personal statement for retail job

• AI Content Shield
• AI KW Research
• AI Assistant
• SEO Optimizer
• AI KW Clustering
• Customer reviews
• The NLO Revolution
• Press Center
• Help Center
• Content Resources
• Facebook Group

A Guide to Drafting Key Personal Statement Examples for Retail

Table of Contents

Are you looking for personal statement examples for your retail job application? It’s important to put in the effort when crafting a personal statement, as it is usually one of the first things organizations look at. An excellent personal statement can make all the difference when landing a job in the competitive retail field.

Here’s your guide to drafting effective personal statement examples for retail that will grab recruiters’ attention.

What Are Personal Statement Examples for Retail?

A personal statement is a short document – usually around 500 words – that gives potential employers an insight into who you are . It tells them about your skills and experience, and why you’re the best fit for their job opening.

In retail, the candidate must demonstrate their understanding of customer service, knowledge of the product or industry, and skill in sales techniques.

Elements to Include in Your Personal Statement

When writing your personal statement for retail positions, make sure to include the following:

• Your strengths when it comes to customer service.
• Highlight any relevant experience you have with similar products or customers.
• Demonstrate how your communication skills can help drive sales.
• Showcase any previous successes and how you can apply them in the new job.
• Share examples of times when you have gone above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.

Steps to Write Personal Statement Examples for Retail

1. research the job role, company and industry.

Before You Start Writing Your Statement, Research the Job Role and Company. This is to get a Clear Idea of What They’re Looking for in a Candidate. As Well As What You Can Bring to the Table.

2. Identify Your Unique Selling Points

The key to any successful personal statement is identifying your selling points. These are typically skills or experiences that set you apart from other candidates and make you an ideal fit for the job.

3. Outline Your Experience

In this section, list any past retail-related experiences that will help prove your qualifications for the job. Include examples such as past customer service roles or sales achievements that demonstrate your understanding of the industry.

4. Describe Your Skills

In this section, highlight any relevant retail-related skills you possess that make you an ideal fit for the job. Some examples can include product knowledge, customer service experience or sales techniques.

5. Explain How You’ll Contribute to the Company

This is where you explain what value you will bring to the company. State how your unique skills and experiences will help them achieve success.

6. Proofread and Edit

Once you’ve finished writing your personal statement, it’s important to take the time to proofread and edit it before submitting it with your application. Make sure it reads well and doesn’t contain any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tips for an Effective Personal Statement Examples for Retail

When writing your personal statement, keep these tips in mind:

• Keep it brief but informative. The goal is to show potential employers that you understand what they’re looking for without going overboard with too much information.
• Be sure to proofread and edit your statement before sending it off – grammar and spelling mistakes will not make a good impression.
• Make sure to be specific about your experiences; generic statements won’t stand out as much as stories and details.
• Include information matching the job description so that employers can connect the dots.

Personal Statement Examples for Retail

If you’re still unsure of how to write your statement, here are some examples for retail positions:

As a customer service representative in the fashion industry, I bring years of experience and excellent communication skills. My ability to empathize with customers and respond quickly to their needs makes me an asset in any retail setting. I increased sales by 25% in my previous job due to successful promotions and campaigns. I thrive in fast-paced environments where every day brings new challenges.

I am an experienced retail manager passionate about helping others find the perfect product for their needs. From developing effective sales strategies to training and motivating staff, I possess the skills to help your business succeed. In my previous role, I increased sales by 10% by focusing on customer satisfaction. I ensure that customers had a positive experience each time they visited the store.

How Do I Begin My Personal Statement?

Many, many people are having difficulty writing about themselves. If this is you, don’t worry. Make sure you can come up with a short statement (no more than a sentence) that describes you accurately. It may be one that highlights your previous work experience.

Who Do You Write in a Short Personal Statement?

Include your work experience and future plans in your resume. Job openings, placements, work experience, or voluntary work should be shared with others, particularly if they’re relevant to your course. Keep any experience in line with skills or qualities that will lead to success.

Can You Tell Me What Perfect Personal Statement Is?

In your personal statement you should outline the qualities, skills, and values. The ones you have cultivated over your lifetime and how those skills have prepared you for college.

No matter what kind of retail position you’re applying for, crafting a compelling personal statement is critical to standing out from the competition. Make sure your statement showcases your strengths and experiences in an engaging way that will make employers take notice. Following these guidelines and tips should help create a statement that stands out from the crowd! Good luck with your job search!

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

Explore All Write Personal Statement Articles

How to draft meaningful length of law school personal statement.

