Sales assistant CV example

A sales assistant CV, also called a shop assistant or retail assistant CV, should show the customers you serve, the stock and till work you are trusted with and when you can work. Use shop numbers such as customers a shift or deliveries a week, mention keyholding if you do it, and put your availability where a manager filling a rota will see it.

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Sales assistant CV example: fictional example, page 1. Full text is available below.

Read the example as text

Jamal Hussain

Sales Assistant

Newcastle upon Tyne · 07700 900154 · jamal.hussain@example.com

Profile

Sales assistant with four years in homeware and fashion retail, on the tills, the shop floor and in the stockroom. Sells add-ons and loyalty sign-ups without pushing, handles returns calmly and gets deliveries out before opening. Keyholder for evening closes. Looking for a sales assistant or senior sales assistant role with more work on displays.

Experience

Sales Assistant and Keyholder, Northgate Home Store, Newcastle March 2024–present

Serve up to 150 customers a shift on the tills and the shop floor, including refunds and exchanges.

Unpack, price and rotate two deliveries a week so the floor is full before opening.

Dress the seasonal window and front tables to the head office plan each month.

Lock up on two evening closes a week: cashing up, the banking bag and the alarm.

Signed up more loyalty members than anyone else in the store in spring 2025.

Sales Assistant (part time), Quayside Fashion, Gateshead 2022–2024

Worked weekends and the Christmas peak, ran the fitting room and processed online returns.

Education

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Business, Tyneside College 2022

GCSEs including English Language 5 and Mathematics 6 2020

Skills

Tills, refunds and cashing up

Stock rotation, pricing and replenishment

Displays to a head office plan

Handheld stock scanners

Age checks under Challenge 25

Availability

Weekdays, evenings and weekends, including the Christmas and January sale periods.

Fictional example for a sales assistant. Every person and employer in it is invented. Replace every detail with your own.

What shops look for, and where this CV shows it

The job asks you to	Where this CV shows it
Answer customer questions about products	Up to 150 customers a shift on the shop floor and tills
Serve customers at tills and handle returned goods and refunds	Tills, refunds, exchanges and online returns
Unpack deliveries, stock shelves and arrange displays	Two deliveries a week, and the monthly window and front tables
Price up and rotate stock	Pricing and rotating stock before opening
Take part in promotional events in store	The spring loyalty sign-ups
Keep the store clean and tidy	Running the fitting room and filling the floor before opening

The left column follows the National Careers Service job profile for a sales assistant. If the advert you are answering describes a duty in other words, use its words for work you have actually done.

Inside this example

Profile: 55 words here
Experience: 119 words here
Education: 23 words here
Skills: 29 words here
Availability: 11 words here

How to write yours

Use shop numbers

Customers a shift, deliveries a week and the size of the store let a manager picture your day. Use real figures you could explain at interview.

Say if you hold keys

Opening, closing, cashing up and banking are trusted jobs. If you do them, give them their own bullet; it is often what separates a senior sales assistant.

Show you can sell politely

Shops want add-ons and sign-ups without pushy selling. One line with a result, such as the most loyalty sign-ups in a season, shows both.

Put availability on the page

Rotas decide retail hiring. A short Availability line, including Christmas and sale periods, answers the first question a manager asks.

Checks and qualifications to mention

Age-restricted goods. The National Careers Service says sales assistants need to be over 18 to sell alcohol and other restricted goods. If you are and you do age checks, say so.
GCSEs. Some employers want GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), such as English and maths. Retail or customer service experience helps but is not essential (National Careers Service).
Apprenticeships. The National Careers Service names the Retail Service, Supply and Administration Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship and the Retailer Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship. If you have done one, give it with its year.
First job? Volunteering in a charity shop counts as retail experience. The CV for a 16-year-old shows how to write it.

Keep it to one page. Older jobs outside retail can shrink to a line; your current shop, your keyholding and your availability should all be on the first half of the page.

Help with your next edit

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