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Resume keyword checker for retail associates

Paste your resume and a retail associate job posting. See which of the posting's keywords your resume shows and which are missing.

Your resume stays in your browser: what you paste or open here isn't sent anywhere unless you choose to continue. This page counts visits with Google Analytics and runs no advertising pixels.

The checker runs in your browser. Keyword coverage is which of this job's keywords your resume shows, in any word form. It is a tailoring guide, not an ATS score and not a prediction of interviews. Add a keyword only where it's true for you. If you have done the work, say so in the job's words. If you haven't, leave it out.

Sample retail associate posting

Sample posting, written by CareerGenius for this page (the employer is fictional). In the checker, replace it with the job you're applying to.

Retail Sales Associate
Wide World Importers (sample employer), part time, weekends required

About the job
Help customers find what they need, keep the store looking great and check customers out quickly.

What you'll do
- Greet and help customers on the sales floor
- Operate the cash register and POS system, and handle cash accurately
- Process returns and exchanges
- Restock shelves, merchandise displays and help with inventory counts
- Share current promotions and suggest add-on items
- Follow loss prevention procedures
- Keep the store clean and organized

What we're looking for
- Customer service experience in retail, food service or similar
- Cash handling experience
- Friendly communication and teamwork
- Able to work weekends and holidays
- Able to stand for a full shift and lift up to 30 pounds

Keywords in this sample retail associate posting

Read from the sample posting above by the same rules the checker uses. Real postings for this role vary, so paste the one you're applying to.

  • Cash handling
  • Communication
  • Customer service
  • Teamwork
  • Food service
  • POS
  • Cash register
  • Inventory
  • Loss prevention
  • Promotions
  • Returns and exchanges
  • Sales floor
  • Merchandise displays
  • Restock shelves

Wording true retail associate experience in the job's terms

  • Use the store words the posting uses: customer service, cash handling, POS, returns and exchanges, merchandising, restocking, inventory.
  • If you ran a register, say so, and name the system if you know it (Square, a POS system).
  • Upselling and promotions are often listed. If you suggested add-on items or signed customers up for a store card, say it plainly.
  • Food service, events and volunteer work count as customer service. Describe the customer part of the work.

How it works

  1. Paste your resume. Paste the text, or open a PDF or Word file. The file is read in your browser.
  2. Paste the job posting. The checker lists the posting's keywords: tools, credentials and skill phrases, requirements first.
  3. See found and missing. Each keyword is checked against your resume as whole words in any form, so "managed inventory" counts for "inventory management".
  4. Fix what is true. Add the missing keywords that describe experience you really have, in your own bullets, then check again.

Keywords are read from the posting by fixed rules, without AI: tool and product names, certifications and other capitalised terms, common skill phrases, items in the posting's skill lists, and phrases the posting repeats. Requirements count most. Remove any that don't fit, or add your own.

Tailor your resume to this job

Suggest rewrites your resume in the job's terms, only from what's true: it works from your own resume and this job, and you keep or discard each change.

Free to start, no credit card required. Continuing sends your resume and this job to CareerGenius so it can suggest rewrites.

Questions

I have never worked retail. What can I list?

Any work with customers or cash: food service, a school store, events, volunteering. Describe what you did in the posting's words.

Should I list my availability on my resume?

A short line is fine if the posting asks for weekends or holidays and you can work them.

Is this an ATS score?

No. No tool can tell you how a particular employer's system will rank your resume, so CareerGenius doesn't show an ATS score, a pass rate or your odds of an interview. Keyword coverage only shows which of the posting's keywords your resume states.

Is my resume uploaded or stored?

No. The check runs in your browser. Your resume and the job text aren't sent to CareerGenius or anyone else unless you choose to continue to tailoring, which needs a free account. The page counts visits with Google Analytics (the page address, not what you paste) and loads no advertising pixels.

Why is a keyword I have marked missing?

The checker looks for the keyword itself in any word form ("managed" for "management"), not for a synonym. If you did the work but described it differently, use the posting's word where it is accurate.

Should I add every missing keyword?

No. Add a keyword only where it's true for you. A resume that claims a skill you don't have can cost you the interview, and the job.

Do I need an account?

No account is needed to check keywords. An account is needed only to save your resume and get rewrite suggestions for a job.

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