Are you confused on how to write a law school personal statement? One of the essential elements of your application…

• Write Personal Statement

Effective History and International Relations Personal Statement to Try

Are you considering studying history and international relations? Or you may be curious about what a degree in this field…

Guide to Quality Global Management Personal Statement

Are you applying for a global management program and want to stand out from the crowd? A well-written personal statement…

How to Draft Better Examples of Personal Statements for Residency

Achieving a residency can be a massive accomplishment for any aspiring medical professional. To secure your spot in one of…

Tips for Drafting a Free Example of Personal History Statement

A personal history statement can be crucial to many applications, from university admissions to job search processes. This blog will…

Writing Compelling Dietetic Internship Personal Statement

Applying for a dietetic internship is a rigorous process and requires submitting a personal statement, which is an essential part…

• Skip to main menu
• Skip to user menu

Sales Assistant Personal Statement

• CV Templates & Advice
• Customer Service

Are you searching for the perfect sales assistant role? Fish4jobs can help you to create a winning sales assistant personal statement to place at the top of your CV, to ensure that you land your dream role!

Your personal statement is your chance to shine, so use this 100-150 words to show off your skills, strengths and achievements in the sales sector. We recommend that you provide examples of how you match the job specifications, and show your desire for this particular sales assistant position.

For further advice and guidance, check out our  how to write a personal statement guide .

What to include in your Sales Assistant personal statement

Why you are applying for the role.

• Highlight what appealed to you about the sales assistant job role.
• Mention any experience you have of working as a sales assistant such as dealing with customers, handling transactions and sales.
• Provide information on other skills you have that relate to the role.

Your Education

• Provide any relevant subjects you have studied that can apply to the role.
• Mention your School/College/University that you attended.
• Provide information on your relevant qualifications.

Your sales assistance experience

• Mention previous sales assistant roles, and provide information on key responsibilities within the role.
• Highlight your daily tasks, objectives and how you managed your work.
• List any training you may have received in previous roles as a sales assistant.

Your visions of the future in the company

• Where do you see yourself working within the company.
• Mention where you want to take your skills.

Sales Assistant Personal Statement example

I am a very friendly and enthusiastic individual, who ensures that clients and customers receive the best customer service and satisfaction. In my past role as a sales assistant, I strived to achieve the best results daily, ensuring that my day-to-day tasks of greeting and serving customers, assisting with queries, replenishing stock and keeping the store tidy were completed to the highest standards. I am a fantastic people person, with great communication and listening skills, therefore, I am able to successfully assist customers with any requirements or requests they may have. I work extremely well in a team as well as alone as I am able to confidently deal with problems and use my initiative to overcome challenging situations. My previous experience in sales, coupled with my interest in X makes me the ideal candidate for this role.

See our Sales Assistant cover letter template for extra help with your application.

Related links

• Sales Assistant CV Template
• How to Write a CV
• How to Write a Personal Statement

Share this article

Related articles

New Year, New You: The 5 Top Industries on Fish4

The Fish4jobs Ultimate Jobseekers Guide

Investment Banker CV Template

Latest articles, optimising your job search: best application practices on fish4jobs, how to set up a job alert – optimise your job search with fish4jobs, from new hires to top performers: the key elements of successful talent onboarding.

Retail Job with no Experience CV example

Are you looking for a job in retail but worried your lack of experience is holding you back? Well, with a carefully crafted CV, you can still secure yourself that interview.

But if you’re not sure where to start, that’s OK too! We can help.

In this guide, we’ll teach you how to sell your skills like they were products with our writing guide and retail job CV example for those with no experience.

CV templates 

Retail Job No Experience CV example

This is a good example of a Retail CV without experience which contains all of the information that a hiring manager will need to be impressed, and presents it in a well- structured, easy-to-read format.

Take some time to study and understand this CV, and refer to it throughout the writing of your own CV for best results.

Retail Job No Experience CV structure & formatting

The format and structure of your CV is important because it will determine how easy it is for recruiters and employers to read your CV.

If they can find the information they need quickly, they’ll be happy; but if they struggle, your application could be overlooked.

A simple and logical structure will always create a better reading experience than a complex structure, and with a few simple formatting tricks, you’ll be good to go.

How to format your CV

• Length: Whether you’ve got one year or three decades of experience, your CV should never be more than two sides of A4. Recruiters are busy people who’re often juggling numerous roles and tasks, so they don’t have time to read lengthy applications. If you’re a recent graduate or don’t have much industry experience, one side of A4 is fine.
• Readability : To help busy recruiters scan through your CV, make sure your section headings stand out – bold or coloured text works well. Additionally, try to use bullet points wherever you can, as they’re far easier to skim through than huge paragraphs. Lastly, don’t be afraid of white space on your CV – a little breathing space is great for readability.
• CV design: Don’t waste time adding fancy designs to your CV. It generally adds no value to your application and may even end up distracting recruiters away from the important written content.
• Photographs: Profile photos or aren’t a requirement for most industries, so you don’t need to add one in the UK – but if you do, just make sure it looks professional

Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.

