6 Retail Manager Resume Templates | Examples

Leadership roles involve specific expectations. An effective leader must find the right balance between being authoritative and approachable, accommodating the diversity of personalities on their team. In fact, building and maintaining a team of committed associates can be a rewarding experience. Recruitment departments seek retail managers who can inspire their sales team, bring fresh ideas, and ensure consistent profits for the company, all while maintaining customer and team satisfaction. A retail manager’s resume serves as the initial opportunity to attract the consideration of recruiters and showcase your ability to meet these requirements.

Retail managers have a wide range of responsibilities, from hiring and training new employees to managing the store’s budget and increasing sales. They must ensure their team provides exceptional customer service and fosters a positive shopping experience. Retail managers also evaluate sales data to make strategic business decisions.

They are the driving force behind a business’s success, as they oversee a group of sales representatives and keep an eye on inventory levels. To lead teams efficiently, a retail manager must have outstanding leadership and communication skills. An ideal candidate holds a minimum of a high school or an equivalent diploma.

This article will guide you in writing a strong resume that can help secure a retail manager’s position. It also provides a retail manager resume template as a basis for future purposes.  

Statistical Insight: According to a survey by retail management software company Raydiant, the assistance of retail staff was ranked as the third most significant factor in shaping in-store experiences. Commercial real estate company JLL predicted in 2019 that digital companies will open 850 physical stores by 2024, highlighting the need for efficient store staff and retail managers. Statistica reports that over half of Internet users prefer to purchase Haircare products (73%), Skincare products (65%), Makeup, cosmetics, and fragrances (61%), and Clothing (53%) in physical stores.

Given below are retail manager resume templates:

Format and Layout of a Retail Manager Resume

There are three primary formats of a resume: chronological, functional, and hybrid. The chronological format is likely the best for a retail manager candidate. This format lets you showcase your work history and career progression in the retail industry, demonstrating your relevant experience and qualifications for the role.

The functional format emphasizes relevant skills and accomplishments rather than chronological work history. On the other hand, the hybrid format combines elements of the chronological and functional formats to showcase skills and work history and is suitable for candidates with diverse backgrounds.

When formatting a retail manager’s resume, it is important to keep it clear and concise, highlighting your relevant skills and experiences:

• Your resume should have consistent headings and margins. Use simple and professional font styles and sizes. Recommended font sizes are 11-12 for the body and 14-16 for headings. This ensures your resume looks clean and simple enough for recruiters to identify vital information easily.
• Start with a strong objective or summary statement at the top of your resume, outlining your career goals and the value you bring to the table. Then, list your education and relevant certifications or training in reverse chronological order. Ensure you include all relevant job titles, company names, and responsibilities.
• Use bullet points to organize your responsibilities and achievements. This ensures you highlight all relevant skills and experiences, so your resume stands out. You should keep each job description to 3-4 bullet points.
• The action verbs help best describe your responsibilities and accomplishments. You can also use metrics to quantify them.
• The recommended length of an efficient resume is one page. Longer resumes cause recruiters to lose interest in reading it because it takes too long to read all the information provided.

A retail manager’s resume should highlight all relevant educational and professional accomplishments and significant leadership and client-facing experience. Along with this, it should also highlight relevant skills for the retail manager role.

Below are guidelines to follow when crafting an exceptional resume for your application:

Step 1: Add your contact information

You must include your contact information correctly in a resume to ensure recruiters and employers can reach you easily. Incorrect contact information may make it difficult or impossible for employers to get in touch with you, which could lead to lost job prospects.

Provide the following personal information correctly in your resume:

• First, middle, and last names
• Your job title
• Email address
• Phone number
• LinkedIn Profile URL
• Location

For example:

Morris G. Anderson
12, Glendale Boulevard, LA, [email protected], +555 567 975

Step 2: Write a summary or career objective

Your resume will require either a career objective or a summary depending on your level of experience in retail management. If you are applying for a retail management position for the first time, you should consider including a tailored career objective. Combine your qualities as a driven and motivational retail manager with your ability to fulfill the company’s specific requirements, such as utilizing your bilingual skills to drive customer traffic and sales.

