Visual Merchandising Resume: Samples and Guide

Your visual merchandising resume is the in-store display for your career. If it lacks balance, focus, and simplicity, your job search is an empty storefront. But—you work with clothes, beauty, and home decor, not word processors. Writing a good resume for visual merchandising jobs is a massive pain!

Fear not. Once you know the rules, you’ll sell like weighted blankets. The product? Your skills. The customer? Hiring managers. Black Friday, here we come!

You’re about to see a visual merchandising resume example you can change to fit any visual merchandising position. You’ll also get simple steps to write a resume for visual merchander jobs that’ll land 10x more interviews than any other.

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.

Don’t need visual merchandiser resumes? See these guides:

• Cashier Resume Example
• Merchandiser Resume Example
• Retail Resume Example
• Retail Manager Resume Example
• Sales Associate Resume Example
• Sales Representative Resume Example
• Store Manager Resume Example
• Customer Service Representative Resume Example
• Fashion Resume Example
• Best Resume Examples

Sample Visual Merchandising Resume (Text Version)

Here’s how to write a visual merchandising resume step-by-step:

1. Start With the Right Format for a Visual Merchandising Resume

Pick the wrong visual merchandising resume format and you’ll look like a grubby endcap. The store manager will decide at a glance you’re not worth her time. But—choose the right fonts, margins, and resume layout, and you’ll come off like a doorway display at a Publix.

So—

Here’s how to format a visual merchandising resume template:

• Format: use the reverse-chronological resume format to put your Wegmans-level skills in the hot spots.
• Resume fonts: go with Cambria or other respected fonts for your best look.
• Font size: 11–12 points.
• Resume headings: 13–14 points.
• Resume margins: 1 inch.
• Line spacing: 1 to 1.15.
• File type: send PDF resumes unless the store says, “please send your resume in MS Word format.”

Write these resume parts:

• Header: your name and the proper contact information.
• Summary: give exposure to your resume’s best bits.
• Experience: stock this section with visual merchandising accomplishments.
• Education: include targeted school achievements.
• Skills: spotlight the ones the store asks for.
• Other sections: do you write fashion articles or speak a second language? There’s a place for that in your resume.

Just like you leave space between products, add white space between resume sections. Nothing kills a sales pitch like clutter. 

Thinking about the skills-based format? See our guide: How to Pick the Best Resume Format

2. Add Experience to Your Visual Merchandising Resume

Showing experience in a visual merchandising resume is like making a good specialty display. If you don’t highlight things the manager wants, she’ll breeze right by thinking about hat racks. But if you pick the right career moments to accentuate, you’ll create an interview stampede.

To customize your resume:

• Start with your freshest job title.
• Add the store name, plus years and months.
• Craft a two-line visual merchandising job description.
• Write about six bullet points.
• In your bullets, cite achievements with the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) formula.
• Add numbers to make it pop.
• Use resume action words and adjectives for an engaging read.

See these visual merchandising resume samples:

Visual Merchandising Job Description for a Resume

Wow. That’s Gucci vs Walmart. The first applicant aided, analyzed, designed, worked, surpassed, and trained. The second was responsible for things. The first one achieved 20%, 80%, 52%, and 25. The second is a question mark. But they’re both the same applicant! One just faced her product better.

In an entry-level resume list achievements from non-visual-merchandising jobs. Were you in retail? Did you ever design a display or ask customers about their preferences? Conduct polls or even work in a team? Those all require visual merchandising skills.

See these entry-level visual merchandising resume examples:

Entry-Level Visual Merchandising Resume Samples [Experience]

That first example will fly off the shelves. You’ve never been a visual merchandiser, but you’ve clearly got the chops. You used action words, percentages, and real in-store achievements. But work experience section #2 will get recalled. It sounds like what your manager told you to do, not how great you did.

Pro Tip: You’ll never write the perfect resume. But you can write a better one by making it an ATS-friendly resume. That comes down to tailoring your skills and education—and that’s next.

Making a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide, use ready-made content tailored to your job and have a resume ready in minutes.

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When you’re done, our free resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

3. Make Your Education Section Count

You’ll get a lot more job offers, if you use “try before you buy” in your visual merchandising resume. So—give employers every chance at glimpsing your ROI-getting skills. Add relevant coursework and in-school achievements to list your degree on a resume. Include school clubs, awards, or projects.

See this visual merchandising resume example:

Visual Merchandising Resume Example [Education]

That’s top-shelf. It’s short, but it shows you know your fashion front-to-back. Don’t have a degree in fashion? Even a degree in recreation can prove transferable skills. Those are skills like problem solving, interpersonal skills, and time management. They work in any career.

Haven’t graduated yet? See our guide: How to Put Your Education on a Resume

4. Put the Right Skills in Your Visual Merchandising Resume

Argh! Nobody is calling you. Why not? Well—in merchandising, “Talk to your customers” is rule #1. It’s the same with job search. You can’t just say, “Here’s my generic visual merchandising resume” and get results. You have to know what skills they want, and then share when you’ve used them.

