Sales Assistant resume examples & templates

As a sales assistant, you are the friendly face and helping hand that humanizes any customer’s experience. In many ways, you’re the face of the company during their time in the store! So it’s no surprise that any discerning hiring manager will want to see a strong resume that shows which applicants are up to the task.

Entry-level

Mid-career

Senior-level

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Sales assistants typically work in retail settings, serving as professional sources of support for customers and striving to offer superior customer experience that promotes and increases sales. A sales assistant should be knowledgeable about their industry and the company’s offerings and products. They should be excellent communicators with outgoing and friendly personalities, conducive to achieving positive sales experiences for customers. 

Sales assistants are typically expected to perform a variety of store related duties as well. An ideal candidate holds a high school diploma and has relevant experience in sales.

Resume guide for a sales assistant resume

If you’re applying for your next sales assistant role, Resume.io is here to serve you! Our library of resume examples for an array of professions (over 500!) will give you a leg up on writing the perfect sales assistant resume. Or, use our resume builder to make it even easier.

This resume guide, along with the corresponding sales assistant resume example, covers the following topics:

• How to write a sales assistant resume
• Choosing the right sales assistant resume format
• How to add your contact information
• Using summaries
• Adding your sales assistant experience
• Listing your education and relevant knowledge
• Picking the right resume design/layout
• What the sales assistant market looks like, and the salary you can expect

How to write a sales assistant resume

The very first step in writing your sales assistant resume is understanding what sections to include. Your resume should contain the following elements:

• The resume header
• The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

These are the building blocks of a strong sales assistant resume example. In each of these sections, your resume should respond to the skills and experience the employer is looking for. That means adapting and tweaking the examples and language you include to convince the hiring manager you’re the top pick for this particular position.

In fact, a job application is much like a sales pitch. Just like you share the benefits of a product with your customers, your application gives you the opportunity to show off your unique value proposition to a prospective employer. 

This pitch starts with your resume. To close the deal, stick to this winning formula:

• Highlight specific accomplishments, not just past responsibilities. Anybody can provide a list of tasks they were given, but it’s much more impactful to specify how you brought value to the role and what you achieved.
• Tailor your resume to each job you apply to; this means adjusting the style and tone to the company’s, just like you adapt your communication and sales pitch to each unique customer you serve.
• You know that first impressions matter in sales, so be sure to put your best foot forward with a resume template that’s attractive, professional, and easy to read.
• Sprinkle relevant keywords throughout your resume. This will be beneficial regardless of whether a recruiter, hiring manager, or online system is reading through it.

Choosing the right resume format for a sales assistant

The best resume format for your sales assistant resume is reverse chronological. This format lists your previous work experience in—you guessed it—reverse chronological order. It’s the format that hiring managers expect, because the most important aspect of your sales assistant resume is proving your customer service abilities through recent relevant experience.

However, if you’re new to the industry or have no work experience at all, you have a few options. You could stick with the reverse chronological format and list jobs from other sectors. Or, you could use a functional format, which displays and focuses on your skills instead of employment history.

Our resume builder includes numerous resume templates, so take a look and choose whichever best meets your needs. There are plenty of resume examples displaying each format in action. 

Design matters, too; you want your resume to show off your skills, not confuse the reader. A great sales assistant resume template may use a straightforward, attractive modern layout. 

Include your contact information

When making a sale or meeting a customer, chances are you’ll share your business card or contact information so they can get in touch later. You can think of your resume header as a business card for your job application. 

Although it seems simple, this section is important. After all, if you don’t make it easy to contact you, you risk being overlooked for the job. Make sure your contact information is easily accessible and professionally displayed. 

What should you include?  

