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Show off your multiple talents when crafting a CV for a Retail Manager
If you fancy taking the next step up in your career, and aim for a Retail Manager position, you'll need a CV that sings your praises to the skies. Looking to move from one retail management position to another? A strong, credible CV will also get your foot in the door more easily. Follow our guide below on creating a stellar Retail Manager CV that will get you noticed.
What is a Retail Manager CV?
A Retail Manager CV, also known as a Store Manager CV, is the document you use when applying for a management position in retail. It offers an overview of your contact details, relevant skills, employment history, and qualifications, in two pages.
A Retail Manager CV not only demonstrates skills and experience in the retail sector, but will also hone in on managerial and leadership abilities required for an in-store position.
Why write a standout Retail Manager CV
It's a tough world out there in retail. Retail management requires loads of flexible skills, and as a result, many candidates for Retail Manager positions possess a variety of talents, experience, and achievements. According to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium, there were 2.94 million jobs in retail in the second quarter of 2022.
While that sounds like a lot, it was actually a drop of 2.1%, with a loss of 63,000 jobs compared to the year before – this makes it even more important for you to stand out in this competitive sector, and grab that management position you've been hankering after.
Whether you're looking for a leadership role at Harrods, Tesco, Primark, or any store in between, we'll walk you through writing a Retail Manager CV. To make it even clearer, there are examples for the different sections throughout this article, plus a complete Retail Manager CV example and template towards the end.
Information to include in your Retail Manager CV
The format of a CV should be adjusted to fit your unique career history. After all, employers recognise that everyone's path is different. However, there are some sections which hiring managers and employers expect to see in a CV for a retail management position. They include:
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Contact information
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Personal profile
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Core competencies or key skills
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Employment history
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Education and qualifications
Writing a Retail Manager CV – fleshing out the key elements
Let's get down to the nitty gritty of what to include in each section, to give you a clear idea of how to move forward with creating an outstanding Retail Manager CV you can be proud of.
1. Contact information
At the top of your Retail Manager CV, place your name, professional title, and contact details. Your contact details should, at the very least, include your email address, phone number, and your location, in the format of the town or city where you live, and the county.
If you have a LinkedIn profile, include a link alongside the contact information. Be aware, however, that employers are likely to review this, to check how your professional brand appears online and get to know you a little more. This can be an advantage, but only if your profile is up-to-date and mirrors your CV.
Top tip: Don't be tempted to put your contact details in the header or footer of the document, as this won't be picked up by applicant tracking systems (ATS), and you'll be marked down for not having any contact information.
2. Personal statement
Next is the personal statement, also known as the professional profile. This is a short paragraph of between three and six sentences that summarise who you are, what value you can bring to the role, and your career ambitions.
This paragraph is essentially an elevator pitch, as potential employers tend to read this first so it should be a succinct overall view of you as a professional. Creating maximum impact is essential to entice them to read the rest of your Retail Manager CV.
Top tip: Even though this is the first bit of content that appears on your CV, write it last when it comes to compiling the document. See it as the icing on the cake that completes the CV, so you want it to be just right.
Example of a Retail Manager professional profile:
A proactive, resilient, and tenacious Retail Manager with a proven track record in turning around underperforming stores by providing outstanding training schedules and top performance management. Possesses over 10 years of retail experience in managing stores and training staff.
- Specifically selected to take over the running of a failing branch in Rochester for five months at the request of the Group Retail Director
- Achieved an average increase in sales of £50,000 a week over a two year period
- An inspirational Store Manager who is consistently promoted and headhunted for challenging roles
- Thrives under pressure with excellent communication skills and the ability to engage and influence
3. Core competencies and key skills
An often ignored section, because of it being a fairly recent addition to modern CVs, this section goes just below the professional profile, and can be called “Skills Matrix,” “Key Skills,” or “Core Competencies.”
To cut through the noise of other applications, introduce this key skills section, using bullet points to list between nine and 12 of the most relevant skills for the vacancy. In this instance, top of the list will be leadership skills and retail management competencies.
Examples of leadership and retail management skills include:
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Recruitment and training
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Customer service and customer engagement
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Complaint handling
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Stock control
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Sales management
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Problem solving
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Time management
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Sales analysis
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POS systems
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In-store logistics
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Leadership
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Commercial awareness
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Prioritisation and delegation
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Visual merchandising
Top tip: Pick out the top skills in the job advert to include here… as long as you possess those skills, of course! There's no point in fabricating, as you'll be found out, and the consequences will be much worse than not securing an interview in the first place.
Example of the Skills Matrix section for a Retail Manager CV:
Retail management | retail development | retail improvement | leadership | troubleshooting | coaching | training | performance management | CPD | problem resolution | customer management | customer engagement | stakeholder engagement | team building | team development | staff engagement | operational management | brand awareness | brand development | business transformation | business development | sales management | sales generation | grievance management | recruitment | process improvement | best practice
4. Career summary
The career summary section of your Retail Manager CV is likely to be the chunkiest part, as it showcases the highlights of your career so far. List your work experience in reverse-chronological order, which means starting with your current or most recent role. For each position, detail the company name, your job title, dates of employment, and a short overview of the role for context.
The stand-out part of this section is a bullet-pointed list of key achievements, as these will offer additional insight into your capabilities, demonstrating the value that you bring to the role.
