Maria Alves

I am a second-year Biomedical Sciences BSc (Hons) student at the University of Brighton seeking a part-time role. Over 4 years of experience in retail and hospitality, with strong customer service, teamwork, and multitasking skills developed through roles at Sainsbury's and Waitrose & Partners. Experienced in working in fast-paced environments across shop floor, checkouts, hospitality, and forecourt operations while maintaining excellent service standards and efficient time management.

Trading Assistant - Sainsburys - Newbury

(2025-06)

• Replenished and rotated stock to maintain product availability and quality standards.
• Carried out date checks and price reductions on short-dated items.
• Served customers on tills while following Challenge 25 procedures.
• Managed petrol forecourt operations by monitoring pump activity and authorising fuel purchases safely and responsibly.
• Developed strong observational and multitasking skills by balancing customer service with forecourt supervision in a busy environment.

Assistant/Hospitality - Waitrose & Partners - Newbury

(2021-12 - 2025-04)

• Worked across shop floor, checkouts, counters, and coffee shop departments in a fast-paced retail environment.
• Managed stock replenishment, stock rotation, reductions, and promotional layout changes.
• Provided excellent customer service and resolved customer queries and complaints professionally.
• Gained supervisory experience on checkouts by supporting colleagues and ensuring smooth transactions.
• Assisted with planning daily staffing and task allocation during service shifts to ensure efficient operations.
• Developed strong teamwork, communication, and time management skills while coordinating tasks across multiple departments.

Volunteer Worker - Stroke Care Home - Woolhampton

(2022-05 - 2022-06)

As a volunteer student I helped stroke survivors to complete their daily tasks such as exercising. This improved my communication skills greatly as I needed a different approach to talk to them, most of them had been through a lot and they were mainly elderly people. This experience taught me how to take care of patients and how I should help them so they can complete their tasks easier.

Volunteer Helper - Scope - Thatcham

(2021-09 - 2022-01)

• Completed thorough opening, closing and shift change functions to maintain operational standards each day.
• Kept clothing and displays clean and presentable by conducting assessments and deep cleans

BSc (Hons) - Biomedical Sciences - University of Brighton (2025-06)

BSc (Hons) - Biological Sciences - University of Brighton (2024-09 - 2025-06)

A-Levels - Maths, Chemistry, Biology - Kennet School (2019-05 - 2023-06)

GCSEs - Sciences, Computing, Maths, Business, History, English - Kennet School (2019-05 - 2023-06)