The sales assistant is in one of those jobs where you need to have a proven ability to acquire product knowledge, relevant information, as well as provide excellent customer service, and also deal with sales management a lot and keep them happy by meeting targets.
Sales professionals often know how to do their job quite well, but what do they do when it comes to transferring their skills and experiences onto an application?
Our article is here to guide you through writing, and show you an effective resume! We’ll go through a retail sales associate resume example as well as provide some essential tips.
Additional Information About The Sales Assistant Resume
There has always been a steady demand in the retail industry or any other industry where workers with sales experience are needed. The salary levels remain healthy and steady also.
It is safe to say that the sales industry isn’t going anywhere.
It is estimated that sales assistants earn an hourly wage of between $13 and 16 per hour based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Additionally, according to the latest trends, the job market for sales associates isn’t projected to fluctuate. However, brick-and-mortar retail stores will decrease in number due to the rise of online stores.
Example Sales Assistant Resume
Sales Associate
Dover, NH
JohnBHimes@armyspy.com
603-978-8113
Professional Summary
Expert Retail Advertising Sales Agent with a proven history of creating and implementing effective sales strategies to increase advertising contracts. Persuasive in selling and upselling advertising to new and existing clients. Knowledgeable about traditional markets and using niche publications, direct mail, commercial and digital advertising techniques.
Work Experience
Sales Associate
Brother Retailers
03/2016 – Present
- Engaged customers through suggestive selling, passionate selling, and sharing product knowledge to drive and increase sales.
- Assists with inventory management, ordering of supplies and re-stocking of supplies.
- Continuously improved customer service, brand awareness and company’s reputation by providing sales presentations.
- Established a rewards program through processing payments made by customers.
Education
Bachelor’s of Science in Hotel & Restaurant Management
University of Baguio, Philippines
2011 – 2015
Skills
- Order processing
- Attention to detail
- Organizational skills
Languages
- English fluent
- Spanish fluent
How to make a Sales Assistant Resume
Every type of resume needs content and information about your previous positions, key responsibilities as well as hard and soft skills. However, before we get into answering questions about your sales career, we’re going to have to establish a baseline for your application.
A successful resume is going to have a few elements included. These elements will determine how the application looks and how it reads.
The two elements we’ll be discussing are the resume layout and format. Both are essential for making your application turn you into an ideal candidate.
The layout of the Sales Assistant Resume
It is crucial that your application looks professional, clean, and comprehensive. It’s the first most important step in resume writing.
Just like marketing activities can drive profitability, so does a great resume layout that convinces employers that you’re the right person for the job.
The resume layout is all about making sure the content appears logically and is easy to read.
A great way to make sure the layout is effective is by dividing the content of your application into several different sections. Each section will focus on a topic. For example, the experience section will focus on your work history.
Here are the essential sections we’ll be covering in the article:
- Contact Information
- Professional Objective / Professional Summary
- Work Experience Section
- Education Section
- Skills Section
- Additional Information
The structure of the Sales Assistant Resume
Making sure your resume stands out is crucial for your job search success. A great and effective way to do this is by implementing a good resume structure into your application.
Resume structure simply means that the text in your application will appear as professionally and clearly as possible. Ensuring a good resume structure is crucial.
A great way you can structure a resume is by implementing one of many effective presentation formats.
Another great way to structure your resume is by using bullet points for your job description and skills sections.
Start with the Header of the Sales Assistant Resume
Now that we’ve discussed some of the basics, it’s time to start writing!
It is essential that you start your resume in an appropriate manner. The first thing a recruiter should see is your contact details. Information that they might use to get in touch with you.
You can provide the reader with this information through the contact information section.
Make sure to provide your job title, physical address, email address, and relevant professional website (if applicable).
Make your resume stand out with the help of our resume builder and example sales associate resume; click here!
Example of a good header / Example of a bad header for Sales Assistant
Sales Associate
1005 Oak Boulevard
Dover, NH
JohnBHimes@gmail.com
603-978-8113
The title of your resume (Your name) has to appear larger than the rest of the text!
Sales Associate
Dover, NH
JohnBHimes@gmail.com
603-978-8113
Is a photo required in the Sales Assistant Resume?
80% of companies in the USA would reject all applications that include a photo for fear of being accused of discriminating against people based on a person’s appearance. This also doesn’t stop them from looking at a photo of you on your Linkedin profile, but we don’t recommend including a photo on your resume itself.
