Retail Manager Resume Example 2023 (& Tips to Ace Yours!)

Retail Manager Resume Example

This is a perfect retail manager resume example because of the following reasons:

• Reverse-chronological format. As a retail manager, you have plenty of work experience, and this is the ideal format to show it. Not to mention, it’s recruiters’ favorite, worldwide.
• Contact information. The retail manager resume example above includes important contact information, such as the candidate’s full name, phone number, email address, location, and a LinkedIn profile URL.
• Effective resume summary. In just 2-3 sentences, the resume summary in the retail manager resume example above underlines the candidate’s work experience, skills, and achievements.
• Focus on achievements. Highlighting achievements instead of responsibilities, as in the retail manager resume example above, helps the candidate stand out.
• Brief education section. Because retail management relies more on work experience than education, the retail manager resume example above includes only the key education details. 
• Bullet points. Organizing information in bullet points instead of large blocks of text makes the resume look clean and easy-to-read.
• Relevant retail manager skills. The retail manager resume example above  only includes skills which apply to the retail manager position and are most valued in the industry, such as customer service, communication, POS skills, and sales analysis.
• Use of additional sections. This retail manager resume example includes language proficiency, which is always a good skill to have in a customer-facing role.

Here’s How to Build Your Retail Manager Resume (Step-By-Step) 

Now that you know what makes an effective retail manager resume, it’s time to get started with writing a job-winning resume for yourself. 

Here are the exact steps on how to do it:

#1. Format Your Retail Manager Resume 

There are 3 main resume formats:

• Reverse-chronological
• Functional
• Combination

As a retail manager, however, your best bet is the reverse-chronological resume format as it is the most popular worldwide, and makes your retail manager resume well-organized and easy-to-follow.

On top of that, this resume format highlights your work experience in chronological order, which makes it the perfect choice for seasoned professionals. 

After choosing the right format for your resume, start working on the resume layout.

Here’s what this includes:

• Use the right margins to make your resume look clean.
• Use a simple and professional font. Instead of using a fancy font for your retail manager resume, pick a font style that is professional and easily readable on a PDF file and stick with it throughout your resume.
• Pick the right font size. Generally, go for 11-12 pts for the body and 14-16 pts for headings in your resume.
• Use bullet points to present information. This way, the recruiter will be able to easily skim through your retail manager resume.
• Keep it short. Optimally, your resume should be one page. A resume focused on your key professional background details helps recruiters to quickly see whether you fit their requirements for a retail manager.
• Save your resume in a PDF format (unless asked to do otherwise). This way, your retail manager resume will look as you intended no matter what device or OS opens it.

Or Use Our Tried & Tested Templates 

Formatting is an important step in creating an effective retail manager resume. 

Making a resume from scratch, though, can be a hassle.

You can spend forever tweaking the layout of your retail manager resume on Word, making sure it doesn’t spill over to page #2, adjusting margins and font sizes...

And let’s be honest - after all the effort, you will still end up with a basic, average-looking black and white resume.

With a resume like that, it can be hard to get noticed. After all, recruiters get dozens of generic Word resumes every day.

Want to create an attention-grabbing resume fast and easy?

Use our tried and tested templates to create a well-designed retail manager resume in minutes!

Just pick a template, fill in the content, and your retail manager resume is ready to impress the recruiter.

And the best part? 8 of our resume templates are free!

#2. Add Contact Information the Right Way 

Now that you’re done with formatting, the next step is to write down your contact information.

This step is easy - all you have to do is make sure you fill in the correct information.

Otherwise, the company won’t be able to get in touch with you.

On top of that, something as simple as messing up your contact information can make you seem irresponsible or unreliable, and even more so if you have ‘detail-oriented’ included as a skill in your retail manager resume. 

So, to avoid that, simply make sure to list the following contact information correctly:

• First name and last name
• Title (optional)
• Phone number
• Email address
• Location

And, if you are active on LinkedIn, make sure to include the URL, too.

#3. Write a Powerful Retail Manager Summary 

Your retail manager summary is a valuable piece of information that summarizes your professional background in just 2-3 sentences.

