How To Write a Retail Customer Service Representative Resume

A retail customer service representative resume should highlight your ability to communicate effectively with diverse customers and upsell products. Draw attention to your professional achievements rather than simply listing mundane job responsibilities. This guide provides valuable tips to help capture the nuances of your career in a results-driven resume.

  • Entry-Level
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior-Level
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1. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your retail customer service representative qualifications

The profile is your first connection with the hiring manager. It should provide a brief summary of your most relevant qualifications and what sets you apart from other applicants. Key aspects to note in the profile for a retail customer service representative resume include your ability to provide customers with a positive experience and your focus on teamwork and collaboration.

Remember, this section should only be a few sentences long, so focus on what’s most important, such as previous retail experience or communication skills.

Profile Example #1


A Retail Customer Service Representative with three years of experience specializing in sales, client relations, communication, and team leadership. A proven track record of interfacing with diverse customers to resolve issues and identify products according to client needs.

Profile Example #2


A Retail Customer Service Representative with four years of experience, specializing in customer support, client relations, sales management, and communication. A strong history of interfacing with a broad range of customers to identify appropriate solutions and ensure satisfaction.

2. Showcase your retail customer service representative experience

Much of a retail customer service representative’s job includes being available to answer questions for customers and taking care of store duties, such as tidying shelves or handling the cash register. These day-to-day duties are important to include, but make your work history more professional by using numbers to quantify your experience.

Hiring managers are likely to prefer candidates who can show they achieved high customer satisfaction scores or increased revenue. Demonstrate this by including metrics such as how many customers per day you interfaced with or how much you exceeded sales quotas.

Professional Experience Example #1


Retail Customer Service Associate, Multiverse Games & Comics, Philadelphia, PA May 2020 – Present

  • Provide education to customers on video games, board games, comic books, and retail products, maintain product knowledge to deliver recommendations, and identify upsell opportunities to achieve 130%-150% of monthly sales quota
  • Field phone inquiries from prospective customers on collectible items, provide in-store support to customers in locating retail items, and achieve a 93% customer service score
  • Coordinate with retail associates to organize product inventory, address customer issues, and identify opportunities to drive process improvements

Professional Experience Example #2


Retail Customer Service Associate, BestBuy, New York, NY October 2019 – Present

  • Provide support to 25-35 customers per day, educate customers on electronics, payment plans, and rewards programs, and exceed monthly sales goals by 30%-40%
  • Identify solutions to customer issues, including defective products, refunds, store credit, and achieve customer satisfaction ratings of 91%-94% YOY
  • Coordinate with a team of 20+ retail sales and customer service associates to reduce customer wait times, identify appropriate solutions, and enhance daily operations

3. Include your retail customer service representative-related education and certifications

While many retail customer service representative positions won’t require any formal education, it’s always a good idea to include your highest level of education on your resume. Completing a degree shows the hiring manager you are dedicated and reliable, and it can qualify you for management positions in the future.

Any certifications or awards should also be listed in their own sections. Even something like winning employee of the month can set you apart from other applicants.

Education

Template

  • [Degree Name]
  • [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]

Example

  • Associate Degree in Business
  • Kent State University, Kent, OH | 2020

Certifications

Template

  • [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]

Example

  • Certified Customer Service Professional, National Customer Service Association, 2021

4. List your key retail customer service skills and proficiencies

The objective of your resume is to impress the hiring manager with your skills and qualifications. Anything that doesn’t fit into your professional experience bullets can be organized into a key skills list.

This list can include hard skills, such as familiarity with point-of-sale (POS) software or inventory management, or soft skills, such as de-escalation or cross-functional collaboration. Here are some of the most relevant key skills for retail customer service representatives below:

Key Skills and Proficiencies
Client relations Communication
Cross-functional collaboration Customer education
Customer relationship management (CRM) Customer satisfaction
Customer service Customer support
Inventory management Merchandising
Microsoft Office Suite Operations management
POS systems Process improvement
Product displays Retail customer service
Sales Team leadership
Upselling  

How To Pick the Best Retail Customer Service Representative Resume Template

Most basic resume templates are suitable for retail customer service representative jobs. Choose an option that has all of the sections you need already included so you can save time on formatting and only need to plug in your information.

