Ready for a career in retail?
There are many reasons why you might want to work in the retail industry. But with some of the best roles being fairly competitive in terms of applications, it’s always important to know how to stand out from the crowd. And it starts with your cover letter.
We’ve already discussed how to write a Retail CV, but to really sell your customer service skills and other valuable transferable skills to the hiring manager, here’s our cover letter template for retail assistant jobs:
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Opening the letter
Start with the standard letter opening: address and name of the hiring (if you know it). After this, briefly explain what position you’re applying for and where you found it.
If the job was advertised on a website, mention which one it was. Alternatively, if someone referred you to the contact, also mention their name here.
Example:
I am writing to apply for the role of Retail Assistant currently being advertised on Reed.co.uk. Please find enclosed my CV for your consideration.
Second paragraph – Why are you suitable for the job?
With the opening sorted, it’s time to focus on detailing your suitability for the Retail Assistant role.
Briefly, explain any academic or vocational qualifications that are relevant to the role. These could be GCSEs, A-Levels or a Diploma. Don’t forget to refer to some skills that are needed for the role. Note: If you’re not sure what these are, they’ll be mentioned on the job description.
If you have any relevant experience, you can also include it here to help impress the hiring manager.
If you have little or no experience to mention, don’t panic. Instead, talk about your personal skills or attributes that make you a great Retail Assistant.
Also, don’t forget to detail any awards that you were accredited that are relevant to the role. For example, if you won employee of the month or if you scored highly for your customer service skills in a secret shopper survey.
Example:
As you see from my attached CV, I have nine GCSEs including a B in Maths. I also have two years of experience in the retail industry. I believe the knowledge and skills built up during this time make me the perfect candidate for your Retail Assistant role.
How to use job descriptions to land your dream role
Third paragraph – What can you do for the company?
Use real, quantifiable examples to emphasise what you can do for the company. Ideally, these will be performance based, for example, from your current role, previous positions, or volunteering roles.
Retail Assistants are primarily focused on making sales, so it will help your cover letter to stand out if your examples include measurable results. Saying I increased X company’s revenue by X % sounds more impressive than I increased X company’s revenue.
Other (role-specific) examples you could choose to include are your experiences with managing stock and inventory levels, handling customer complaints or organising customer deliveries.
Example:
In my current role as Retail Assistant at Retail World Ltd, I have been responsible for increasing sales in their pet accessories department by 40% in under 12 months. This has contributed to a 15% increase in the company’s revenue.
My excellent customer service skills and my ability to communicate clearly have contributed to the increase of the company’s five star reviews on Trustpilot. Also, I’m regularly mentioned in these reviews as being an excellent employee for the company.
Cover letter examples and samples
Fourth paragraph – Reiterate
This is where you reiterate your interest in the role and summarise what makes you the perfect candidate.
Example:
I am confident I can bring this level of success with me to your company and help Pet World Ltd strengthen its reputation as one of the leading retailers of pet accessories in the UK. Add to this my passion for helping people (not to mention animals) and I believe my contribution will have an immediate impact on the business.
Closing the letter
Thank the employer for their time. It’s also the perfect opportunity to indicate to the employer that you’d like to meet for an interview.
Sign off the letter with ‘Yours sincerely’ (if you know the name of the hiring manager), or ‘Yours faithfully’ (if you don’t know their name), and your name.
Example:
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to meeting you to discuss my application further.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
Final thoughts
Remember: Just as with our free cover letter template, this template is designed to be tailored to the Retail Assistant job you’re applying for and not copied word-for-word.
Before you start preparing your cover letter, take some time to research the company and the role, and consider how your skills and experience make you the perfect candidate. Then do the same for every retail assistant job you apply for.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to rewrite the entire letter each time, but by tailoring details to match the job description, you’ll stand out more to the hiring manager than if you had simply sent a generic cover letter.
Still searching for your perfect retail position? Search all available retail assistant jobs now.