Professional Summary or Resume Objective for Sales Assistant?
It is a known fact that hiring managers in retail environments receive countless resumes for every job opening that they have to spend hours sifting through. To get around this time intensive problem, most recruiters will simply skim over most resumes rather than read every one the whole way through.
In order to gain the reader’s attention, you’ll have to create a section that is going to encompass your extensive experience into a few sentences. A couple of options are available for this:
The resume summary is a great choice for more veteran candidates who’ve had experience meeting sales targets, working with sales managers, compiling data, and event planning. Write about your top work experiences, skills, and what you look forward to in your next job.
The resume objective is better suited for candidates with little to no experience. The objective statement is the same as the summary, but due to the lack of experience, you’ll need to focus on highlighting your skills, career goals, ambitions, and ways you can benefit the company.
Summary Example for Sales Associate Resume
Expert Retail Advertising Sales Associate new and existing clients. Knowledgeable about traditional markets and using niche publications, direct mail, commercial and digital advertising techniques.
Resume Objective Example for Sales Associate Resume
Bilingual Sales Associate providing supervision of clients, resolving issues, and building effective relationships. History of superior ability to attract new clients and maximize opportunities to increase loyalty through repeat business. Seeking a similar job position with a retail sales organization.
Talented and motivated sales associate with excellent communication skills. Driven to achieve the best results for customers. Seeking a sales representative position with a company that values hard work and dedication.
Work Experience in the Resume for a Sales Assistant
Once you’ve written the professional summary or objective statement section of your application, you’ll be starting on the most important part of your resume – the experience section.
The experience section is going to be the largest and most extensive part of your application. It will focus on your past relevant work history and writing about the job description.
Whether you were working in retail or in a wholesale store, making certain that each job description is well written is essential.
Making sure that this section of your resume is clear and comprehensive is essential to the chances of success of your application.
Describe your professional experiences on your Sales Assistant Resume
In order for your average resume to become the best resume, you’re going to have to keep a few things in mind while writing the experience section of your sales associate resume.
Start the section off with your most previous job. Begin with writing the job title you’ve held at the very top of each job description. Afterward, write the name of the employing company and the period of employment.
Afterward, you can discuss your primary duties and achievements.
For other options for a sales assistant resume example and resume templates, check out our career blog and resume builder.
Examples of professional experiences for a Sales Assistant
Sales Associate
Brother Retailers
03/2016 – Present
- Engaged customers through suggestive selling, passionate selling, and sharing product knowledge to increase sales.
- Assists with inventory management, ordering of supplies and re-stocking of supplies.
- Continuously improved customer service, brand awareness and company’s reputation by providing sales presentations.
- Established a rewards program through processing payments made by customers.
Education in the Sales Assistant Resume
Hiring companies looking for sales assistants and associates typically don’t have a formal education requirement for their candidates.
It is true that you can be a high school student and still manage to get the job. However, you’ll be able to beat the competition with a well-built resume that’s going to have an education section.
Even if you don’t have any higher forms of education, including a high school diploma in your resume is an excellent way to impress recruiters.
Should you start with education or work experience in a Retail Sales Associate Resume?
Many resume writers often face the dilemma of whether to start their resume with the education section or the experience section. What should you do?
The answer can vary from person to person because it all depends on the applicant’s experience level and how long they’ve worked in the sales industry.
If you’re a beginner, who doesn’t have a lot of experience to show the reader, then start with a well-formatted and written education section.
If you’re an experienced sales associate, we recommend writing about your more valuable experience first; and the education section should come second in your resume.
How to properly list your education in a Sales Assistant Resume?
We’ve talked extensively on the importance and value of a proper education section, but you may be asking yourself, “How do I begin writing the education section of my sales associate resume?”.
Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered!
You can utilize these tips for writing a successful education section on your sales associate resume:
- Indicate the name of the school, address, and years of attendance.
- Be sure to only include a GPA if it’s high. Only include this information if your GPA is above 3.5.
- Use bullet points to list all your relevant coursework, basic information, and extracurriculars that could be relevant to the position for which you’re applying.
