All About Retail: Sales Associates, Management, etc.

[pinkpalm]

what is a key holder?

 

[thesiren]

a really silly position/title that most chain companies use to place lots of responsibility on an employee without offering them the pay/benefits of being a manager.

i thought most companies had phased out "key holders" by now.

 

[Diorling]

Puma has "key holders," it's really annoying because the THINK they're managers or whatever and that I give a hoot about what they have to say...

They try...

 

[Astonish]

Maybe you should try MAC? MAC sounds like its funner than other counters, more traffic..

*Groan* I'm going to my last day at Rampage tommorrow. Wish me luck closing!

Funny thing is that I actually have applied at my local MAC about two weeks ago.

It felt really awkward to hand in my resume - especially when near 100% of their customers are females, and all of the Sales Associates looked so pretty.

When I went up to the SA behind the desk, I said - "I called in earlier today, and one of your sales associates stated you were hiring. Here's my resume."

She said - "Let me go get my manager so she could take a good look at you."

Guess MAC is nothing like GNC. But uh, I may be working at Aveda instead.

 

[ishopxD]

i think another way of "breaking in" is not automatically going for the sales position. my cousin got a job at dior as a cashier and her previous work experience is abercrombie & fitch.

 

[Yellow8]

Retail jobs in LA

Hi - First time poster here looking for some advise...
There is a chance that my boyfriend & I will relocate to LA for his job- we currently live in Cleveland, Ohio.

As a living, I currently work in advertising - selling air-time for a radio station for the past 3 yrs. I have a B.A. in Communications, minor in marketing. If I move to LA, I want to get out of the advertising business and work in retail, fashion has always been my true passion. - maybe in a boutique like Kitson or somewhere like Saks.
I have worked in retail before - the GAP and Wet Seal when I was in high school and throughout college.

Will it be hard to find a job at a high end boutique or at a dept store in LA?
I can always tranfer to a radio station in LA - but it's not something I'd be excited about. I'd like to make a new start in my career, even if it's part-time in retail. I know there will be a salary cut for me if I do this. But I have a feeling that I need to do this. Does anyone live in this area or have any suggesstions on a good place to start??? TIA.

 

[fashionlives]

getting a retail job

i was wondering, is getting a retail job in a clothing store, is this good on a resume to apply for jobs like advertising/design later on in the future?

also, is there any good tips when applying for retail positions

thankyou

 

[BetteT]

My opinion ... retail (in any kind of store, and particularily in clothing stores) is selling, pure and simple. If you aspire to be a great salesperson then retail will start you off in that. It won't lead to anything else but possibly store manager (where you are responsible for the total sales in the shop) or other selling jobs. If you are working for a high end store and learn something about the better lines and how they are constructed, that information can be helpful for you personally. But it's certainly not going to be impressive on a resume if you are applying for a fashion/design/advertising job.

Look for a entry level job ... mailroom, intern, receptionist, anything in the type of businesses that you want to work in. If it's fashion ... then work at a fashin design house, a fashion magazine, a fashion PR company ... I don't know ... do your research.

 

[glamourbebe]

hi there,
go on Craigslist.org and go in location [los angeles], then search in Retail jobs.. they sometimes have high end retail job postings
good luck w/ ur work. LA has a lot of opportunities, i believe there will be one for you!!!

 

[greeen]

I work for jobing.com and we're the largest locally focused job board site, be sure to put your resume on there, people get back to you pretty quickly on there, not sure if the perfect job for you is on there, as we've been around in the LA area for about 1.5 years but if the going gets tough and you need work, it should help a bit good luck!

 

[jeffrey0806]

craigslist is a really good place to look for jobs on.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/ret/

just on today's post you see james purse and monique lhuillier who are on the higher end of retail looking for various positions.

other than alot of the other stores you can just walk in and apply, as long as your avialability is basically open, you shouldn't have trouble finding a retail job in los angeles

 

[jeffrey0806]

actually retail is an extremely good thing to have on your resume. i disagree with the post above. if you don't know how to sell the product from a store, how in the hell would you be able to know what works in selling in advertising or even design. you need to know who your customer is, and one great way to start is by working in retail and seeing what sells and what doesn't. you have to learn about your customer before you assume you know what you're doing, and that everyone will have the same tastes you have.

retail humbles a person as well. you learn people skills.

 

[softgrey]

i agree jeffrey......

 

[5AvenueMarceau]

/\ Thats what I thought. Its horribly frustrating trying to get a retail job.

 

[smartarse]

Anyone can do retail. And certainly it's geared more to selling than anything else. you don't have to be an expert in designs or fashion. just know how to sell the product and most salesperson B.S their customers just to get a sale. Certainly it won't hurt to have it on your resume but if you want to get your foot in the door you do need to get the entry level position as what Bette noted. I see her point. If one wants to have an impressive resume you need to apply in the noted industry you want.

actually retail is an extremely good thing to have on your resume. i disagree with the post above. if you don't know how to sell the product from a store, how in the hell would you be able to know what works in selling in advertising or even design. you need to know who your customer is, and one great way to start is by working in retail and seeing what sells and what doesn't. you have to learn about your customer before you assume you know what you're doing, and that everyone will have the same tastes you have.

retail humbles a person as well. you learn people skills.

 

[shutterbug]

Oh this thread is perfect! This is exactly the path I am going down at the moment. I work in retail since I'm still in highschool and can only handle part-time. I am planning on studying business/communications in university and I would eventually like to make a career in marketing (with more of a focus on advertising). I would love to hear anyone's opinions on this subject! Fire away

 

[pinkpalm]

the thread all about sales associates is good too...

 

[jeffrey0806]

i think it's also good to stay with a retail store for a very long while instead of jumping from company to company every 3 months. it just makes you look flakey, and a commitment to a store for more than a year or two, looks only favorable fo you/

 

[BetteT]

actually retail is an extremely good thing to have on your resume. i disagree with the post above. if you don't know how to sell the product from a store, how in the hell would you be able to know what works in selling in advertising or even design. you need to know who your customer is, and one great way to start is by working in retail and seeing what sells and what doesn't. you have to learn about your customer before you assume you know what you're doing, and that everyone will have the same tastes you have.

retail humbles a person as well. you learn people skills.

I agree that retail is good for honing your people skills ... that you learn a lot about people by selling. That can't hurt a bit ... any good life experience is helpful in almost all careers. But it doesn't qualify you for jobs in other areas of fashion.

I still maintain that you need a lot of other things going for you and the most important of all is contacts ... which means you should work where the people, who already do what you eventually want to do, work ... at the magazine, at the fashion house, at the P.R. firm, the ad agency, not at the retail store.

Marketing and advertisng don't usually have you in contact with the customer anyway ... you are dealing with concepts, research, budgets, media, copywriters, art directors and everything else behind the scenes to produce the right product and then to publicize it. You create the demand for the product and motivate customers to visit the stores.

Then, the salesperson must sell it to whoever walks in and they can only sell what they have been given to sell ... the store inventory.

Selling is all about qualifying (asking questions to find out who is a serious buyer and what the budget is), your presentation of your product (promoting benefits not features) and knowing how and when to close the sale (when the buyer gives you buying signals), and knowing how to kick it up and cross sell other products on top of what the customer just bought. As a successful saleperson, you can take those skills into any other industry and you can make a lot of money in the right job .... but you will still be a saleperson.

 

[mcswirlgirl]

I work at Nordstroms now as a SA in the juniors department. I think I'm a pretty decent seller, but there's an issue with customers not remembering who helped them (even if I told them my name), and I'm suspicious of other employees stealing my sales. What should I do?