One specific CV challenge you might encounter as a cashier is articulating your customer service skills effectively to stand out to potential employers. Our guide offers tailored tips and examples to ensure your CV not only highlights your abilities but also resonates with the key competencies sought after in the retail industry.
- Design and format your professional cashier CV;
- Curate your key contact information, skills, and achievements throughout your CV sections;
- Ensure your profile stays competitive by studying other industry-leading cashier CVs;
- Create a great CV even if you happen to have less professional experience, or switching fields.
When writing your cashier CV, you may need plenty of insights from hiring managers. We have prepared industry-leading advice in the form of our relevant CV guides.
Structuring and formatting your cashier CV for an excellent first impression
The experts' best advice regarding your CV format is to keep it simple and concise. Recruiters assessing your CV are foremost looking out for candidates who match their ideal job profile. Your white space, borders, and margins. You may still be wondering which format you need to export your CV in. We recommend using the PDF one, as, upon being uploaded, it never alters your information or CV design. Before we move on to the actual content of your cashier CV, we'd like to remind you about the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS). The ATS is a software that is sometimes used to initially assess your profile. Here's what you need to keep in mind about the ATS:- All serif and sans-serif fonts (e.g. Rubik, Volkhov, Exo 2 etc.) are ATS-friendly;
- Many candidates invest in Arial and Times New Roman, so avoid these fonts if you want your application to stand out;
- Both single and double column CVs can be read by the ATS, so it's entirely up to you to select your CV design.
PRO TIP
Use font size and style strategically to create a visual hierarchy, drawing the reader's eye to the most important information first (like your name and most recent job title).
The top sections on a cashier CV
- Relevant Cash Handling Experience shows your proficiency in managing money.
- Customer Service Skills highlight your ability to interact positively with customers.
- Efficiency and Accuracy in Transactions demonstrate your attention to detail.
- Knowledge of POS Systems indicates your technical capabilities.
- Cashier-Specific Achievements reflect your success and dedication to the role.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight your numerical accuracy and ability to handle monetary transactions, demonstrating your trustworthiness and attention to detail when managing cash drawers and processing payments.
- Emphasise your customer service skills, including examples of how you've assisted customers, resolved issues, and maintained a friendly demeanour in busy retail environments.
- Showcase your experience with point-of-sale (POS) systems, inventory management, and any other relevant technology or tools that are essential in modern cashier roles.
- Mention your capability to work effectively in a team, collaborating with colleagues to ensure smooth operations and a positive shopping experience for customers.
- Include instances where you used initiative and problem-solving abilities to handle unexpected situations or overcome challenges specific to the cashiering role.
Recommended reads:
Our checklist for the must-have information in your cashier CV header
Right at the very top of your cashier CV is where you'd find the header section or the space for your contact details, headline, and professional photo. Wondering how to present your the name of the city you live in and the country abbreviation as your address;
- are tailored to the role you're applying for by integrating key job skills and requirements;
- showcase what your unique value is, most often in the form of your most noteworthy accomplishment;
- select your relevant qualifications, skills, or current role to pass the Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessment. Still not sure how to write your CV headline? Our examples below showcase best practices on creating effective headlines:
Examples of good CV headlines for cashier:
- Senior Retail Cashier | Customer Service Excellence | Cash Handling Expert | NVQ Level 2 | 10+ Years Experience
- Lead Cashier | POS Systems Specialist | Inventory Management | Team Leadership | 7 Years' Service
- Expert Checkout Operator | Sales & Refunds Pro | Time Management | 5 Years On-the-Job
- Junior Cashier | Entry-Level | Strong Numeracy Skills | Enthusiastic Learner | Recently Certified
- Experienced Payment Processor | Transaction Accuracy | Client Relations | 8-Year Track Record
- Checkout Supervisor | Efficient Queue Management | Staff Training | Cash Balance Proficiency | Over 6 Years
Catching recruiters' attention with your cashier CV summary or objective
Located closer to the top of your CV, both the summary and objective are no more than five sentences long and serve as an introduction to your experience. What is more, you could use either to entice recruiters to read on. Select the:
- Summary, if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience. Feature your most impressive accomplishments and up to three skills that are relevant to the job you're applying for;
- Objective, if you're just starting your career off. Provide your career goals and answer how you see the role you are applying for will match your professional growth.
Judging which one you need to add to your cashier CV may at times seem difficult. That’s why you need to check out how professionals, with similar to your experience, have written their summary or objective, in the examples below:
CV summaries for a cashier job:
- With over five years of dedicated experience as a cashier within bustling retail environments, skilled in using POS systems and known for an impeccable cash handling record, I have successfully managed transactions totalling over £1M, ensuring customer satisfaction and fostering repeat business.
