A big one is retail. Whether talking to friends or reading career/job message boards and forums the topic comes up again and again. “I’m thinking about working retail…”
Often times people are asking what are the best retail jobs to work, is it worth taking a retail job or should they continue looking for a job in their former industry
Today were going to tell you about a few of the positives about working a retail job. Don’t get it twisted, there definitely are negatives from being micromanaged and treated like a child to disrespectful customers to having to work nights and weekends but people are often surprised that retail pays better than they would have thought and there are some other positives as well.
Today were going to cover what those positives are. Check back for a follow up article about the negatives of working retail. Most of them all tend to revolve one way or another about micromanaging.
Low Stress
Most retail jobs tend to be more low stress. Sure retail can be fast paced and that may be stressful to some people but overall retail is pretty low stress.
Your not taking your work home with you. Most situations that could arise in a retail setting are not life and death stressful situations.
Unless you’re a manager your probably not all that concerned about numbers and reporting to your higher ups.
Overall retail tends to be pretty low stress. Though retail has opportunities for advancement I think most people reading this article are looking at it as more of a temporary thing until the economy improves so use this time your working retail as a time to distress and get ready for your next career move.
Work Life Balance
I suppose this kind of goes with low stress but you can’t beat the work life balance of a retail job. Unless you’re a manager it’s highly unlikely that you even have a company laptop meaning you don’t have to take work home with you.
Personally I love the idea that when I punch that time clock nobody can both me until I come back to work. Yeah you can try calling my cell phone to get me to cover Jimmy’s shift but I’m not picking it up.
You really can’t beat leaving work and really be leaving work. No calls on your blackberry, no emails to check, no customer calls to take. When you leave work and punch that time clock you are off the clock.
Laid Back Atmosphere
Again this essentially boils down to number one which is low stress but retail tends to be a pretty laid back atmosphere. Most likely your working with some younger people who more often than not take life and work a little less serious, in a good way that is.
Though retail can be fast paced there’s really no dire situations going on.
Best of all depending on the retail establishment you work for, your coworkers and managers there’s often downtime to hang out, do homework, read a book, etc. Like I said though, don’t expect this of every retail job. It is common in certain retail settings though.
Pay / Benefits / Room For Advancement May Be Better Than You Think
A few years ago I was working a retail job and a buddy of mine was offering to put my resume into his company.
I appreciated the offer and actually took him up on it but I think he was under the impression I was making very little money, had no benefits, etc.
Now obviously this job he was offering to me was much better than my retail job but the point being retail doesn’t pay as bad as you think and some companies actually have pretty darn good pay and benefits.
Many retail jobs even just as your average sales consultant and not a manager have the ability to make 35k a year. With bonuses or commissions you may even be able to do better than that, and obviously as a manager or supervisor your going to get even better pay.
Obviously that’s not huge money but it’s about equivalent to what most companies are offering to entry level grads assuming it’s not a specialized industry like accounting or engineering or something along those lines.
The key to finding a good paying retail job with a good work environment in my opinion is to find a retail job that requires some level of skill or knowledge that the average person doesn’t have.
Working at the Dollar Store for example really all you need to know is how to run a register there’s really no specific product knowledge or industry knowledge needed.
On the other hand working at a store like Gander Mountain you need to have knowledge about guns and gun safety, climbing equipment, tents, camping, etc.
Basically any specialty shop, bank, currency exchange, etc is going to require some additional industry knowledge or product knowledge and you will most likely be paid more accordingly.
Many retail jobs also have great benefits. Health benefits, dental benefits, and 401k programs matching up to 6%.
Misc.
The last category or positives about working a retail job is miscellaneous. A lot of these items will depend on the industry, the company your working for and even how laid back your supervisor is but these are a few more potential positives about working retail.
You can generally get the job quickly, your most likely not going to be doing any 5 round interviews for a retail job.
Flexible schedules is another plus. You can generally swap shifts with a coworker, you may also get weekdays off as there’s a good chance you’ll be working at least one weekend day as a retail employee, however that leaves you time to interview during the week without having to take vacation days or play sick.
Store discounts. Okay were reaching here but every dollar you save helps. If you happen to get a job at a retail store you often shop at or who’s merchandise you like your saving a few extra bucks with your employee discount.
Finally is time to do other things. This is very dependent on the retail setting your working in, your manager, the company, etc but you oftentimes will have free time during downtime or slow times to do your own thing whether it be reading a book, playing on the internet on your phone or maybe even studying if your going to grad school or taking some other kind of class while your working retail and preparing to re-enter your career.