So—

Start with this list of skills for visual merchandising resumes:

Visual Merchandising Resume Skills (Hard Skills)

• Display Creation
• Endcaps
• Specialty Displays
• Fashion Sketching
• Brand Promotion
• Garment Fitting
• Budgeting
• Trend Awareness
• Pricing
• Commercial Photography
• Consumer Research
• MS Office Skills
• Product Knowledge
• Supplier Management
• Communication
• Marketing Skills
• Adobe Photoshop
• Spatial Relations
• Design
• Commercial Awareness
• Computer Skills
• Photoshoot Experience
• Efficiency
• Presentation Skills

Visual Merchandising Skills (Soft Skills)

• Interpersonal Skills
• Collaboration Skills
• Written & Verbal Communication
• Conceptual Skills
• Active Listening
• Attention to Detail
• Organizational Skills
• Problem Solving
• Time Management
• Critical Thinking Skills

But—

Here’s how to select the best visual merchandising skills:

1. Make a list of your visual merchandising skills.
2. List the store’s skills from the job ad.
3. Make a third list of the skills that are in both lists 1 and 2.
4. Select the best soft skills and hard skills from list 3.
5. Add those resume keywords to your skills section.
6. Show the best times you used them in your bullet points.

See this visual merchandising resume example:

Say the store wants traffic analysis, seasonal theme development, and POP displays.

Visual Merchandising Resume Examples [Skills]

Visual Merchandising skills on a resume like that can get you hired at Costco. You showed your use of analysis, seasonal theme development, and POP display creation. Better still? You added the 30%, 20%, and 25% benefit to the store.

More skills please? See our guide: +30 Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume

5. Add Other Sections to Your Visual Merchandising Resume

“This job would be great if it weren’t for all the people.” Sounds funny, but the hiring manager wants to know you’re excellent to work with. That goes beyond your plain ol’ visual merchandising skills. So—show extracurricular accomplishments to prove you’re Best-Buy-ready.

Choose from:

1. Resume Certifications and Classes

Certifications won’t get you hired. But—they can make an entry-level visual merchandising resume stand out. The first of these will take a year. The rest are faster:

• Visual Merchandising Certificate
• Fashion Sketching
• Commercial Photography
• Photoshoots

2. Resume Volunteer Work

Have you taught children for free, walked dogs for your area shelter, or driven for Meals on Wheels? Giving your time shows great time management skills. It also proves collaboration and efficiency.

3. Languages on a Resume

Do the store’s customers speak Spanish, French, or Tagalog? If you do too, you’re in luck. List it in a dedicated languages section near your skills.

4. Professional Associations

If you’re a member of NASP, AMA, or a related association, add it to your resume for visual merchandising jobs. Association memberships can be the pig in the window that gets the job.

5. Conferences

Have you attended cons like EuroShop or the IRDC? They’re shorthand for employers. They show you’re passionate about merchandising and you’re always learning.

See these visual merchandising resume samples:

Visual Merchandising Resume Examples [Other Sections]

Pro Tip: How long should a resume be for visual merchandising? A one-page resume works best for most applicants. Make it longer if you’ve got shelves of achievements.

6. Write a Visual Merchandising Resume Objective or Resume Summary

Whoops! You ignored the hot spot in your resume. Now the store’s GM missed your best features. Avoid that—by giving a quick intro to your resume up top. Put yourself in the GM’s Bullboxers. What parts of your resume will sway her most? Spotlight those in your resume summary or resume objective.

How?

Here’s how to write a career summary:

1. Start with an adjective like innovative or dynamic
2. Add your title (visual merchandiser).
3. List your years of experience. (1, 3+, 8)
4. Say what you’ll do (increase sales at TFD).
5. Include the best visual marketing skills and moments hand-picked from the rest of your resume.
6. Cap it at about three lines.

See these career summary examples:

Visual Merchandising Resume Summary

That bad resume example is an empty shelf. Everything in it is proven, demonstrated and experienced, but where are the props? The first example has them.

Write a career objective in an entry-level visual merchandising resume. The “experts” used to say to talk about your work goals in an objective. They don’t say that anymore. Make yours a summary of your resume, with merchandising wins from school or from your personal life.

See these examples:

Entry-Level Visual Merchandising Resume Objective

Pro Tip: A marketing or sales internship can seriously help an entry-level visual merchandising resume. An internship on a resume counts as a job.

7. What About a Visual Merchandising Cover Letter?

“This job application looks like spam. I’m going to skip it.” You need a cover letter for your visual merchandising resume. Our HR statistics report found half the hiring managers require them. Why? Because resumes without them look like automatic applications sent by robots.

To write your cover letter:

1. Format your cover letter in the 3-paragraph style.
2. Start your visual merchandising cover letter with the GM’s name.
3. Write a Nordstrom-worthy opening paragraph for your cover letter.
4. Next, prove you’re familiar with the job duties in their ad.
5. Last, make a sales pitch to end your cover letter.

Pro Tip: Add your best 2–3 visual merchandising achievements that fit the store’s needs to your cover letter. A cover letter should say you can handle the job.

Read more: How To Write A Cover Letter in 8 Simple Steps and How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

Create my cover letter now

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

Here’s a recap of how to write a visual merchandising resume:

• Format your visual merchandising resume template in reverse-chronological order.
• Find visual merchandising skills in the online job listing.
• Write your work history section first.
• To get attention like a gondola, add merchandising achievements with the PAR formula.
• List your degree.
• Add bonus sections to show publications, volunteering, or a NASP membership.
• Write a visual merchandising cover letter to sightline your application

That’s it! Now, we’d love to hear from you: 

• What’s the most distressing part about writing a visual merchandising resume? 
• Is it too hard to think of your past accomplishments?
• Do you draw a blank when you try to start your cover letter?

Let’s chat below in the comments, and thanks for reading! 

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Sources

• https://sac.edu/AcademicProgs/HST/FDM/Pages/Visual-Merchandising-Certificate-(Untranscripted).aspx
• https://www.sessions.edu/online-courses/commercial-photography/
• https://www.ama.org/