- A dynamic professional bringing forth valuable industry experience spanning 7 years. My background in customer service and strong numerical acumen have been pivotal in accurately managing transactions for up to £500k per annum, achieving recognition as Cashier of the Year twice in my tenure.
- As a former hospitality manager looking to transition into retail cash handling, I bring 10 years of customer service expertise, with strong problem-solving skills and a flair for swift and precise transaction management. I am eager to apply these transferable skills to a new challenge, aiming to enhance operational efficiency.
- With a rich background in customer-facing roles in the food service industry, I am eager to leverage my interpersonal skills and rapid order processing experience to transition into a fast-paced retail cashier position, where my dedication to service excellence can contribute to upscale client experiences.
- Seeking to launch my career with an entry-level cashier position, I am enthusiastic about building my expertise from the ground up. My strong mathematical skills and keen eye for details prepare me to ensure accurate financial transactions and provide stellar customer service.
- I am a recent school leaver intent on bringing energy, commitment, and a fresh perspective to an entry-level cashier role. My objective is to develop invaluable cashiering skills, including efficient transaction handling and customer interaction, to contribute effectively to business success.
How to meet job requirements with your cashier CV experience
We've now reached the essence of your actual CV - your experience section. This is the space where you can list your career roles and on-the-job successes. Many candidates tend to underestimate just how much time and effort they should put into writing this CV section. Your experience shouldn't be a random list of your responsibilities, but instead:
- Match the job description with your skills, values, and accomplishments;
- Start each bullet with a strong action verb, followed up with one key skill and your outcome of applying this skill;
- Spotlight parts of your career history that are relevant to the job you're applying for.
Before we move on, make sure to check out some professional CV experience sections.
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Managed transactions with customers using cash registers, ensuring accuracy in all cash and card payments while providing excellent customer service.
- Processed refunds and exchanges while following company policies, maintaining a balanced till at the end of each shift.
- Assisted customers in finding products in the store, offering recommendations and informing them about current promotions to enhance their shopping experience.
- Maintained a clean and organised checkout area, restocking bags and ensuring all necessary supplies were at hand for efficient operations.
- Performed end-of-day till reconciliation with a high degree of accuracy, identifying and resolving any discrepancies promptly.
- Implemented upselling and cross-selling techniques at the point of purchase, contributing to an increase in average transaction value.
- Monitored and maintained the self-checkout stations, providing assistance and troubleshooting any issues customers encountered.
- Developed a strong knowledge of store products and layout, enabling quick response to customer inquiries and improving overall customer satisfaction.
- Collaborated with the security team to identify and prevent potential thefts, maintaining vigilance to ensure a safe shopping environment for customers and staff.
- Prioritised customer satisfaction by efficiently processing over 150 transactions per day and addressing inquiries to ensure a positive shopping experience.
- Managed cash drawer with high levels of accuracy, consistently balancing cash flows and receipts, and minimising discrepancies to less than 0.1%
- Collaborated with team members in implementing a new POS system which increased transaction speed by 30%, boosting customer throughput.
- Administered all monetary transactions in a fast-paced grocery environment, handling up to £10,000 daily with meticulous accuracy.
- Assisted in the training of new cashiers, creating training materials that improved the onboarding process by 25%.
- Took initiative to reorganise the checkout area, improving the overall flow and reducing customer wait times by 15%.
- Streamlined transaction processes which led to a reduction in checkout times, enhancing customer satisfaction ratings by 20%.
- Played a pivotal role in a year-long project to reduce shrink levels, which resulted in a 10% drop in losses due to improved transactional checks.
- Provided exemplary customer service, achieving a 95% positive feedback rate in mystery shopper evaluations.
- Implemented an upselling strategy at the point of purchase which led to a 5% increase in sales for promoted items.
- Maintained a complex multi-currency cash system, handling currency exchanges with a focus on precision, resulting in zero accounting errors during tenure.
- Deployed exceptional problem-solving skills to resolve customer disputes, ultimately recovering 30 potential lost sales through adept complaint handling and resolution.
- Independently managed the late-night cashiering station, ensuring secure financial transactions and accurate reporting in high-pressure situations.
- Instrumental in the product inventory tagging project, which reduced the inventory auditing time by approximately 40%.
- Regularly outperformed sales targets for loyalty card sign-ups, contributing to a storewide increase in loyalty program participation by 15%.
- Exceeded company targets by upselling add-on products, which contributed to a monthly average increase in basket size by 8%.
