Coles resume examples & templates

Landing a job at Coles often starts with one document that many applicants rush: the resume. Whether you are after your first casual shift on the checkouts, trolley collection, or online order picking, a clear and honest resume helps a busy store manager see that you are dependable, friendly, and ready to work. You can build a tailored version per role with the Resume.io resume builder, starting from its ready-made resume templates and adjusting it to the advertisement.

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Retail is Australia's second largest employing industry, and supermarkets and grocery stores are its single biggest sector at 321,100 workers (Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026), so entry-level openings come up often.

Coles resume example

Here is a complete Coles resume example for an entry-level store team member with limited paid experience.

It uses an Australian format, leads with a short summary, and turns school, volunteering, and casual work into evidence of customer service and dependability. 

Copy the structure, then swap in your own details.

If you have never had a paid job, the no experience version above still works. 

The point is to show the habits Coles cares about, not a long work history.

Do you need a resume to apply to Coles?

Not always. For many everyday Coles store team member roles, you apply through an online Expression of Interest that asks about your availability and job preferences rather than requiring a formal resume. 

A tailored resume still helps you stand out, and roles such as nightfill, team leader, and corporate positions do expect one.

Coles adds successful Expression of Interest applicants to a local talent pool, and store managers reach out when a suitable role opens nearby. 

That means two things for you. 

First, your availability and preferences carry real weight, so set them honestly and as broadly as you genuinely can. 

Second, a short, well-organised resume is worth attaching or keeping ready, because it gives a manager fast evidence that you can be counted on and that you are customer-ready.

When a role does ask for a resume, keep it to the essentials on this page. 

When it only asks for an Expression of Interest, use the same thinking to answer the questions: lead with customer service, teamwork, dependability, and the shifts you can actually cover.

What do you put on a Coles resume?

A Coles resume needs seven clear parts: your contact details, a short professional summary, key skills, availability, employment history, education, and references. 

For a store team member role, availability and a customer-focused summary matter as much as work history, because Coles hires for attitude, dependability, and fit with its team as much as for experience.

Your professional summary should be two or three lines that state who you are, the role you want, and what you bring. 

Amanda Augustine, CPRW, CPCC, advises using that space to focus on "what you can offer them, not what you hope to gain," which is why a short summary beats a dated objective statement.

• Contact details: Name, suburb and state, mobile number, and a professional email address
• Professional summary: Two to three lines pitching your customer focus and dependability
• Key skills: Six to ten skills that match the job advertisement
• Availability: The days and times you can genuinely work, including evenings and weekends
• Employment history: Most recent first, with short bullet points that show impact
• Education: Your most recent qualification, such as your VCE or equivalent
• References: A simple "available on request" line is enough

Leave off anything that does not help a hiring decision, such as a date of birth, a photo, or a generic objective like "seeking a challenging position." 

That space is better spent proving you can serve customers and show up on time.

What skills should you put on a Coles resume?

Lead with the skills Coles actually recruits for: customer service, teamwork, dependability, working at pace, and cash handling. 

Add stock replenishment, food safety, and workplace health and safety where they fit the role. 

Choose six to ten skills, and make each one specific rather than generic.

The trick is proving skills, not just listing them. 

Communication was the most-listed skill in a study of resumes and hiring outcomes, yet it placed at just 15.3%, at or below the cohort average (Resume.io, Resume Skills Study, 2026), most likely because everyone claims it and few show it. 

Teamwork, by contrast, registered as a positive hiring signal in sectors such as hospitality (Resume.io, Resume Skills Study, 2026), which maps closely to life on a Coles shop floor.

So instead of writing "good communication," show it in a bullet: "Answered customer questions calmly during weekend rushes." 

A quick way to choose the right skills is to mirror Coles' values, the 4Cs, through your examples rather than naming them:

• Care: "Supported a new volunteer through their first busy shift."
• Courage: "Flagged a spill straight away to keep the area safe."
• Customers: "Helped shoppers find items and answered questions politely."
• Create: "Suggested a tidier way to arrange the display fridge."

These map to Coles' stated values of Care, Courage, Customers, and Create (Coles Group, 2025). 