However, a career summary is more appropriate if you have the necessary and substantial experience in the retail management field. When drafting your summary, you should mention the following:

• Briefly and adequately discuss your past position and years of experience in a similar role.
• Skills and attributes that are most applicable to the position or field you are pursuing
• Specific examples of accomplishments to demonstrate your skills and achievements

Both the career objectives and summary are 3-4 sentences long and are usually located at the very top of your resume, and should be customized for the particular position or industry you are targeting.

Pro tip: Customize your summary or career aim for each position you apply for. It must be accurate in terms of the demands and obligations of the advertised position.

An example of an effective retail manager’s career objective:

“Aspiring professional with love for customer care and team management seeking an entry-level retail manager role to gain practical experience and contribute to the success of a dynamic retail organization. Bringing a proactive mindset, solid leadership abilities, and a lifelong learning and development dedication.”

An example of an effective retail manager’s career summary:

“Result-driven and motivated retail manager with over five years of experience. Skilled in creating and implementing efficient sales strategies, training and managing over 90 teams, and delivering excellent customer service. Looking for a leadership position at a developing retail company where I can apply my skills and experience to improve performance and meet company objectives.”

Step 3: Enlist your work experience with achievements

It is crucial to highlight your duties and accomplishments in each position when describing your work history as a retail manager on your resume. Do not forget to quantify your achievements and characterize them with action verbs like “increased,” “improved,” or “trained.” Use bullet points to list your duties and accomplishments, and concentrate on those pertinent to the retail management position. Ensure you discuss your achievements rather than job responsibilities and make them more effective by using metrics to demonstrate your impact level.

For instance:

“I increased the store sales by 40%” or “I adequately addressed customer concerns, reducing customer service complaints by 60%.”

Your work history section should have the following clear information:

• Job title
• Company name and location
• Employment period using the MM/YY date format
• Responsibilities and achievements in the outlined role

For example:

March 2020-Aug 2021
Retail Manager- The AYC Franchise, South La Cienega Boulevard, LA
–Achieved a 25% increase in-store sales by implementing new marketing techniques and promoting team members who consistently outperform expectations to leadership roles.
–Improved store efficiency by training team members on point-of-sale systems and automating inventory management processes
–Created and implemented a customer loyalty program that increased repeat business by 10%.
–Hired and trained a team of 15 employees, resulting in a decrease in employee turnover rate by 50% 

Step 4: Add your education/qualifications

You should list any pertinent degrees or certificates you have obtained. You can also enlist any training or development programs you have finished on your retail manager resume to add educational experience. While some employers expect their retail managers to have a bachelor’s degree in business administration, merchandising, or a related field, some consider candidates who gained experience through on-the-job training as favorable. They, however, must have a high school diploma and at least two years of experience in sales or other retail positions.

When listing your educational background for each degree or qualification, you should include the following details:

• The full name of the degree or certification
• The name of the institution that granted the diploma or certification
• The field of study or area of emphasis
• The date, in MM/YY format, you earned your diploma or certification

For example:

April 14, 2019-September 12, 2021
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration- New York University
Coursework: Marketing Research, Consumer Behavior, Sales Management
Dean’s List, Spring 2021.

Step 5: Include relevant skills

This section should list your most relevant skills and competencies, emphasizing those particular to the retail manager role. When writing this section, ensure you look at the specific job description for clues; for instance, if the job description states that some of their customers speak Spanish, list your bilingual skills. Retail managers may aid their superiors in overseeing the sales staff, but a retail department manager may require other department heads’ collaborative effort and problem-solving abilities.

Below is a table outlining both sets of skills you should include in your retail manager’s resume:

Soft Retail Manager Skills	Hard Retail Manager Skills
1.       Effective communication	1. Effective budgeting
2.       Relationship-building	2. Recruiting and staffing
3.       Leadership skills	3. Vendor management
4.       collaboration	4. Shrink avoidance
5.       Adaptability	5. Scheduling
6.       Strong negotiation techniques	6. Technology skills, i.e., Microsoft Office
7.       Time-management	7. Inventory planning
8.       Critical thinking	8. Product knowledge
9.       Problem-solving	9. Marketing strategies
10.   Attention to detail	10. Merchandising
11.   Integrity	11. Sales training
12.   Active listening	12. Promotional campaigns
13.   Empathy	13. Performance management
14.   Motivational skills	14. Data analysis and report writing
15.   Conflict resolution	15. Store operations and logistics
16.   Critical thinking	16. Customer service experience
17.   Multi-tasking	17. Store maintenance
18.   Delegation	18. Accounting and inventory management
19.   Stress management	19. Language proficiency
20.   Strategic thinking	20. Market knowledge and prospecting

