Shop Assistant CV Example & Guide (10+ Tips)

Retail is one of those areas where the number of jobs fluctuates seasonally and from year to year. Holiday seasons, interest rates – these all have an effect. One thing stays the same, though: there are always more people looking for the best shop assistant jobs than there are great shop assistant jobs to be had.

This article will show you how to write a CV for a shop assistant position that’ll have you browsing through job adverts like the pickiest High Street shopper. Read on to see a CV for shop assistant jobs, including skills, duties, and 100% UK-based examples and advice. You’ll have a winning CV ready faster than you can say ‘cash or card?’.

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Need a different CV example? Check these guides:

• Buyer CV
• Cashier CV
• Cleaner CV
• Customer Service CV
• CV for a Part-Time Job
• First CV
• Retail CV
• Retail Manager CV
• Sales Assistant CV
• Sales CV
• School Leaver CV
• Supermarket CV
• Supervisor CV
• Student CV
• Team Leader CV

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our CV examples.

Shop assistant CV example 

Now, here’s what to include in a CV and how to write a CV specifically for shop assistant jobs:

1. Start your shop assistant CV with a personal statement

Start your CV with a personal statement. A personal statement, also known as a CV profile, is where you’ll introduce yourself as an employee, let your potential new employer know what you bring to the table as their new shop assistant, and show how your job-related goals line up with their company goals. To write one, answer the following questions:

• What kind of shop assistant are you? How long have you been working and in what industries?
• What’s an achievement at work that you’re particularly proud of? Describe two if you can.
• What do you hope to achieve in this new role? Think from your new employer’s perspective.

You have a total 3–4 sentences and 50–150 words to work with. Write without using personal pronouns (I, my, etc.). Keep things as brief and to the point as possible. Make sure you mention the name of the company to which you’re applying and the name of the position you’re going for.

Your application might be processed by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before a person gets to it, so mentioning these things is very important. Try to use keywords from the advert as well, but don’t force it if it’s going to sound unnatural. You’ll need to write a new personal statement for each advert.

Your personal statement will go first in your shop assistant CV, but it’s best written last (that's why it's also called a CV summary). It’ll be much easier once you’ve got your job descriptions in front of you and you’ve had some practice in writing accomplishment statements. So keep it in the back of your mind and come back to it later.

Shop assistant CV—personal statement example

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

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2. Include a work experience section in your shop assistant CV

Use a chronological format for your CV work experience section. This means starting from your most recent job description and working your way back through your work history. This is what most shop managers are used to seeing and what they prefer. It’ll also be more easily processed by an ATS.

Use the following template to create a subheading for each job description:

[Job Title]

[Company Name, Location]

[Dates of Employment]

Then write up to six bullet points for each job description. Quantify everything you can and focus on what you achieved rather than your shop assistant duties. Use accomplishment statements to help you do this. See all this in action in the shop assistant job description examples below.

If you don’t have any paid work experience to speak of, then focus on any internships, placement work, and volunteer work you’ve done. Have very little experience? Put this section after your education section. No experience of any kind? Then consider writing a student CV or more specifically, a CV with no work experience.

Shop assistant duties & accomplishments for a CV

3. Add an education section to your shop assistant CV

Use the same reverse-chronological order you used in your work experience section here in your education section. If you have a university degree and some experience behind you, then you can safely skip over your high school education.

When listing university degrees, include the name of your degree, the years you attended (with an expected graduation date if you’re still studying), and the name of the institution and its location. The same holds for diplomas and certificates. Use this template for any tertiary-level education:

[Degree Class] [Degree Type] [Degree Name], [Year Graduated]

[University Name]

When including your high school education, list all of your A-levels by subject, the years during which you studied them, the name of the school and its location. For GCSEs simply state how many you completed, the years over which you completed them, the name of the school and its location.

Be sure to mention Mathematics and English when stating how many GCSEs you’ve completed. Shop assistants need good communication and number skills, so employers often (but not always) want to see that you have passes in Maths and English as a bare minimum.