• Full name & title. Include your first and last name and the title of the role you’re pursuing.
• Professional email address. Use a clean, simple email format like [email protected]. Avoid anything silly, quirky, or unprofessional.
• Phone number. List your phone number, and be sure it’s one you answer regularly and that your voicemail box is set up (and has room for new messages).
• Location. Only list your city and state. There’s no need to add your street address, as that’s both an outdated convention and unsafe. If you’re willing to relocate, list that here.
• LinkedIn. If you have an active, relevant LinkedIn profile that shows off your sales network, include it.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth: This isn’t necessary and could put you at risk of age discrimination.
• Personal details: Marital status, social security number, passport number, etc. don’t belong on your resume.

Make use of a summary

Your resume summary is a powerful tool to prove your excellent communication skills, whether you’re a sales assistant pro or a newcomer. The summary, or profile, is the three to five sentences at the top of your resume that tell the hiring manager about your top achievements and strongest attributes.

That’s not that much space, so prioritize keywords you see emphasized in the job listing. You can also make your writing more convincing and cut down on the word count by using strong  action verbs. 

Don’t just repeat information from further down in your resume. Instead, use this summary space to showcase the overarching traits and experience that make you a stellar sales assistant. In other words, the summary should demonstrate your unique value proposition. For instance, a line in your summary may read, “Consistently exceeded sales targets by 50% or higher, while earning top customer service score in the store.” 

Sales assistants must be able to establish and nurture positive relationships with prospects and customers, so this is your first chance to prove how well you can do that. 

You can find adaptable sales assistant resume example summaries below:

Outline your sales assistant work experience

In this section, you’ll list your previous employment, with your current or most recent position at the top. This should be the longest part of your resume, even if you’re switching industries or positions. The important thing is to use your previous work experience to highlight the transferable skills and accomplishments that make you a great sales assistant candidate.

Make a subheading for each role. This subheading should mention the job title, employer, dates worked, and location. Add several bullet points under each subheading that show off your most relevant responsibilities and most impressive accomplishments in that role.

Don’t just list tasks. Instead, your employment history section should use specific examples that prove you can address the most important aspects of the role. Most sales assistant jobs call for top customer service skills and experience in sales, so consider examples of times you’ve solved a problem to improve a store's sales or a customer’s experience.

For instance, a lot of resumes may look like this:

• "Made sales in a retail environment.”
• "Provided excellent customer service.”
• "Gained product knowledge.”

While those are great traits of a sales assistant, nothing about those bullet points is specific to you and your unique value. A great way to add weight to the bullet points is to add specific details and numbers that quantify your wins. For example, statistics and numbers better describe exactly how much time you saved your colleagues with your idea, or how much you increased sales through your expert assistance. 

Check out these reworked bullets with that in mind:

• "Executed sales in a high-volume retail environment, exceeding monthly quotas by 10-25% and earning recognition for highest sales on the team of 10.”
• "Served upwards of 100 customers per day, earning a 99% customer satisfaction score.”
• "Researched and tested products to build product knowledge, becoming a go-to trainer for new hires.”

Don’t those seem much more exciting?

Take a look at the sales assistant employment history resume sample below:

How to write a sales assistant resume with no experience 

If you’re hoping to make a career pivot into a sales assistant role, you’re in luck: many such roles are available to those without direct experience. 

Of course, you still need to show how you’re a fit for the role, and that means relying on your transferable skills. These could be skills you gained through education, in unrelated past jobs, or from volunteer work. 

Focus on the skills that are most important to a sales assistant position. If you’ve worked as a server in a restaurant, for example, you likely have plenty of examples of customer service and communication skills. If you’ve worked as an administrative assistant, chances are you’re detail-oriented, accurate, and would be able to quickly pick up cash register management. 

Or, maybe you have volunteer experience—fundraising or volunteer management experience would be beneficial in a sales assistant role. 

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great sales assistant

The skills section might seem easy at a glance, but it’s worth taking a moment to consider the most important attributes to list. Can you sell water to the ocean? Do you have a knack for turning upset customers’ frowns upside down? This is the spot to tell the hiring manager!