Example of the education section of a Sales Assistant Resume
Bachelor’s of Science in Hotel & Restaurant Management
University of Ohio, Ohio
2011 – 2015
High School Diploma
Sunset Valley National High School / Henderson
2011 – 2015
Skills to put in the Sales Assistant Resume
As a retail sales associate, you’re going to be needing a lot of different types of skills to handle day-to-day activities in a sales position.
Indeed, on top of your high-level interpersonal communication skills, you’ll have to be meticulous and pay close attention to little details around your workspace.
As a sales associate, you have these skills, but what do you do if you haven’t fully highlighted your skills in your resume’s experience, education, and summary sections?
A great way to specify and highlight skills that you haven’t mentioned yet is by implementing a skills section into your application.
What are the main skills sought for in a Sales Assistant Resume?
As we’ve mentioned before, there are a lot of varying skills you require. Not only do you have to be great at communicating with people, but you also have to be organized and careful.
Here’s a list of all the top skills we believe can be beneficial to your retail sales associate resume:
- Team Leadership
- MBA
- Business Development
- Customer Service
- Payment collecting
- Reporting to Store Manager
- Retail industry expertise
- Weekly Payroll
- Reporting
- Product management and pricing
- Product merchandising
- Excellent communication skills
- Advertising
- Order processing
- Detail oriented
- Organizational skills
- Performing sales transactions
Additional Headings for your Sales Assistant Resume
Now that the main sections are written, you might be wondering what comes next?
If your resume doesn’t contain enough information to fill out a resume page, or the content itself isn’t strong enough, then we recommend adding additional sections.
Additional headings or sections can enhance your application in several ways. They provide further insight into your work experience and capabilities, as well as who you are as a person.
Additional sections can be about anything, as long as they’re related to the job ad. For example, try to focus your interest section on how your specific interest could be useful in a retail store environment such as something that involves communication or people skills.
Certification section in a Sales Assistant Resume
Every line of work values professional work experience and job-related skill set, but what if we were to tell you that you can go further?
You could enhance your application even more by providing the reader with proof of your expertise as a sales associate!
A great way you can do this is by adding a certificate section to your resume.
You might think that there aren’t a lot of certificates that can be useful as a sales associate. However, we’re here to show you that that’s not the case.
Here are some certifications that you can get and include in your sales associate application:
- Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP)
- Certified Inside Sales Professional (CISP)
- SPIN Selling Certificate
- Challenger Development Program Certification
- National Association of Sales Professionals
Interests in a Sales Assistant Resume
Adding an interest section to your application may seem pointless at first. However, an interest section can improve your resume in several ways – especially in the sales industry.
Being able to show your interests and hobbies is an excellent way of showing the recruiter information about yourself that’s outside of the professional world.
You can use this to your advantage by providing hobbies and interests that can be used in communication and interpersonal relationship building, sports, for instance.
Languages in a Sales Assistant Resume
Another very useful section you can add to your application is the language section.
The language section is a great way to showcase your multilingual capabilities to the recruiter.
This section comes in extra handy when the job posting has a specific language requirement. In these cases, having a language section can make or break your application.
Summary: Key Points for Writing a Perfect Sales Assistant Resume
Resumes must showcase a candidate’s abilities clearly and concisely in order for the application to be successful during the job search.
Keep these key points in mind when writing your resume
- Start your resume with your name; always make sure the title of your resume is your name.
- Highlight your knowledge, experiences, career goals, and skills in a resume objective or professional summary.
- Professional sales resumes must contain a section about work experience. Bullet points make job descriptions easier to read.
- Put skills in your skill section that correspond with the job description.
Frequently Asked Questions for a Sales Assistant Resume
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How do you describe a Sales Assistant on a resume?
You’ll be able to describe your experiences and capabilities as a through the resume layout.
The sections of your resume are designed for specific kinds of professional information about yourself. For example, write about your work experiences in the work experience section.
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What are your duties as a Sales Assistant?
You are responsible for assisting customers throughout the buying process. Customers will greet you when they enter the store, assist them in finding specific products or teach them how to use them, and ring up their purchases at the cash register.
-
What skills does a Sales Assistant need?
Here are a few examples of skills that are required:
- Team Leadership
- MBA
- Business Development
- Customer Service
- Payment collecting
- Retail industry expertise
- Weekly Payroll
- Reporting
- Product management and pricing
- Product merchandising
- Excellent communication skills
- Advertising
- Order processing
- Detail oriented
- Organizational skills