The long and short of it is that retail probably isn’t as bad as you think. The pay probably isn’t half bad if you follow our advice on the type of retail job to get.
The work life balance may be a nice change of pace for you, the laid back atmosphere may be just what you need while recharging your battery and if your going back to school to get a masters or something retail may be the perfect low stress job to keep some money coming in and give you time to study on the job.
Retail isn’t all puppy dogs and ice cream, there’s parts of it that really suck and most all retail jobs involve micromanaging but a follow up article covering the cons of retail is coming out in a day or two. Retail isn’t all bad though and if your between jobs and considering taking a retail job I’d recommend you do.
While I'm sure that some retail environments are like this, and I don't mean to undermine your post...but my job is definitely not this.
ReplyDeleteI know there are jobs out there with low stress. I wish I had one. I get calls every day from both local or higher management, asking about numbers, followed by wasting my time getting screamed at for not magically turning 25% of my sales into a small section of products.
Then I clock out, sure. I go home, relax for a few minutes, and then deal with management on my ass again, talking about either sales or scheduling. There is no work-life balance--if you are taking their 7.25 per hour, you are their bitch.
As you said, a laid-back retail experience is not something that every store has, and mine isn't one of them. I'm not gonna harp on that too much, but if I'm not moving constantly (or pretending to because I ran out of work to actually do), I get the can.
Pay? Benefits? HA! Minimum wage with zero benefits. No chance for raising wages unless promoted, but the company will 99% of the time, hire from the outside, which is why we have so much upper management who know jack squat about the dangerous products that we force on unsuspecting customers.
Flexible schedule...? ...Kind of. My manager does respect my class schedule, but only because his daughter is also in school and understands. He made it clear to me, though, that after I leave, he's not hiring someone in school again. Besides that, I work when he tells me, on the dot, more often than not with less than two or three hours notice.
Short other thing...you mention we have time to do other things. And we do. If we want to get fired. It's the same as any other job.
Besides what you mentioned, we're treated like children from both management and customers--most of which act far more immature than is reasonable. You really do not understand how disgusting America's consumerism is until you stand in front of some of the customers in every-day situations. It's appalling and disgusting how demanding and enamored with the feeling of entitlement they are, obviously never having worked hard in their lives.
Yes, I'm leaving my job because I'm moving for school. No, I am not returning to the same company. And no, I don't think I can find a different job outside of retail. Yes, I'm trying.
I'll be posting an article about the negatives of working retail and pretty much everything you mentioned is on that list.
ReplyDeleteI think most of it boils down to being micromanaged to the point of treating employees like children.
Like I mentioned in the article, some retail environments are going to be much more pleasant than others.
There are many retail establishments that are only open Monday through Friday and many that work on banking hours and not nights and weekends. If you work at a store that's open 9am-9pm 7 days a week your going to have to work some undesirable schedules.
I also pointed out that certain retail jobs that require some specific industry knowledge or skill, handling large amounts of cash, etc tend to pay better than others.
There are definately some retail jobs out there where you can make $13-$16 an hour which isn't big bucks but isn't horrible. There are retail jobs that have matching 401k programs and decent health benefits.
Check back for the next post about the negatives of working retail and I think we will have some common ground there.
Also Monkat, if your interested in doing some guest blogging about your experience would love to have you write an article for Rules For Rebels.Com
I often see people on various job/work/career forums asking questions about retail and considering taking a retail job because of the tough economy.
ReplyDeleteI never said retail has to be your career or even long term job, however with some people sitting on the sidelines for 1, 2, even 3 years waiting for another job in their industry, waiting for that perfect job to come along, retail isn't a terrible job to keep a steady paycheck comming in while you continue to look for work.
I wanted to point out that there are some retail jobs that pay halfway decent, have 401k or other investment tools and have health/dental insurance which is very important to many people, especially those with families.
Retail can also be a perfect job for someone who is continuing to look for work. It's often pretty easy to swap schedules with your co-workers. If the business is open weekends you may have to work a weekend day and in turn get a weekday off, a great opportunity for job hunting or going to a job interview.
One other thing. Personally I don't enjoy working retail and it sounds like you don't either but the same way retail is not for you office jobs and corporate atmospheres aren't for some people as well. Some people would rather dig a ditch than work in an office and some people may actually enjoy a fast paced retail environment.