CV Template for Retail: 6 UK Examples and a Fill-in Layout
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
9 min read
A CV template for retail should put your availability, your till and stock experience and your customer service evidence in the top half of page one, because that is all a store manager checks before deciding to call. The constraint is that retail adverts are short and the skills they ask for are the same everywhere, so your CV has to prove them with facts rather than repeat them. The National Careers Service lists "customer service skills", "the ability to sell products and services" and "maths knowledge" among the skills a sales assistant needs. Below are six complete retail CV examples, tagged by level, and a fill-in layout. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
Every retail CV in the pile says "excellent customer service skills". So does the one from the person who once told a customer the fitting rooms were "basically a suggestion". The manager cannot tell them apart until someone writes down what they actually did on a Saturday in December.
Retail assistant CV with no experience
You can get a first retail job with no shop history. The National Careers Service says you can apply directly and that retail or customer service experience is helpful "though this is not essential." Build the CV from volunteering, school and anything where you dealt with the public.
Entry level: school leaver applying for a first retail assistant job (144 words)
ZARA AHMED Birmingham | 07700 900418 | zara.ahmed@example.com | Available weekends and all school holidays
PROFILE Year 11 student looking for a part-time retail assistant job. I volunteer in a charity shop on Saturdays, where I serve customers at the till and help sort donations. Friendly with people of all ages and comfortable on my feet all day.
KEY SKILLS Till and card payments | Pricing and tagging stock | Customer queries | Teamwork | Fluent English and Urdu
VOLUNTEERING Shop Volunteer | Charity shop, Birmingham | 2025 to present - Serve customers at the till and handle card and cash payments. - Steam, price and hang donated clothing for the shop floor. - Help customers find sizes and set items aside for collection.
EDUCATION Secondary school, Birmingham | GCSEs in progress, predicted 6 in English and Maths
EXTRAS Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award
Retail CV template: the layout
Copy this layout and replace each bracket. One page is right for most retail jobs below manager level.
- Header: [Full name], [town], [mobile], [email]. Add [availability, for example weekends and school holidays] on the same line.
- Profile, three sentences: [your retail or customer service experience], [the strongest thing you do on shift], [the role and hours you want].
- Key skills, one line: [tills and cash handling], [stock and deliveries], [displays], [the system you use], [languages if useful].
- Experience, newest first: [job title], [type of shop], [town], [dates], then three or four bullets with a fact in each.
- Education: [school or college], [GCSEs or equivalent, including English and Maths].
- Extras, only if relevant: [first aid], [food hygiene], [driving licence], [volunteering].
The National Careers Service says a CV "should include a section for your contact details, an introduction, your education history, your work history and references." For references, "available on request" at the bottom is enough.
Retail assistant CV example
With a year or two of experience, the bullets do the work. Write the tasks the advert lists, and add the detail that shows you were trusted with them.
Mid level: retail assistant with two years in a high street chain (156 words)
LUCY BARNES Nottingham | 07700 900671 | lucy.barnes@example.com | Full-time, any shift pattern
PROFILE Retail assistant with two years at a high street health and beauty store. I work the tills, deliveries and the beauty counter, and I am trained on the store's online order collection point. Looking for a full-time role with a route to supervisor.
KEY SKILLS Tills, refunds and exchanges | Delivery processing | Click and collect | Product knowledge | Planogram displays
EXPERIENCE Retail Assistant | Health and beauty store, Nottingham | 2024 to present - Serve customers on a busy city centre till and process refunds within store policy. - Unload and process weekly deliveries and rotate stock by date. - Set up promotional displays from the head office planogram each month. - Run the click and collect desk on Saturdays, the busiest day for online orders.
EDUCATION College, Nottingham | BTEC Level 2 Retail Skills GCSEs including English and Maths
Supermarket CV example
Supermarket adverts care about food safety, date checks and early starts. Put those in the profile line, not just the bullets.
Mid level: supermarket customer assistant moving to a larger store (142 words)
TOM FLETCHER Sheffield | 07700 900523 | tom.fletcher@example.com | Available early mornings and nights
PROFILE Customer assistant with three years at a supermarket, covering checkouts, the fresh food counter and overnight replenishment. Food Hygiene Level 2 certified and used to early starts and night shifts. Looking for a full-time role at a larger store.
KEY SKILLS Checkouts and self-checkout support | Date checks and waste recording | Fresh food counter | Replenishment | Food hygiene
EXPERIENCE Customer Assistant | Supermarket, Sheffield | 2023 to present - Work the checkouts and supervise the self-checkout area during busy periods. - Complete daily date checks and record reduced and wasted stock. - Serve on the deli counter, following allergen and temperature rules. - Fill shelves on overnight shifts to the morning deadline.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING Food Hygiene Level 2 | GCSEs including English and Maths
Fashion retail CV example
Fashion stores look for styling and product knowledge as much as till work. Name the brands or ranges you know only if you can talk about them at interview.
Mid level: fashion sales adviser applying for a senior adviser role (143 words)
MAYA OSEI London | 07700 900396 | maya.osei@example.com | Weekdays and weekends
PROFILE Sales adviser with three years in womenswear at a fashion retailer. I run the fitting room, help customers put outfits together and keep the shop floor to visual merchandising standards. Looking for a senior sales adviser role.
