital letters
● Use a “bold” font on your section headers
● Increase the size of your section header fonts to 12, 14 or 16 points
Underlining headers is also an option. However, underlined text tends to be hard to read, so we don't recommend it. In other words, it is an option, but not a good one.
C. White space
Last, but not least, an element that contributes to the readability of your resume is the amount of white space - an area of your resume that remains unused when separating sections and paragraphs of text.
Lack of sufficient white space can make your resume look cluttered and disorganised, whereas too much can leave your CV feeling bare and lacking in content.
So, to make a resume that's easy on the eye, it’s important to achieve the right balance between white space and content.
Pay attention to:
Spacing: If your resume looks crammed, increase the spacing between lines from 1.0 pt to 1.15 pt.
Margins: Margins (white space around the content) will depend on the amount of text you have. They should be between 0.5’’ to 1’’. Play around with it until you get a layout that is easy on the eye.
Alignment: The most common recommendation is to align your text to the left.
An alternative solution is to justify it (align both to the left and right distributing your text evenly in line between margins). This depends on your preferences. The only option that needs to be ruled out is centering the whole content – it’s OK for headings, but not for the body of a resume.
And that’s about it!
When done carefully, this step in creating your resume can make it stand out from the pile of other resumes - even if they all come from the world’s best sales experts.
SO, WHAT DID WE CREATE?
<DOWNLOAD FREE SAMPLE RESUME HERE!>
After following those eight steps, the perfect sales assistant resume is here.
If you followed all the instructions above, your resume will look and sound like this:
⇡ Download this sample in PDF format by clicking on the picture above. No registration required. ⇡ This resume sample is a protected document. Copyright @ Recommended By Recruiters.
If you want to pick another resume template with a matching cover letter and reference list, we've got you covered!
LET’S RECAP:
Creating the best sales assistant resume can be done in eight steps:
Start with the job description. Make sure you understand the main requirements. Highlight the most important keywords, if needed, as you will need them to write your resume content.
Open a new Word or Pages document. Write down your name, surname and contact details (including location, phone number, and email address). Make it as clear as possible.
Write a killer personal statement by sprinkling the keywords all over this intro section. Use a template or a ready-made sample we've created for you.
Describe your previous responsibilities by using bulleted lists. Write 3-7 bullet points per job. All bullet points should be relevant, specific, detailed and quantified.
List your qualifications.
If you have additional skills you couldn’t cover in the rest of your CV, include them in an additional section with the overview of your skills.
Prepare a separate reference list.
Polish up the formatting. A template can help!
And that’s it! Your resume is done, dusted and ready to impress employers!
Do you have any questions about writing a perfect resume for jobs in sales? We’d love to help! Book a FREE coaching call with our job search experts and have all your questions answered in 30 minutes.