Director Of Merchandising Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Director Of Merchandising resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
As a director of merchandising, you’ll be responsible for managing the activities of your organization’s merchandising team. You’ll oversee the development of new products, the implementation of seasonal campaigns, and the creation of catalogues and other materials that showcase your company’s offerings to customers.
Because you work across multiple departments within an organization, you need excellent communication skills to help bridge the gaps between groups with different goals and perspectives. And because you’re tasked with creating a cohesive shopping experience for customers, you also need to be detail-oriented and organized.
Here are some tips and an resume example to help you write a compelling director of merchandising resume that hiring managers will love.
How to Write a Director Of Merchandising Resume
Here’s how to write a resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
The best way to make your resume stand out is to use specific examples and numbers. So rather than saying you “managed inventory,” you could say that you “reduced inventory by 15% through strategic sourcing and vendor negotiations, resulting in a $2 million savings for the company.”
The second bullet point is much stronger because it provides specific details about what you did and the results of your work. It also includes a quantifiable number to demonstrate the scale of the project and its impact on the company.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you submit your resume for a director of merchandising role, it’s likely that it will be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. This software looks for certain terms related to the job, like “merchandise planning” or “product placement,” in order to determine whether your skills and experience are a match for the job. If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right keywords, your application might not make it past the initial screening process.
To increase your chances of landing an interview, use this list of common director of merchandising keywords as a starting point to help you identify the skills and experience you should highlight on your resume:
- Merchandising
- Visual Merchandising
- Retail
- Store Management
- Retail Sales
- Fashion
- Apparel
- Trend Analysis
- Inventory Management
- Retail Buying
- Driving Results
- Loss Prevention
- Merchandise Planning
- Window Displays
- Marketing Strategy
- Inventory Control
- Store Operations
- Styling
- P&L Management
- Multi-channel Retail
- Vendor Management
- E-commerce
- Customer Experience
- Sales
- Adobe Photoshop
- Strategy
- Fashion Design
- Brand Development
- Product Development
- Design
Showcase Your Technical Skills
The technical skills section of your resume is one of the most important sections to focus on, as it can be the deciding factor in whether or not you get an interview. As a director of merchandising, you are responsible for managing the inventory of a store or company. This includes ordering merchandise, keeping track of sales, and managing the budget. To do this effectively, you need to be proficient in programs like Microsoft Excel and QuickBooks. You should also have experience with inventory management software, such as Fishbowl Inventory.
Including your technical skills on your resume will show potential employers that you have the necessary skills to effectively do your job.