As such, just like the most expensive items in the store are placed on the top shelf, your resume summary goes at the top of your resume to show recruiters that you’re a relevant candidate for the position in just a few seconds.

So, if your summary is on-point, they’ll move to other sections of your retail manager resume. If not, they’ll just move to another candidate’s resume.

To write a brief, but powerful retail manager summary, you should mention the following:

• Your position and years of experience
• Your most relevant skills in retail management
• 1-2 professional achievements

Here’s an example of a retail manager resume summary which includes the information we listed above:

#4. Pack Your Work Experience With Achievements 

The next very important step in your retail manager resume is to fill out your work experience section.

First, let’s talk about formatting this section.  

As a general rule, your work experience section should look something like this:

• Job title. It’s the first thing recruiters look for, and it should accurately show the role you had in the company.
• Company name and location. In case the company is relatively unknown, you can also include a short description.
• Employment date. Use the reverse-chronological order and the mm/yyyy format.
• Achievements and responsibilities. Use 5-6 bullet points for recent jobs and 2-3 for older roles. 

Of course, if you simply list your responsibilities, you’ll end up with the same list as other retail managers: recruiting and supervising staff, managing budgets, analyzing market trends...

The HR knows that these are your responsibilities - they don’t need you to repeat what everyone else noted on their resume.

Rather, HR wants to know how you stand out from the rest of the applicants.

Want to know how to do this? In your retail manager resume, focus on achievements instead of responsibilities.

Sure, you managed the store budget, but how well did you do it? What changes did you make, and how profitable were they?

So, to take your work experience section from great to perfect, here’s what you should do:

• Tailor your retail manager resume to the job you’re applying for by only including relevant work experience (e. g. since you already have relevant retail experience, focus on that and skip your part-time delivery driver job).
• Use action verbs to describe your achievements (e. g. hired, trained, implemented, reduced, etc.).
• Make your achievements quantifiable (e. g. “Hired, trained, and coached a team of 36 retail assistants” instead of “Hired, trained, and coached employees”).

Here’s an example of what an effective work experience section should look like:

#5. Keep Your Education Short

Because your work experience tells more about your skills as a retail manager than your education, you should only mention the key education details.

As such, start with your latest degree and list the following information:

• Degree
• University, college, or other institution
• Program location (optional)
• Years attended

Only include your high school education in your retail manager resume if you don’t have higher education.

And here’s what this looks like on a resume:

#6. Include Relevant Skills 

The next step in writing your retail manager resume is to list your skills.

Naturally, as a retail manager, you’re expected to have a wide variety of skills to help you with your responsibilities.

While you might think including all of your skills will show recruiters just how well-rounded you are, the aim of the skills section in your resume is to prove you’re the right fit for this particular position.

So, to create an impactful retail manager resume, you should tailor your resume and only include those skills which are relevant to retail management.

Here are some tips on how to do it:

• Carefully read the job description and note the required skills.
• If you possess these skills, include them in your resume.
• Research the most in-demand skills for retail managers, and write down those that apply to you.
• Make separate lists of your soft skills (e. g. customer service, decision-making, and adaptability) and hard skills (e. g. POS skills, sales analysis, and visual merchandising) related to retail management.

Not sure which soft and hard retail manager skills you should list in your resume? 

Worry not, we’ve compiled a list of 40 retail management skills to get you started!

List of Skills For Your Supervisor Resume 

20 Soft Retail Manager Skills

1. Customer Service
2. Leadership 
3. Communication Skills
4. Active Listening
5. Problem-solving
6. Time-management
7. Decision-making
8. Delegation
9. Stress Management
10. Organizational Skills
11. Multi-tasking
12. Motivational Skills
13. Empathy
14. Critical Thinking
15. Strategic Thinking
16. Conflict Resolution
17. Adaptability
18. Collaboration
19. Interpersonal Skills
20. Teamwork

20 Hard Retail Manager Skills

1. Point of Sale (POS) Skills
2. Product Knowledge
3. Market Knowledge
4. Performance Management
5. Merchandising
6. Visual Merchandising
7. Accounting
8. Marketing Strategy Development
9. Budgeting
10. Sales Analysis
11. Sales Management
12. Store Management
13. Campaign Management
14. Prospecting
15. Store Maintenance
16. Language Proficiency
17. Inventory Management
18. Negotiating
19. Sales Promotional Strategies
20. Database Management

#7. Take Advantage of Your Licenses & Certifications 

If you’ve done any industry-related training, you should definitely include your licenses and certifications to improve your retail manager resume.