The job listing is your top resource for identifying the most important skills. It may lean more toward soft skills or hard skills, but both are important. Soft skills are the personality traits that determine how you carry out a job: things like being a good listener or a leader. Hard skills are technical skills, like knowing how to use certain software or being a certified first aider. In most cases, it’s good to include a mix of both hard and soft skills.

Our resume builder includes several pre-populated skills to choose from, as well as the option to add your own. 

Here’s what the skills box looks like in our sales assistant resume template. 

This list, however, is not the only place your skills should appear. Include them throughout your resume in the form of examples of accomplishments and achievements. 

For example, when writing your work experience and summary sections, you can highlight your:

• Sales skills by showing how you’ve exceeded goals or quotas or how you’ve increased revenue through large sales
• Customer service skills by sharing the volume of customers you serve in an average day/week/month, or including any recognition or high scores for customer service
• Teamwork skills by detailing your experience collaborating with others, training new team members, or taking on a leadership role

Detail your education & relevant sales assistant certifications

Your resume’s education section can be just as important as your employment history; it shouldn’t be quite as long, though. 

Here, you’ll list your most recent diplomas or degrees in reverse chronological order. Include the name of the institution and the name of your qualification. If you recently completed or are still attending the program, you can include the dates. While most sales assistant roles don’t require a college degree, if you’ve earned one, show it off!

Beyond your formal education, it’s a great idea to include any certifications, training programs, or courses that are relevant to sales assistant work. For example,

• Training and certifications. Have you taken any courses, trainings, or workshops that have enhanced your sales skills?
• Internships. Although sales assistant internships may not be common, perhaps you’ve held one, or you’ve held other internship positions that bolstered your sales skills.
• Professional development. If you’re a member in a sales-related association or networking group, like the National Association of Sales Professionals, add it to your resume to show your commitment to networking and developing your knowledge.

Pick the right resume layout and design for a sales assistant resume

The layout and design of your resume is another way to show the hiring manager that you’re a sales assistant with excellent communication skills. Would you trust someone with a job that requires good organization if they have a messy resume? Probably not.

Step into the shoes of the hiring manager and choose a design for your resume that channels your top communication skills and attention to detail. Keep it simple and make sure that all of the sections are easy to read. If you’re having trouble, then you can save yourself time and hassle by opting for one of our resume templates, which do the heavy lifting for you.

Avoid graphics, multiple fonts, or flashy colors. No one responds well to a salesperson who goes over the top with flashy antics and pushy behavior, so don’t let your resume appear that way, either. We recommend clean lines, ample white space, and limited color (a pop of one color can make a nice impression, but don’t go overboard). 

Sales assistant text-only resume example

Sales assistant job market and outlook

Unfortunately, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) anticipates a decline in sales assistant jobs over the next decade. This is largely due to the continued growth of e-commerce and online shopping, which leads to a need for fewer physical retail stores. 

However, even with this decline, the BLS anticipates around 563,000 openings each year for the next decade. Most of these will be due to employees leaving the occupation or exiting the labor force altogether. 

What type of salary you can expect in sales assistant

The BLS uses the title “retail sales worker” to refer to sales assistants, and they note that the median wage is approximately $16.19 per hour. The lowest 10 percent of workers earn under $11.42, while the highest 10 percent of earners bring in over $23.13 per hour.

In general, the highest-paid sales assistants work in furniture and home furnishings, with the lowest-paid working in clothing and accessories.

Key takeaways for building a sales assistant resume

Working as a sales assistant is a great choice for anyone who is motivated, enjoys working with the public, and provides exceptional customer service. You get to be at the forefront of a customer’s day, offering them a positive experience and meeting their needs.

Your resume should do the same for the hiring manager. It’s a powerful tool to tell a story about the skills you will bring to the role. And the design of your resume is like the friendly face that accompanies your customer service skills, so don’t get caught with a messy layout.

Even top sales assistants should be able to ask for help, so consider using our online resume builder to make your life easier!