It should be about one page long and well-organized, so it’s easy for a hiring manager to skim quickly. Stay away from anything that looks too casual, including templates with bright colors, design flourishes, or cluttered blocks of text.

Retail Customer Service Representative Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

  • Example #1
  • Example #2
  • Example #3

Cameron Malfara
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
123 Bedford Avenue, New York, NY, 12345

Profile

A Retail Customer Service Representative with four years of experience, specializing in customer support, client relations, sales management, and communication. A strong history of interfacing with a broad range of customers to identify appropriate solutions and ensure satisfaction.

Professional Experience

Retail Customer Service Associate, BestBuy, New York, NY
October 2019 – Present

  • Provide support to 25-35 customers per day, educate customers on electronics, payment plans, and rewards programs, and exceed monthly sales goals by 30%-40%
  • Identify solutions to customer issues, including defective products, refunds, store credit, and achieve customer satisfaction ratings of 91%-94% YOY
  • Coordinate with a team of 20+ retail sales and customer service associates to reduce customer wait times, identify appropriate solutions, and enhance daily operations

Retail Customer Service Associate, Target, New York, NY
June 2018 – October 2019

  • Responded to phone calls and in-store inquiries from retail customers, guided shoppers in locating products and merchandise, and communicated with empathy and understanding
  • Communicated with other local stores and departments to aid customers, resulting in a 91% customer service ranking over 12 consecutive months

Education

High School Diploma
Central Park East High School, New York, NY September 2014 – June 2018

Key Skills

  • Retail Customer Service
  • Communication
  • Sales
  • Upselling
  • Process Improvement

Frequently Asked Questions: Retail Customer Service Representative Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for retail customer service representative resumes?-

Start your bullet points with strong action verbs to create a more engaging experience for the hiring manager and increase your chances of moving on to the next round. Action verbs also let you incorporate keywords and language from the job description to tailor your resume. We’ve compiled a list of verbs to build your professional experience section:

Action Verbs
Communicated Conducted
Demonstrated Educated
Engaged Enhanced
Ensured Implemented
Interfaced Maintained
Managed Monitored
Organized Performed
Processed Provided
Resolved Supported
Trained Upsold
How do you align your resume with a job description?-

Job openings for both retail sales workers and customer service representatives are expected to decline over the next few years, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, this industry also experiences high turnover rates, which can improve your chances of finding an open position.

When you find a job that aligns with your goals, increase your chances of getting an offer by customizing your resume. This involves adjusting your word choice to mimic the job description and ensuring anything marked as a high priority is clearly identified in your resume.

A hiring manager may note that a retail customer service rep at an electronics store needs to be tech-savvy, be familiar with both PCs and Macs, and have experience with upselling and cross-selling. An example of a customized resume could include “tech-savvy” in the skills list, a bullet point about selling different computer systems, and the candidate’s successful upsell percentage in the profile.

What is the best retail customer service representative resume format?-

Most retail customer service representatives benefit from the traditional reverse chronological resume format. Starting with your most recent or current position, this format uses most of the space to provide a detailed work history. This ensures the hiring manager can see a strong track record of retail experience and get an idea of what you’ve done in other roles.

If you’re new to the industry or this is your first job, use other experiences, such as volunteer work or extracurricular activities, to show your skills and reliability.

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Expert Advice
Include a cover letter with your resume

Attaching a matching cover letter to your resume provides the hiring manager with more information about your skills and experience. Use bullet points to call attention to your accomplishments, and add a sentence or two about why you want to work for this company. Our customer service representative cover letter examples have ideas on what to include and how to structure your letter.

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Frank Hackett

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW)

Frank Hackett is a professional resume writer and career consultant with over eight years of experience. As the lead editor at a boutique career consulting firm, Frank developed an innovative approach to resume writing that empowers job seekers to tell their professional stories. His approach involves creating accomplishment-driven documents that balance keyword optimization with personal branding. Frank is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PAWRCC).

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