KEY SKILLS Styling and outfit building | Fitting room management | Visual merchandising | Stock replenishment | Personal shopping appointments
EXPERIENCE Sales Adviser | Fashion retailer, London | 2023 to present - Help customers choose outfits and sizes and suggest matching items. - Run the fitting room on weekends and return stock to the floor between rushes. - Dress mannequins and update floor layouts when new collections arrive. - Train new starters on the till and the returns process.
EDUCATION Level 3 Diploma in Fashion and Textiles | GCSEs including English and Maths
Retail supervisor CV example
At supervisor level, the manager wants to see that you can run a shift: opening and closing, cash, staff and problems. Put the size of the team in the bullets.
Senior: retail supervisor and key holder (161 words)
DANIEL WRIGHT Leeds | 07700 900247 | daniel.wright@example.com
PROFILE Retail supervisor with five years in a home and garden store, the last two as a key holder. I open and close the store, run shifts of up to eight staff and handle cash, banking and customer complaints. Looking for an assistant manager post.
KEY SKILLS Opening and closing | Cash and banking | Shift planning | Staff training | Complaint handling | Stock counts
EXPERIENCE Retail Supervisor | Home and garden store, Leeds | 2024 to present - Open and close the store as key holder, including alarms, safe and banking. - Plan breaks and tasks for teams of up to eight on each shift. - Lead the quarterly stock count for the garden department. - Deal with escalated complaints and authorise refunds over the till limit.
Sales Assistant | Home and garden store, Leeds | 2021 to 2024
EDUCATION GCSEs including English and Maths | Emergency First Aid at Work
Retail manager CV example
The National Careers Service describes retail managers as people who "look after stores, motivate staff to achieve sales targets, organise promotional events and monitor industry trends." A manager CV should show each of those with the size of the store and team.
Senior: store manager of a mid-size convenience store (171 words)
EMMA CLARKE Bristol | 07700 900812 | emma.clarke@example.com | Full UK driving licence
PROFILE Store manager with nine years in convenience retail, the last four running a store with a team of fourteen. Responsible for sales, staffing, stock loss and compliance, and the first contact for the area manager. Looking for a larger store or a multi-site role.
KEY SKILLS Team management | Rotas and payroll hours | Stock control and shrinkage | Health and safety | Licensing compliance | Recruitment
EXPERIENCE Store Manager | Convenience store, Bristol | 2022 to present - Lead a team of fourteen, including two supervisors, and run their reviews. - Plan the weekly rota within the payroll budget set by the area manager. - Run monthly stock counts and act on loss reports with the team. - Keep alcohol licensing and age verification training up to date for all staff.
Assistant Store Manager | Convenience store, Bristol | 2017 to 2022
QUALIFICATIONS Personal Licence Holder | IOSH Managing Safely | GCSEs including English and Maths
What store managers look for on a retail CV
Availability on page one. Rotas are built around evenings, weekends and bank holidays; the National Careers Service lists those among the hours a sales assistant could work. If you can do them, say so in the header.
Numbers they can believe. Team size, store size, shifts as key holder, deliveries a week. You do not need sales figures; you need facts a reference could confirm.
Tasks named in plain words. Write "tills", "deliveries" and "displays" if that is what the advert says. The National Careers Service advises you to "tailor your CV to the job you're applying for", and in retail that mostly means matching the advert's words.
A clean layout. Use one column, a clear font and bullet points. Leave out your date of birth and photo; our guide on what not to include on a UK CV covers the rest.
Send a short letter with it: our covering letter example for retail has six to copy. If you are moving from cafés or hotels, the hospitality CV example shows how to frame that work, and for a different layout altogether see the ATS CV template gallery or more CV examples.
Frequently asked questions
What should I put on a retail CV?
Your contact details and availability, a three sentence profile, a short key skills line, your experience with three or four bullets per job, and your education. Name the tasks: tills, cash handling, deliveries, displays, stock counts, customer queries. Add food hygiene, first aid or a driving licence if the job needs them. Keep it to one page.
How do I write a CV for a retail assistant with no experience?
Lead with any volunteering, school responsibilities or roles where you dealt with the public, written as bullets with real tasks. Put your availability in the header, because weekends and holidays matter to shop managers. The National Careers Service says retail experience helps but is not essential, so show friendliness and reliability through what you have done.
Is there a free CV template for retail?
Yes. The layout on this page is free to copy: header with availability, profile, key skills, experience, education and extras. The six examples show it filled in for a first retail job, a retail assistant, a supermarket, fashion, a supervisor and a store manager. Replace every bracket and bullet with your own facts.
How long should a retail CV be?
One page for retail assistant, sales adviser and supervisor roles. Two pages only for store manager or multi-site roles where you have several management jobs to show. Keep older jobs outside retail to one line each so your shop experience stays in the top half of page one.
What skills should I put on a retail CV?
Customer service, till and cash handling, stock and deliveries, visual merchandising, product knowledge and teamwork are the core ones. Supervisors add opening and closing, cash and banking, and staff training. Prove each skill with a bullet in your experience section, because a list of skills on its own looks the same as every other CV.
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