CV structure

As you write your CV , work to the simple but effective structure below:

• Name and contact details – Pop them at the top of your CV, so it’s easy for recruiters to contact you.
• CV profile – Write a snappy overview of what makes you a good fit for the role; discussing your key experience, skills and accomplishments.
• Core skills section – Add a short but snappy list of your relevant skills and knowledge.
• Work experience – A list of your relevant work experience, starting with your current role.
• Education – A summary of your relevant qualifications and professional/vocational training.
• Hobbies and interests – An optional sections, which you could use to write a short description of any relevant hobbies or interests.

Now, let’s take a closer look at what you should include in each section of your CV.

CV Contact Details

Tuck your contact details into the corner of your CV, so that they don’t take up too much space. Stick to the basic details, such as:

• Mobile number
• Email address – It should sound professional, such as your full name.
• Location -Just write your rough location, rather than your full address.
• LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – If you include these, ensure they’re sleek, professional and up-to-date.

Retail Job No Experience CV Profile

Your CV profile is basically a short introductory paragraph, which summarises your key selling points and highlights why you’d make a good hire.

So, write a well-rounded summary of what you do, what your key skills are, and what relevant experience you have.

It needs to be short, snappy and punchy and, ultimately, entice the reader to read the rest of your CV.

CV profile writing tips:

• Make it short and sharp: Recruiters have piles of CVs to read through and limited time to dedicate to each, so it pays to showcase your abilities in as few words as possible. 3-4 lines is ideal.
• Tailor it: No matter how much time you put into your CV profile, it won’t impress if it’s irrelevant to the role you’re applying for. Before you start writing, make a list of the skills, knowledge and experience your target employer is looking for. Then, make sure to mention them in your CV profile and throughout the rest of your application.
• Don’t add an objective: Career goals and objectives are best suited to your cover letter , so don’t waste space with them in your CV profile.
• Avoid generic phrases: Clichés like “ blue-sky thinker with a go-getter attitude” might sound impressive to you, but they don’t actually tell the recruiter much about you. Concentrate on highlighting hard facts and skills, as recruiters are more likely to take these on board.

Example CV profile for Retail Job No Experience

What to include in your retail job no experience cv profile.

• Summary of experience: To give employers an idea of your capabilities, show them your track record by giving an overview of the types of companies you have worked for in the past and the roles you have carried out for previous employers – but keep it high level and save the details for your experience section.
• Relevant skills: Make your most relevant retail key skills clear in your profile. These should be tailored to the specific role you’re applying for – so make sure to check the job description first, and aim to match their requirements as closely as you can.
• Vital qualifications: Be sure to outline your relevant retail qualifications, so that anyone reading the CV can instantly see you are qualified for the jobs you are applying to.

Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder . All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.

Core skills section

Underneath your profile, write a core skills section to make your most relevant skills jump off the page at readers.

It should be made up of 2-3 columns of bullet points of your relevant skills.

Before you do this, look over the job description and make a list of any specific skills, specialisms or knowledge required.

Then, make sure to use your findings in your list. This will paint you as the perfect match for the role.

Vital skills for your Retail Job No Experience CV

Customer service – highlighting experience of working with the public to resolve queries and encourage them to purchase products.

Fundraising – highlighting experience of managing projects such as taking responsibility for organising and holding an event or running a fundraiser.

School choir national competitor – highlighting achievements such as competing in or winning a competition.

Captain of the school netball team – evidencing experience of leading others to achieve a goal.

IT skills – evidencing use of key technologies and software programs.

Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.

Your work experience section

Now that recruiters have a good overview of your skills and abilities, you need to jump into the detail of your career history.

Give them a more thorough insight into what you can do by creating a detailed list of your relevant experience.

Start with your current role, and work backwards through all the relevant positions you’ve held. This could be freelance, contract or voluntary work too; as long as it’s related to the role you’re applying for.

Structuring each role

Whilst writing your CV, it’s essential to look at it from the eyes of a recruiter.

If they’re met with giant blocks of text which are impossible to navigate, they might get frustrated and skip onto the next CV.

Instead, make use of the 3-step structure shown below, to give them a pleasant reading experience.

Begin with a summary of your role, detailing what the purpose of your job was, who you reported to and what size of team you were part of (or led).

Key responsibilities

Follow with a snappy list of bullet points, detailing your daily duties and responsibilities.

Tailor it to the role you’re applying for by mentioning how you put the target employer’s desired hard skills and knowledge to use in this role.

Key achievements

Round up each role by listing 1-3 key achievements , accomplishments or results.

