How To Find Retail Work

Introduction

Retail work and occupations are many and involve performing jobs in the retail industry. This means working in department stores, auto parts, groceries, clothes and accessory shops and so on. The basic premise is that the entity sells a product or service to customers. You can find jobs in retail management, sales, and customer service. Therefore, retail positions can include acting as a store manager, sales associate or a retail buyer.

Step 1

Looking at job search sites is a good way to find retail work. You can do an online search for these types of sites. They are usually easy to use by just keying your search words for jobs you want to see. Narrowing down your choices is possible by entering a city or a ZIP code. This is a useful function if you are thinking of relocating and would already like to look for openings in the targeted city or location.

Step 2

Another place where you can find retail work is the newspaper. Check both local and national dailies for retail work and jobs. If your local council publishes newsletters, you can also look at their listings. Although the choices are not many, they have the advantage that they are specifically meant for your location. Your local Craigslist is also a good source of positions for retail work with many people reporting successes in finding jobs through their listings.

Step 3

Retail locations of department stores, fashion houses, and other kinds of shops have bulletin boards announcing available retail work positions. In other instances, these notices are glued on display windows especially if there is an urgency to fill the position or if there is seasonal hiring. Stay vigilant whenever you are out shopping. Apply as quickly as you can as these jobs tend to go fast. 

Step 4

Community boards in places of worship and communal recreation facilities might also announce retail work from private or small scale businesses. You might want to check this possibility. Take note of contact numbers and submit your applications as fast as you can.

Step 5

You can also do a general search of jobs and see which companies are offering positions. A good way to do this is to look at the Yellow Pages or at the National Retail Industry Association to find the list of retailers in your area for retail work. Even if you are not qualified for a particular position, you can always watch out for future openings or send unsolicited applications.

Step 6

Finally, having a good resume is always beneficial. Work on your CV and make sure that it highlights your retail experience. Depending on the retail work position, each requires different experience and education background. For example, if you are going to take up retail work as a buyer, you might need a BS degree in fashion design or marketing and must be willing to travel to retail locations. A potential retail analyst must be proficient in doing retail maths and strong skills in computing. However, most require work experience of at least two years in preferred areas of retail such as department stores, fashion houses or automotive dealers.

Tips

Don’t let experience requirements deter you from applying to a job. You can always try for retail work jobs where you do not fully meet the requirements, but you must also look at entry level positions. Check if there are possibilities for career advancement. Some ads display the career path of entry jobs until the top position is reached. For example, you might start doing retail work as a manager or buyer of cars, but then you can work your way up to senior buyer, assistant manager, manager, and then vice-president. It’s always a good choice over other retail work where there is no room for career advancement.

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