Merchandising Manager Resume Examples
A merchandising manager oversees the sourcing and purchasing of products that make up a retail business’s inventory. Depending on the organization’s size, a merchandising manager may be responsible for an entire chain of stores or a particular section of their inventory, like kids wear or home decor.
Most entry-level applicants who eventually fill these types of positions have earned a bachelor’s degree, typically in business, engineering or social sciences, according to DataUSA. To help bolster your own odds of landing a merchandising manager role, our merchandising manager resume example can show you how to write a resume that’ll impress recruiters.
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What is a Merchandising Manager?
A merchandising manager’s main role is to source products, establish strong relationships with vendors, maintain inventory and purchase products for their retail company. The job requires devising merchandising strategies and analyzing market trends, as well as forecasting the price and future demand of different products.
Depending on the scope of their individual role within a company, they may also plan product displays to attract customers and drive sales in individual store locations. On average, according to Salary.com, merchandising managers make between $102,204 and $130,787 in the United States each year.
What Makes This a Great
Merchandising Manager Resume Example?
Our merchandising manager resume example will help you gain a better sense of the skills and experience needed to impress hiring managers. Each of our examples is built by certified resume writers with a deep understanding of what these recruiters want to read.
Here are some benefits of using our examples as writing guides:
- Professional-level content: Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to automatically scan applicants’ resumes for relevant keywords. The above example includes such job-specific keywords as “sales trend analysis” and “merchandise planning.” Our Resume Builder also has even more pre-written content that will help your resume pass an ATS scan with flying colors.
- Appropriate format choice: Deciding on the right resume format is a critical part of putting together a resume. This example uses a chronological format to highlight the entire career progression of this highly experienced candidate. Mid-level professionals, on the other hand, might be better off choosing a combination format to focus on skills and experience equally.
- The right resume template: Picking a resume template that fits the role you’re applying to is a good way to convince recruiters you’re right for a role. Each of our examples use one of our builder’s many template options to show how to make your resume look the part for the merchandising manager job you want.
3 Merchandising Manager Professional Summary Examples
The professional summary is usually the first part of your resume that a recruiter reads. Follow our examples to learn how to succinctly communicate your top qualifications and make a great first impression, or use our Resume Builder for extra writing guidance.
Here’s a handful of example summaries our builder might offer you:
- Versatile and goal-driven merchandising manager with over 12 years of experience in store and inventory management, product planning and sales. Led a team of 15 purchasing professionals and managed a nationwide division including menswear, womenswear and home decor. Implemented new pricing strategies for various product categories that led to a 45% increase in yearly profits.
- Dynamic merchandising manager with strong leadership skills and nine years of experience. Managed vendor acquisitions, cost negotiation, product line development and product performance reports for over 10,000 retail products. Created a new customer rewards system that increased membership application rate by 30%.
- Self-motivated creative thinker with four years of experience in retail merchandising management. Key responsibilities include supervising merchandise presentation and store management, recruiting and training sales teams, resolving product-related complaints and more. Promoted to manager position within a year after implementing innovative cost-reduction initiatives.
3 Merchandising Manager Work Experience Examples
A well-written work experience section that includes quantifiable career accomplishments can immediately prove your worth to recruiters. Use our resume examples as inspiration or use our Resume Builder’s pre-written content for help in writing this section the right way.
Below are three more examples from work experience sections you could customize in our builder:
- Negotiated pricing and established contracts for inventory spanning over 200 store locations.
- Initiated several promotions across footwear outlets that led to a 35% increase in sales.
- Led team of eight top-performing merchandising agents; grew department by 40% over two years.
Top Skills for Your Merchandising Manager Resume
Our examples and Resume Builder show you how to reflect in your resume the skills job descriptions call for. Use these recommended, industry-relevant skills, curated by our resume experts, to better catch recruiters’ attention.
Below are some additional examples of hard and soft skills for a merchandising manager’s resume:
Hard Skills
- Store and inventory management
- Business administration
- Budgeting and cost accounting
- Product management
Soft Skills
- Exceptional leadership skills
- Strong negotiation skills
- Excellent analytical skills
- Conflict resolution
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Merchandising Manager FAQs
- What are a merchandising manager’s responsibilities?
- What qualifications are needed to be a merchandising manager?
- How should you write achievements on your merchandising manager resume?
What are a merchandising manager’s responsibilities?
A merchandising manager’s responsibilities include sourcing and planning products for a retail store or a chain of stores, and sometimes only pertain to a specific in-store section like electronics or home decor. The job involves researching consumer trends, forecasting product demand, identifying vendors, negotiating prices, and training inventory and distribution staff. A merchandising manager also must collaborate with marketing teams to set promotional and business goals and analyze sales reports and budgets.
What qualifications are needed to be a merchandising manager?
A bachelor’s degree in finance, business or supply management is usually needed to qualify for roles like that of a merchandising manager. Typically a mid-level job, these positions demand some experience in the retail sector. You might also further specialize in marketing, merchandising, retail management or sales by pursuing a related Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree.
How should you write achievements on your merchandising manager resume?
List your achievements throughout your professional summary and work experience section, and describe how your performance positively impacted your past employers. Give measurable examples of your most significant achievements. For example, “Grew sales of a low-performing product from 10% to 50% with innovative marketing strategies” is a great way to demonstrate exactly what you can bring to a new company.