Step 6: Specify your license and certifications

Ensure you add any relevant certificates on your retail manager’s resume as they can attest to your knowledge and dedication to the retail industry. This demonstrates to recruiters your drive, excitement, and determination to stay updated with emerging trends, making you a valuable asset as an employee.

For each certification, including its official title, the name of the organization that awarded it, and the day you acquired it.

For example:

Certifications:
Certified Retail Manager (CRM), by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), August 2021

Step 7: Add an additional section

In this section, you should include information that may not be directly related to your work, but that can still be relevant to the retail manager position. This can include things like,

• The languages you speak
• All associations and organizations you are a part of and your primary role in them
• Any relevant conferences or workshops you have attended related to the role you are applying for
• Awards you might have earned along the way
• Any personal projects relevant in this context

This section will help you stand out as a potential employee to recruiters and employers.

For example:

Association membership:
–National Retail Federation (NRF)
–Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)

Conference attendance:
–NRF’s Big Show
–RILA’s Retail Leadership Conference

Do’s and Don’ts

Your resume is vital in helping employers recruit you for that retail management job you want. Therefore, it is critical that you are aware of all the do’s and don’ts while writing your resume, so you leave a positive impression on prospective employers. That way, when applying for retail management employment, you can be sure that you’re putting your best foot forward. This section advises on what to include and exclude from your resume.

Do’s

• Use a template: The process of creating a resume from scratch might be challenging. Using pre-designed templates reduces stress, gives your application a professional appearance, saves time, and helps you focus on customization to fit specific requirements.  

• Include keywords to make it ATS-friendly: Make your retail manager resume ATS-friendly by including relevant keywords from the job description. Highlight the desired abilities, credentials, and experience by incorporating these keywords in the work experience and skills sections.

• Use action verbs: Action verbs describe specific actions taken in a role and enhance the impact of your resume. Examples include ‘implemented,’ ‘developed,’ ‘analyzed,’ ‘supervised,’ etc. Their use emphasizes accomplishments and demonstrates the value you brought to your previous employers.

• Attach a cover letter to your resume: A cover letter is an official document that accompanies your resume when applying for a job. It serves as an introduction, highlighting your qualifications and motivation for the position and giving the employer a more comprehensive understanding of your candidacy.

Don’ts

• Avoid using a single resume: It is not advisable to use a generic resume for all job applications. Customizing your resume to match the specific requirements of each position increases the likelihood of effectively conveying your suitability for the job.

• Forget to proofread your resume: Before submitting your resume, it is crucial to thoroughly review it for errors, as even minor inaccuracies or typos can negatively impact the impression you make on potential employers. A well-proofread resume, free of mistakes, presents you in a favorable light and conveys a sense of professionalism and attention to detail.

• Fail to write a concise resume: Brief resumes allow the employer to efficiently determine an applicant’s abilities, background, and qualifications for a specific job. Lengthy, disorganized, or cluttered resumes are unlikely to sustain a hiring manager’s attention, hindering the candidate’s chances of securing a job or an interview 3invitation.

• Pick the reverse-chronological format for your retail manager resume to highlight your work experience and educational qualification.
• Write an attention-grabbing resume summary by making your years of experience, academic achievements, and skills your primary focus.
• Only include relevant work experience, achievements, and skills to ensure your retail manager’s resume reflects the job description.
• Utilize relevant action verbs and phrases listed in your targeted job listing to ensure the ATS flags your resume.
• Ensure you list all your licenses, certifications, memberships to professional associations, and any other relevant information that can boost your retail manager resume.
• Attach a professional and personalized cover letter to your resume to express your interest in the retail management job.
• Free and downloadable pre-made retail manager resume templates are given here that you can customize to suit your needs effortlessly.
• Always customize your resume for every job you apply for by paying close attention to its descriptions and requirements.