Remember to always tailor your achievements to the job advert, ensuring your career summary is as relevant as possible to the employer's needs, while supporting them with facts and figures.
Top tip: Don't fall into the trap of listing all of your day-to-day responsibilities, as this won't set you apart from the competition.
Example of a Retail Manager's Career Summary:
2017-Present ADIDAS
2020-Present Retail Manager
- Specifically selected to manage the first adidas Originals store in the UK, encompassing both lifestyle and sports performance concepts
- Cultivated a productive work environment where all 60 members of staff felt motivated and customers enjoyed their shopping experience
- Meticulously tracked store performance, and offered attainable solutions to drive forward on success
- Analysed product sales and space management, making changes to increase sales opportunities
- Ensured all product lines were at maximum capacity on the shop floor whilst showing an awareness of customer profile and needs
- Controlled back-of-house procedures that aligned with company guidelines
- Reviewed peak trading periods throughout the year to achieve wage control budgets
- Undertook full recruitment life cycle and ensured all HR protocol was delivered correctly
- Managed stock takes, reviewed results, and investigated any discrepancies
- Directed the replenishment system onto the shop floor with speed and accuracy
Key Achievements
- Improved cost control with a man-hour planning system by optimising the amount of staff on the shop floor during key times of the day, resulting in staff costs against net sales of less than 8%
- Surpassed expectations with a net sales increase of 37%
- Delivered just 2% stock loss due to accurate stock takes and transfers
- Oversaw the successful Original lifestyle openings across the Area North region
- Spearheaded an opening project of four trial Original lifestyle concession stores in Selfridges
- Overhauled the performance of store operations by undertaking detailed store audits
2017-2020 Visual Merchandiser
- Ensured VM standards attracted, engaged, and motivated customers into making purchases
- Made comprehensive use of planograms and VM guidelines to prepare shop floor product placement across 50 stores and ensured the customer connected with the store layout
- Showcased products on mannequins to help customers visualise and buy outfits
- Displayed best sellers in key locations and provided window VM packs for launches and sale events
- Upskilled key account shop-in-shop teams with training on brand VM guidelines
- Regularly visited stores to review VM standards, analyse product sales, and identify opportunities
5. Education and qualifications
Like your employment history, set out your education and qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Make sure to include the qualification title, the institution you attended or the course provider, and the year of completion if within the last five years.
While university graduates can be favoured, retail management positions rarely require high-level qualifications. However, employers will typically require candidates with GCSEs in English and Maths or equivalent, so be sure to reference this.
Top tip: Include any qualifications or courses that are specifically aimed at showcasing leadership skills or the retail sector.
6. Additional CV sections
We've covered the essential sections of a CV, but there are a few additional sections you can include if relevant, as they will give your retail management CV that extra edge. They are:
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Awards: If you've been fortunate enough to win some awards, such as Employee of the Month, make sure it's incorporated into your Retail Manager CV.
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Technical skills: Show off which retail and POS systems you're confident in using.
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Languages: If you can speak another language apart from English, include it, along with what level you speak it at i.e. fluent, advanced, intermediate, or basic.
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Accreditations: If you're a member of a professional body that's relevant to the retail sector, or to leadership and management, add this in as well.
Top tip: Place these additional sections underneath the career summary section, and above the education section, if you were at college over 10 years ago.
Formatting guidelines for a Retail Manager CV
Below are some best practice tips and tricks for formatting your Retail Manager CV:
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Length: The standard length of a Retail Manager CV is two A4 pages – no more, no less.
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Font type and size: Simple, contemporary font types are best to aid legibility, such as Calibri or Arial. Keep body text between 10 and 12 point font and headings slightly larger.
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File type: The best CV file type is a Word document, as it will maintain formatting and an applicant tracking system (ATS) will be able to read it more accurately than a PDF.
What not to include in a Retail Manager CV
Wondering what to avoid including in a CV for a store manager or retail management position?
Don't list referees
There's no need to add the line “references available upon request” or list your referees in this day and age, as it's seen as a waste of space. Additionally, this type of information isn't needed at this stage of the job search process. Asking for references is standard employment practice but it's completed either once you're hired or if they're looking to hire you – that means your list of referees aren't usually needed until after an interview.
No photos or headshots
Adding a headshot may seem professional and polished, but it's not standard practice on UK CVs because of anti-discrimination laws. Leave that for your LinkedIn page.
Don't reference protected characteristics
Sensitive information such as age, race, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, sex or gender reassignment, and disabilities are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. They don't need to be referenced on your CV, as they don't have any bearing on how well you can perform a Retail Manager job.
Don't include an objective statement
This is considered outdated – and presumably, your objective is to get the job you're applying for!
Retail Manager CV template
To help you even further, here's a template to reference when writing your CV:
Retail manager CV example
To steer you in the right direction, below is a completed example of a CV for a Retail Manager role which you can use as a guideline, and customise to your own unique situation:
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Place your faith in your CV
Retail is a competitive sector with management positions being highly sought-after. By using the above tips and tricks, you'll be well on your way to writing a winning Retail Manager CV.
If you want to make sure that your CV showcases your retail skills and achievements, as well as your leadership abilities, submit your CV for a free review.
This article was originally written by Laura Slingo and has been updated by Elizabeth Openshaw