If you’re low on work experience, consider adding bullet points here to highlight your achievements, extracurricular activities or areas of excellence while studying.

Shop assistant CV—education section example

4. Put your shop assistant skills on display in your CV

Anyone can come up with a list of impressive-sounding shop assistant skills. You’re going to do something different to really stand out from the crowd. To start off, set your job advert and CV aside and open a new document. Make a list of as many of your shop assistant and other, transferable, skills as you can.

Aim for a mix of hard, technical and soft skills. Stop once you run out of ideas, you can come back and add to this list over the coming months, if not years. Now add a sentence to each skill that describes exactly how you’ve demonstrated that skill at work. This is the part that will really set you apart.

If you can’t show that you’ve demonstrated a particular skill, then delete it from your list. Save this file—it’ll come in handy for future job applications and your shop assistant cover letter. Go back to your current job advert and check what skills they’re looking for.

Copy across from your master list enough skills to at least cover the ones required in the advert. Remember to include exceptional customer service skills, communication, and IT skills. Check the sample below for some inspiration.

Shop assistant CV—skills sample

5. Stock up on additional sections for your shop assistant CV

Adding extra sections to your CV is not only a great way to stand out from the crowd, it’s also an opportunity to paint a fuller picture of who you are as an employee. You can add sections that list your relevant achievements or awards. Hobbies and interests also belong on a CV. Keep it professional and you can’t go wrong.

Do you speak any languages other than English? Speaking a foreign language is far less common in the UK than elsewhere. So speaking a foreign language can be a huge advantage, even if you won’t be using it at work every day (or ever).

If you’ve completed a relevant certificate, then you might choose to mention it here under an additional qualifications section rather than in your education section.

CV for a shop assistant—extra sections example

6. Write a shop assistant cover letter to go with your CV

A job application is traditionally made up of two parts: a CV and a cover letter. Unless it’s been made clear to you that you’re not supposed to submit a cover letter, you should always include one. Not doing so is a great way to take your application out of the running early on in the process.

Use the right cover letter format, don’t forget about the header, and start with the right salutation. Then include a strong cover letter opening that grabs your reader’s attention. This will prime them for all the achievements you’ll showcase in the main paragraph. Then it’s just a matter of wrapping up and signing off.

Write a short cover letter. Generally, you should end up with between half and a full A4 page, about 200–350 words in total. It’s normal to find this all a little daunting at first, but with your job descriptions and skills master list at the ready, you’re already halfway to having your cover letter finished.

7. Some final things to keep in mind for your shop assistant CV

Follow these basic CV formatting rules:

• Make your contact details clear and easy to find: leave them near the top of your CV and keep them brief—leave out your postal address or date of birth, for example.
• Use subheadings and as much white space as possible to clearly break your CV structure down into sections.
• Choose a professional business-like CV font like Arial, Noto, Liberation, or Calibri and keep font size at 11 or 12 points.
• Send your CV in the form of a PDF file unless explicitly asked for something else.
• How long should a CV be? Stick to a one-page CV if you have 10 years or less of experience. Go to a two-page maximum only if you have over 10 years of experience.
• Don't lie on your CV. Lying on your CV might seem like a shortcut to getting a job, but it comes with significant risks and never pays off.
• When it comes to CV design, you can use creative CV templates as long as they don't contain infographics (visual CV templates can be hard to parse for ATS). View best CV templates here.

Proofread and spellcheck your shop assistant CV and cover letter. Ask someone else to read and proofread both documents. Use any of the apps, web apps, or programmes out there that can help you with spelling and grammar. Spelling and grammar mistakes are like unattended spills in the aisles of your CV.

One final piece of CV advice: follow up with a quick call or email if you haven’t heard back after a week. This can make a big difference and if nothing else, you might get an idea of how your application is going.

You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.

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I hope this article is what you were looking for! Is there anything you needed that’s missing here? Would you like more information on anything I’ve covered? Share your questions, comments, experiences and feedback in the comments section below.

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.