Wherever possible, quantify them using hard facts and figures, as this really helps to prove your value.

Sample job description for Retail Job No Experience CV

Supported the Action Aid Cancer Charity Shop to fundraise by going door to door for contributions, raising over £600 for the charity within 12 weeks.

Responsibilities

• Actively engaged members of the public at their homes, advocating for the Action Aid Cancer Charity’s work
• Sourced long term, committed donations
• Maintained high standards in both the quantity and quality of new donors recruited
• Maintained the highest professional standards at all times with regards to both the Action Aid Cancer Charity and door to door fundraising as a whole

Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.

Education and qualifications section

Next up, you should list your education and qualifications.

This can include your formal qualifications (a degree, A-Levels and GCSEs), as well as sector-specific retail qualifications and/or training.

While school leavers and recent grads should include a lot of detail here to make up for the lack of work experience, experienced candidates may benefit from a shorter education section, as your work experience section will be more important to recruiters.

Hobbies and interests

Although this is an optional section, it can be useful if your hobbies and interests will add further depth to your CV.

Interests which are related to the sector you are applying to, or which show transferable skills like leadership or teamwork, can worth listing.

On the other hand, generic hobbies like “going out with friends” won’t add any value to your application, so are best left off your CV.

Writing your Retail Job No Experience CV

When putting together your Retail CV when you have no retail experience, there are a few key points to remember

Always tailor your CV to the target role, even if it means creating several versions for different roles.

Additionally, remember that the structure and format of your CV needs just as much attention as the content.

Good luck with your job search!

Back to all Personal Statement Examples

personal statement example

Retail offers the exciting prospect of a fast-paced, ever-changing working environment that requires you to be constantly developing and refining your strategies as markets change. Nowhere is this more apparent than in fashion retailing, as shifting styles and trends offer new challenges, and new opportunities, on an almost daily basis. Having discovered that I am well-suited to these pressures, demonstrating an aptitude for communication, teamwork, planning and improvisation throughout my studies, my work placements and my extra-curricular activities, I have become more and more convinced that a career within fashion retail management, preferably as a buyer, will allow me to make the most positive impact through my work.

Aware of the fundamental need to understand business, as well as displaying a ‘passion for fashion’, within my chosen career, I have worked hard to gain an understanding of macro- and micro-economic processes. Through undertaking a Business Studies A-level, and through studying the national and global impact of economics in Government and Politics, I have a refined sense of the dramatic importance of business. Studying History has also offered an historical perspective on this, as well as improving my research and written and verbal communication skills.

Keen to gain practical experience of the industry, I have undertaken week-long placements at the Head Offices of both Marks and Spencer and Dewhirst. The first of these placements was especially enlightening, as I shadowed staff across all aspects of the business; including Design, Merchandising, Buying and Technical. This gave me a great insight into the interconnected nature of the business and the way in which everything, from research on materials, to sourcing stock, to working out how to display stock to make it attractive to customers, requires a fine balance based around a singular vision for it to be profitable. The second placement offered an alternative perspective on the process of garment supply prior to the retail stage. Working on garment costing and negotiating with fabric suppliers once again demonstrated the careful strategies that are necessary to ensure profitability.

Inspired by these experiences, I have made sure to keep up with changes in the field of fashion retail as much as possible. I regularly read Retail Week and Draper’s Record and attended a ‘Future Lab’ at the Roundhouse, which gave me a good sense of various aspects of the fashion retail industry through talking to those on the inside.

In my spare time, I am a dedicated sportsperson. I have skied from the age of four and took my basic ski instructor exam at a Swiss school last year. Having used this qualification to teach for a week last February, I am keen to go back and teach again this year. Teaching skiing appeals to me as both a sportsperson and a keen traveller; allowing me to integrate with another culture and language as I work. I have also achieved a Level 1 Sports Leader qualification, which has built on the responsible leadership shown through ski instruction and regular volunteering at a local primary school. I am a keen rugby player and play for my school’s first team and Harrow Rugby Club. I also like to indulge my creative side through theatre and spent a week attached to the National Theatre in a fundraising capacity, which included the creation of a proposal to gain sponsorship for the Entry Pass Scheme aimed at 16-24 year olds.

Having focused my studies and work experience on gaining as much knowledge of the retail fashion industry and possible, I have become more and more convinced that I have the right combination of ambition, aptitude and determination to succeed in the sector in future. Enhancing this knowledge and experience through undergraduate study is the next essential step to making this ultimate goal a reality.

Applying to uni

• Find a Course
• Personal statements

Not going to Uni

• Find an Apprenticeship

Careers and Jobs

• Work Experience
• Work Placements
• Apprenticeships

ADVERTISEMENTS