Getting Beyond the Counter: How to Write a Retail CV
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Action verbs give your CV power and direction. Try to begin all statements with an action verb. Here are good ones for various retail skills:
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Administrative Skills
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Creative Skills
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Financial Skills
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Interpersonal Skills
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· catalogued
· generated
· organised
· processed
· systemised
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· conceptualised
· created
· designed
· established
· fashioned
· invented
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· analysed
· balanced
· budgeted
· forecast
· marketed
· planned
· projected
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· assessed
· coached
· diagnosed
· facilitated
· persuaded
· represented
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Management Skills
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Research Skills
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Technical Skills
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· administered
· improved
· coordinated
· analysed
· evaluated
· directed
· developed
· supervised
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· evaluated
· identified
· organised
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· calculated
· designed
· programmed
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Yana Parker, author of 'The Damn Good Resume Guide', recommends, "Remove everything that starts with 'responsibilities included' in your CV. Replace that with on-the-job accomplishments.
Here's one good way to do this: Fill your CV with 'PAR' statements. PAR stands for Problem-Action-Results. Here's how it works:
- State the problem that existed in your workplace.
- Describe what you did about it.
- Specify the beneficial results.
Here's an example: 'Increased lagging department sales 17 percent to 23 percent each quarter in one year by redesigning displays, improving advertising, and enhancing customer service.'"
CVs are your way of advertising yourself to potential employers. Make sure that your impression is a positive one. CVs are designed to capture a potential employer's interest, so they will want to interview you. A good CV helps the employer predict how well you might perform in your desired future job, and how well you may fit within the company's style and philosophy.
