Retail Manager Resume Writing Guide & Tips [Top Examples]

1. Chronological resume format 
   It shows your work experience and educational background in reverse chronological order. It’s suggested to applicants with solid work experience.

2. Functional resume format 
   It’s a skill-based format highlighting your skills and experience. It focuses more on your professional skills instead of work history, making this format a good choice for job seekers with limited work experience.

3. Hybrid/Combination resume format 
   It’s a hybrid of the chronological format and the functional format. It shows your skills and experience first, then lists down your work experience in reverse chronological order. It’s recommended to applicants with a great deal of experience and skills.

4. Targeted resume format 
   It’s a tailored format for a specific company or opening position. You could design infographics or insert photos in a targeted resume to highlight your skills and experience that are relevant to specific duties of the opening job.

📚 Further reading: What are different types of resume formats?

• Result-oriented retail manager with 3+ years of experience in retail management and customer services.
• Efficient retail manager who excels at budget management and retail operations.

• Senior sales-oriented retail manager who excels at stock management and staff training. Led and trained a retail team of 20 members and exceeded sales by 15% for 2 years in a row.
• The first retail manager at Pineapple Inc. to achieve a customer return rate of 69% through the implementation of new customer service strategies. Trained 9 employees in customer service strategies and communication skills, and achieved a 10% increase in customer satisfaction score in 6 months.

Retail Manager Resume Objective Examples:

• Organized retail manager looking to join ABC Inc. to make use of excellent stock control and team management skills.
• Detail-oriented retail manager aiming to utilize retail management skills to exceed DEF Inc’s customer satisfaction level and sales targets.

• Soft Skills: Time-Management, Teamwork, Leadership, Problem-Shooting, Interpersonal Skills
• Hard Skills: Merchandising, Budgeting, Retail Sales, Stock Control, Digital Marketing

Florida State University |  Tailahassee, FL 
College of Business: Retail Management

May 2016 - Sep. 2020

Related Courses: Retail Management, Business Administration
GPA: 3.9/4

Tip 1: Customize the resume for the job.

In general, recruiters spend less than 15 seconds reading a resume on average. Therefore, please customize your retail manager resume and don’t write irrelevant experience or achievements that are not attractive to recruiters.

📍 Remember to research the company and position you’re applying for, and list down your most-relevant experiences to enhance the visibility of your retail manager resume.


Tip 2: Use Keywords in your retail manager resume.

Read through the job description and find out important keywords regarding professional skills, traits, and job duties. Use these words in your retail manager resume to make it easier to be spotted.

You could type in “retail manager job description resume” or “retail manager responsibilities resume” in Google Search to get more inspiration.

Tip 3: Quantify results in your retail manager resume.

Numbers speak louder than words. Use numbers like percentages or statistics to quantify your achievements in the retail manager resume to make them more convincing. 

➡️ For instance, instead of saying “Led a team and raised annual sales”, you could write “Led a team of 7 members and raised annual sales by 20%.” 


Tip 4: Choose an ATS-friendly resume format/layout.

Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a system supporting HR teams to filter out least-qualified candidates. This system scans, analyzes, and parses every resume they receive for job openings. Therefore, you should make your retail manager resume more ATS-friendly to boost your chances of getting the job.

❌ Don’t insert graphics and charts since they are unreadable for the system. Besides, insert important keywords from the job description in your resume to make it more compatible with the system.

Tip 5: Adopt resume action words (verbs).

Be selective in the words you choose and avoid generic words like “did,” “handled,” and “finished” in your retail manager resume.

✅ Action words like “oversaw,” “coordinated” and “forecasted” are lively and powerful words that can strongly demonstrate your achievements and actions.

Tip 6: Show experience as a skilled leader.

As a retail manager, your duties include supervising and leading employees to bring the best to the company. Hence, you should write down management-related experience, achievements, and skills in your retail manager resume. 

Part 1: Contact details

In this part, you should write down personal information including full name, mobile number, and email address. You can also add links to your websites like Facebook fan page and Cake in the retail manager cover letter. 


Part 2: Introduction

Greet the recruiter with the right name and tell him/her the job position you’re applying for. If you can’t find the recruiter’s name, you could write “Dear Hiring Manager” or “To Whom It May Concern” in the retail manager cover letter.


Part 3: Motivation (Intention to apply)

This part explains your motivation to apply for the job. You could bring out your understanding of the company and opening position to impress the recruiters.


Part 4: Qualification

Here comes the focus of your retail manager cover letter! List down your experiences related to the job requirements, and don’t forget to quantify your achievements to make them more convincing.


Part 5: Closing

Finally, you’re writing the final part of your retail manager cover letter! 
Remember to thank the hiring manager for reading your cover letter and mention if there’s a resume or portfolio attached. Don’t forget to sign your full name in the last part of the letter.