Retail careers often begin for most people in basic shop floor level customer assistant role, and although these rarely appeal for long, there’s a wide world of retail to be discovered and there are actually many benefits of choosing a career in this area. If you have a passion for music, clothes or even books then what could be better than sharing this with others?
Scope and Change
There are endless opportunities if you begin a career in retail. You could run a market stall, manage a high street outlet or even become a buyer for a huge multinational chain. The majority however begin with a passion sparked from working on the shop floor. There’s scope to work in a field you love whether it’s fine food, sport or gadgets. You can literally spend your days telling people why you recommend these products and how they could love them too.
Retail is a developing industry with the advent of shopping online there’s scope to have quite a technical role in the retail environment too such as social media manager or webmaster for an online brand.
Flexible Working
If you’re looking for a career to fit around your family or the lifestyle you lead then retail is a great choice. The majority of stores are open 7 days a week which means there’s scope to work over the days which work best for you. Similarly, most retail employers will give you the chance to study for relevant qualifications alongside your work such as management degrees. If you choose to apply for a role through a retail recruitment agency there’s even the scope to pick up a number of temporary roles giving you a chance to get a feel for different environments.
Extra Benefits
As well as receiving all the standard employment benefits you are also likely to be eligible for discounts from your store which can be a great way of saving money in the long term. As you work your way up the ladder your benefits will increase as they would in any job and it makes sticking to your career path even more worthwhile.
Worldwide Industry
Retail is everywhere you go and if you decide to move, migrate or even give up working in the traditional sense altogether there is still scope to work in retail. You could start your own home business selling things you make or source or you could find a retail job in any country you move to. The scope of the industry is incomparable. Even if you move to another country with a different language you could work in the tourist sector and soon pick up the language and find a more senior role.
Choosing a career in retail may not start in the best place but there are great places it can lead and some of the more senior roles are extremely satisfying. Even a customer assistant gets to chat to new people every day and that can only be seen as a good thing.