In fact, additional training doesn’t just show you have the competence required for a retail manager.

To recruiters, it shows you’re enthusiastic, motivated, and eager to keep up with the latest trends in the retail industry, making you a valuable employee.

So, consider including the certifications and licenses you own in the following fields to your retail manager resume:

• Retail
• Business
• Accounting
• Marketing
• Merchandising
• eCommerce
• Human Resources
• Coaching
• Psychology

And here’s what you should include in the certifications and licenses section of your resume:

• Certification or license name
• Name of agency or body
• Year of obtainment
• Location (if applicable)
• Expiration date (if applicable)
• In progress (if applicable, add the expected date of obtainment)

Of course, if you have more than one certification or license, include them in the reverse-chronological order.

#8. Make Use of These Additional Sections 

Got some extra space on your resume?

Use some of these optional sections!

These sections add further depth to your retail manager resume and allow you to show off your unique experiences in the field.

Some such sections you can include in your resume are:

• Associations and organizations, including your role in them, if applicable.
• Publications, including interviews, scientific articles, studies, etc.
• Conferences, such as International Conference on Business and Retail Management, International Tourism Retail and Service Conference, Global Conference on Services and Retail Management, etc.
• Awards, both large-scale (statewide, nationwide, etc.) and small-scale (company-wide).
• Personal projects, if any of them are related to retail management, business, marketing, and other similar fields.
• Languages, which are especially valuable if you’re applying for a job in an international retail company.

And here’s an example of how to put these optional sections on your resume:

#9. Attach a Cover Letter to Your Retail Manager Resume 

From a recruiter’s perspective, picking the right retail manager can be a difficult task, and it’s not without reason.

In fact, research shows that employees’ performance, customer satisfaction and store’s financial performance largely depend on the retail manager.

As such, recruiters aim to hire retail managers who not only have the required skills but also share common goals with the company. 

And this is exactly why you need to write a compelling cover letter that shows you’re the perfect fit for the position and the company.

The point of a cover letter, however, is not to simply repeat what you’ve already written in your resume. 

Instead, a cover letter should cover your professional background in detail and mention anything of value that you’ve left out of your retail manager resume.

This might sound difficult, but actually you don’t even need exceptional writing skills to craft a convincing cover letter. 

Just follow these tips, and you’ll write an effective cover letter in no time:

• Include your contact information in the header of your cover letter.
• Start your cover letter greeting the recruiter.
• Open up with a personalized paragraph highlighting your top achievements in the retail industry.
• In the body of your cover letter, describe why you’re the retail manager they’re looking for by focusing on your work experience, skills, and achievements.
• Make sure to research the company and explain how and why you’d be a great asset to their team. Don’t forget to mention why you wish to work for this company in particular!
• Close your cover letter with a call to action.
• Lastly, check our cover letter writing tips and cover letter mistakes to perfect your cover letter and land that retail manager job!

And here’s an example of a compelling cover letter:

Key Takeaways 

Congrats!

By now, you have all the tools and knowledge to write the perfect retail manager resume (and cover letter!) that will help you land the job.

Before you start creating it, though, let’s go over some of the main points in writing a retail manager resume again:

• Pick the reverse-chronological format to highlight your impressive work experience.
• Write a compelling resume summary by focusing on your years of experience, skills, and top achievements.
• Only include relevant work experience, and make sure to focus on your achievements instead of responsibilities to boost your resume.
• Take your retail manager resume to the next level by listing your certifications, licenses, associations, languages, and other additional information.
• Attach a convincing and personalized cover letter to secure your retail management job in the company.