Kew
One column of plain text, which the online systems large retailers use read reliably.
Use this design: KewFree retail CV template
For sales assistants, customer assistants, supervisors and store managers, from supermarkets to the high street.
- Free, no watermark
- PDF, plus a Word copy
- UK format
The best designs for retail CVs
Picked for how retail CVs are read in the UK. Each one is free, and your CV works in every design, so you can switch at any time.
Banner
A bold colour band gives a CV you hand in at the counter a bit of presence, without getting in the way.
Use this design: BannerOne Page
Keeps a short work history on one tidy page, for store managers who read between serving customers.
Use this design: One PageWant more choice? See every design, or browse by style: Simple Modern Professional Creative Graduate and student One page IT and technical
Previews show made-up sample CVs. Yours will show your own details, in the colour and font you choose.
What to put on a retail CV
Retail is one of the most common first jobs in the UK, and one of the most common part-time ones. Large retailers mostly recruit through online applications, sometimes with a short online assessment, so a clear one-column CV that uses the advert’s words goes a long way. Smaller shops may still want a printed CV handed to the manager.
Whoever reads it wants three answers quickly: can you serve customers well, can you be trusted with the till and stock, and when can you work.
Whatever the job, the UK CV format applies: your name and contact details, a short profile, experience with the most recent first, then education and skills. No photo, age or date of birth.
Your availability
Days, evenings, weekends and holidays, how many hours you want and your notice period. Put it near the top: it is often the first thing a store manager checks.
A short profile
The kind of store you know (food, fashion, homeware, electricals) and what you are good at, such as helping customers choose or keeping a busy shop floor tidy.
Experience
Tills and self-checkouts, cashing up, deliveries and replenishment, visual merchandising, click and collect, refunds and loyalty sign-ups. Add a result where you have one, such as a sales target you beat.
Training
Challenge 25 or age-restricted sales, food hygiene for food stores, manual handling, first aid and keyholding.
For supervisors and managers
The size of the team and store you run, rotas, recruitment and training, and the measures you were judged on: sales against target, availability, shrinkage or mystery shop scores.
Skills and keywords for a retail CV
From our skills guides and CV examples for this job. Use the ones that are true for you, in the words of the job advert, so recruiters and applicant tracking systems find them.
- Customer service
- Sales and upselling
- Cash handling and tills
- Self-checkout supervision
- Stock replenishment
- Deliveries and stock processing
- Visual merchandising
- Refunds and exchanges
- Challenge 25
- Loss prevention
- Click and collect
- Keyholding and cashing up
- Loyalty sign-ups
See it filled in
The example CVs are illustrations written with AI. The people in them are fictional.
Retail CVs: your questions
What should I put on a retail CV with no experience?
Anything that shows you are good with people, reliable and careful with money: school or college, volunteering in a charity shop, sports teams or helping at events. Say when you can work, and keep it to one page.
Should I put my availability on my CV?
Yes. In retail it is one of the first things a manager checks. A line such as "Available weekends, evenings after 4pm and full time over Christmas" near the top helps.
How do I write a CV for a retail manager job?
Lead with the size of what you run: the store or department and the team, then the results you were measured on, such as sales against target, availability or shrinkage. Show how you recruit, train and plan rotas.
Should I hand my CV in to the shop?
For independent shops and smaller chains, a printed CV handed to the manager at a quiet time can work well. Most large retailers ask you to apply online instead.
Keep going
- Free CV checkerA CV Score out of 100 for the job you want, and the fixes to make first, in about 30 seconds.
- Cover letterA cover letter in the same design as your CV, with your signature.
- CV examplesExample CVs by job and level, to borrow structure and wording from.
Read next: Part-time job CV for students First CV with no experience CV mistakes that cost interviews
CV templates for other jobs: Customer service Hospitality Nurse Healthcare assistant Care worker Teacher Teaching assistant Administrator Receptionist Accountant Project manager Sales Marketing Software developer Electrician and trades Warehouse School leaver Apprenticeship Part-time job Career change
Found the one? Make it yours
Add your CV, pick a design and download it. Free, with no watermark and no page limit.