For a checkout role, customer service skills and point-of-sale confidence belong near the top.

How do you tailor your Coles resume to the role?

Match your resume to the specific Coles role by reading the job advertisement and mirroring its language. 

Coles advertises a wide range of store, fulfilment, and leadership positions, and each one rewards a different mix of skills. 

Adjust your summary and skills so the most relevant strengths sit near the top.

Use this table as a starting point, then confirm the emphasis against the actual advertisement:

Once you have picked your role, highlight the repeated requirements in the advertisement and give honest evidence for as many as you can. 

Building a fresh version for each application takes a few minutes and lifts your chances far more than sending the same document everywhere. 

You can start from a ready-made layout in the Resume.io resume templates and adjust it per role.

How do you write a Coles resume with no experience?

Focus on transferable skills when you build a Coles resume with no paid experience. 

A first resume can draw on school, volunteering, sport, and helping at home or in the community, because all of these show teamwork, responsibility, and a willingness to serve. 

The goal is evidence of the right habits, not a long job history, so reframe everyday activities as workplace strengths. 

Captaining a sports team shows teamwork and dependability. 

Running a stall at a school fair shows cash handling and customer service. 

A regular babysitting arrangement shows responsibility and time management.

• Turn responsibilities into short achievement bullets that name what you did and the result.
• Add a clear availability section, since flexible hours are valuable for casual store roles.
• Include any certificate you hold, such as First Aid or a food safety short course.
• Keep the summary honest and enthusiastic, and avoid claiming skills you cannot demonstrate.

If this is your very first job, remember that Coles openly welcomes school students and recent leavers into entry-level roles, so limited experience is normal and expected. 

Show that you can be counted on, that you are friendly, and that you are ready to learn, and let your examples carry the rest.

How long should a Coles resume be, and what format works?

Keep a Coles resume to one page for entry-level roles, or two pages at most once you have more experience. 

Use a reverse chronological layout, list your most recent role or study first, and save the file as a PDF so the formatting holds on any device.

Stick to a simple, professional font and generous white space so a manager can read the page in seconds. 

Use short bullet points rather than dense paragraphs, and keep headings consistent. 

For a casual application, an availability section near the top earns its place, because it answers one of the first questions a store manager will ask.

A few formatting habits make a real difference for retail applications:

• Put your strongest, most role-relevant skills where they are seen first
• Use consistent dates in Month Year format, such as June 2025
• Avoid graphics, tables, or columns that can break when a file is opened elsewhere
• Proofread carefully, since a tidy resume signals the same care you would bring to a shift

If you are weighing how much to include, our guide on whether a resume should be one page can help you decide what to keep and what to cut.

Key tips

• Lead with customer service, teamwork, and the shifts you can cover, since these are what Coles weighs most for store roles.
• Prove skills with short, specific bullet points rather than listing them, and match the wording of the job advertisement.
• Show Coles' 4Cs of Care, Courage, Customers, and Create through your examples instead of naming the values directly.
• Keep an entry-level resume to one page, saved as a PDF, and easy to scan in seconds.
• For many everyday store roles you apply through an Expression of Interest, so keep a short, tailored resume ready for the roles that ask for one.

Frequently asked questions

Here are quick answers to the questions Coles applicants ask most often.

Do you need experience to work at Coles?

No. Many entry-level Coles store roles are open to first-time workers, including school students and recent leavers. 

Focus on showing dependability, genuine availability, and a friendly, customer-ready attitude, and use examples from school, volunteering, or casual work to stand in for formal experience.

How old do you have to be to work at Coles?

Australia has no single national minimum working age, so it varies by state and territory and by the specific role. 

Under the General Retail Industry Award, workers under 21 are paid junior rates set as a percentage of the adult rate (Fair Work Ombudsman). 

Always check the age requirements on the individual Coles job advertisement.

How long does the Coles hiring process take?

For many store roles, the process often takes around two to four weeks from application to offer. 

It usually moves through an online application or Expression of Interest, a short assessment or questionnaire, an interview or informal store chat, and then onboarding checks. 

High application volumes or background checks can push the timeline closer to a month.

A cover letter is optional for most Coles store roles, though it can strengthen your application.