- Engaged with customers to provide high-quality service, resulting in being recognised as the 'Employee of the Month' four times for outstanding performance.
- Directed the successful rollout of a new electronic coupon system, reducing the time spent on processing discounts by 50%.
- Championed the adoption of contactless payment technology, speeding up transaction time by an average of 10 seconds per customer.
- Facilitated effective communication between the customer service team and cashiers, improving the resolution of pricing discrepancies by 30%.
- Keen eye for detail aided in the identification of a fraudulent banknote, which led to the implementation of improved counterfeit detection training for all cashiers.
- Orchestrated a cross-training program for cashiers to operate in multiple departments, which enhanced staffing flexibility and reduced labour costs by 5%.
- Received an award for 'Best Customer Service Experience' twice due to personal commitment to going the extra mile for customer satisfaction.
- Contributed to the quarterly analysis of transaction patterns, providing valuable insights that led to the optimisation of staffing schedules.
Swapping your professional experience (when you have none) with skills and more
Never underestimate the importance of relevancе when it comes to your cashier CV. Even if you don't happen to have much or any standard (full-time contract) professional experience, this doesn't mean you shouldn't apply for the role. Instead of a bespoke CV experience section:
- Showcase more prominently any internships, part-time roles, and volunteer experience that are applicable to the role and have taught you job-crucial skills;
- Feature a strengths or achievements section with your transferrable skills or talents you've obtained thanks to your work or life experience;
- Write an objective statement that clearly outlines your values as a candidate and defines your career ambitions;
- List your education or certificates that match the job profile closer to the top of your CV.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Describe how each job helped you grow or learn something new, showing a continuous development path in your career.
Hard skills and soft skills to showcase your unique skill set on your cashier CV
Did you know that your CV will mostly likely be assessed by recruiters based on skill alignment? And that means that the way you feature your key skills across different CV sections will play a crucial role in landing you that first interview. We recommend you add your:
- technical capabilities or hard skills in your CV experience, certificates, projects, etc. Use your past accomplishments to prove your technical capabilities. List up to a dozen different software or hardware in your dedicated skills section to match the job keywords;
- personal and communication skills or soft skills in your CV strengths, achievements, summary/ objective, etc. Soft skills are a bit more difficult to prove. How do you define your aptitude in active listening? So, instead of just listing the skill name, include a tangible metric to show your success.
On a final note, when you're in a hurry to create your profile, you may misspell a particular technology or soft skill. That's why we suggest you copy and paste the particular skill name (or keyword), directly from the job advert. This would also help you to pass any initial Applicant Tracker System (ATS) tests.
Top skills for your cashier CV:
Point of Sale (POS) Systems
Cash Handling
Basic Mathematics
Credit Card Transactions
Scanner Operation
Item Bagging
Product Knowledge
Barcode Scanning
Till Balancing
Financial Record Keeping
Customer Service
Communication
Attention to Detail
Multitasking
Time Management
Patience
Adaptability
Problem-Solving
Teamwork
Reliability
PRO TIP
If there's a noticeable gap in your skillset for the role you're applying for, mention any steps you're taking to acquire these skills, such as online courses or self-study.
Your university degree and certificates: an integral part of your cashier CV
Let's take you back to your uni days and decide what information will be relevant for your cashier CV. Once more, when discussing your higher education, select only information that is pertinent to the job (e.g. degrees and projects in the same industry, etc.). Ultimately, you should:
- List only your higher education degrees, alongside start and graduation dates, and the university name;
- Include that you obtained a first degree for diplomas that are relevant to the role, and you believe will impress recruiters;
- Showcase relevant coursework, projects, or publications, if you happen to have less experience or will need to fill in gaps in your professional history.
PRO TIP
Order your skills based on the relevance to the role you're applying for, ensuring the most pertinent skills catch the employer's attention first.
Recommended reads:
Key takeaways
What matters most in your cashier CV-writing process is for you to create a personalised application. One that matches the role and also showcases your unique qualities and talents.
- Use the format to supplement the actual content, to stand out, and to ensure your CV experience is easy to comprehend and follows a logic;
- Invest time in building a succinct CV top one third. One that includes a header (with your contact details and headline), a summary or an objective statement (select the one that best fits your experience), and - potentially - a dedicated skills section or achievements (to fit both hard skills and soft skills requirements);
- Prioritise your most relevant (and senior) experience closer to the top of your CV. Always ensure you're following the "power verb, skill, and achievement" format for your bullets;
- Integrate both your technical and communication background across different sections of your CV to meet the job requirements;
- List your relevant education and certificates to fill in gaps in your CV history and prove to recrutiers you have relevant technical know-how.