Do you work in the retail industry but wish you were moving up your career ladder a little faster? The first piece of good news we have for you is that we recently updated the Retail Dive job board, and it now has an updated redesign to showcase openings at companies including Amazon.com, eBay, Banana Republic and others.
Letting a company know that you're interested in the job that it is hiring for is just the first (and easiest) step on the road to landing your dream gig, though. You also have to plan ahead, know what you want and figure out how the retail industry works. Retail Dive also operates a lively LinkedIn group for retail professionals, where we recently asked our members, "What career advice do young retail professionals need to hear?"
We asked them to share advice that they wish someone had given them early on in their careers, and they shared some smart pieces of advice. Check out what they had to say below. It may help you get ahead on your way to your next job:
1. LISTEN AND LEARN—FROM EVERYONE
"Find your style, think about who you respected growing up. Take the things you like in other leaders and adopt them. Some of my best leadership ideas I stole from others, it really is the best form of flattery.
Treat EVERYONE as you would want to be treated. This includes cart attendants, janitors... everyone.
You will probably find yourself managing people older and sometimes more experienced than you at an early stage in your career. The way you treat these people will have a huge impact on your success. If you treat them with respect and leverage their knowledge you will be in for a long successful career."
—Joe Schultz, Director of Marketing, Target Corporation
2. FORGET YOUR PRIDE AND REMEMBER YOUR CUSTOMERS
"My advice? 1. Remember retail is customer-centric to the max! If you aren't comfortable in the role of "servant" find something else to do. If you are comfortable, then shuck the pride forever! 2. Engage your people... they aren't pack mules or tools. Pay them well, train them well, and give them a reason to be fired-up about what they do, because what they do really matters. 3. Don't just focus on customer service, but strive to drive a customer experience that is truly remarkable. Walt Disney said, "Do what you do so well they will want to see it again and bring their friends!" Live by this credo! 4. Retail is detail. Remember the customer and their five senses and and move mountains to delight each of them! 5. Be humble, objective, willing to try new things... a sincere willingness to improve and get better is a great recipe for advancement. 6. Make your financial performance a "result" of your leadership and hard work and NEVER manage to a number... if the results aren't right the customer experience isn't right."
—Rich Millis, Principal, Endoxa Consulting LLC
3. BE REALISTIC ABOUT MISTAKES AND GOALS
"(1) Listen and learn from every situation you experience - especially when things don't go to plan. If you can learn from your mistakes, you will improve. (2) Be prepared to make mistakes. To truly succeed, you need to push the boundaries and this WILL lead to some errors. (3) Set yourself realistic goals - daily, weekly, monthly. (4) Be determined and single minded, but be supportive to your colleagues - no-one will be successful without a loyal team around them. (5) Make sure you enjoy what you do."
—Phil Huckbody, District Sales Manager, Lidl UK GmbH
4. COMMUNICATE WITH YOU SUPERIORS
"Do not let your self be a forgotten workhorse. The go to person that has not shown you could make a greater impact by moving you up the ladder. You are in control of your future. Go the extra mile in developing yourself. And let it be known what your goals are. Even if the specifics are not clear at the moment.
Work with integrity, your word is everything to getting things done. However, you are only human. So try your hardest to work smart but if things do not happen as planned… communicate. Hold integrity in your word to your customers, peers, 1st assistant, and any leadership."
—Princella Nunez-Stringer, Lines Leader, Meijer
5. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO
"I guess a good understanding for 'what you are doing', 'what retail is able to achieve', 'a feeling for numbers results and KPI's' following and constantly presenting the upcoming retail strategy is very important. Also respecting other different focusses and different cultures made me successful. Besides that my advise to my guys always is: 'If you want to take responsibility, deal with it and live it. Never over commit and under deliver, rather the other way around. Make sure your standing and work content is precise, strong and transparent.'"
—Kay Niehaus, Managing Director, Global Retail Selling Services
6. FIND MENTORS IN YOUR COMPANY
"Young retail professionals need to check out their companies' exec training program requirements, and push to get mentored by the best in their company, or intern/train with decision makers. See them in action. There is so much talent in retail cross functional teams, from e-commerce/IT, to merchants, design,marketing, logistics, AP, c-suites etc. Young pros need the right connections and mentors in the sector they choose. Retail affords many avenues to other career opportunities too,or a good starting point at getting your own business. There is no better training ground for the marketplace than retail."
—MJ Getz, SVP Business Development, Outsourcefixx
7. EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT WHAT YOU SELL
"Learn the details about what you are selling - don't rely on the company's 'staff training' programme as it is probably there just to meet statutory requirements and won't teach you anything. There is nothing worse (when you are a customer) being approached by a shop assistant who asks 'can I help you?' - and who clearly cannot help at all. As I said - don't rely on your managers to train you - they are managers largely because they were useless on the sales floor and got promoted to get them away from customers."
—Grahame Palmer, Marketing Director, All Things Ecommerce Ltd
8. LEARN ABOUT LARGER PROCESSES
"Be respectful of the people who have built their careers around what you are about to do. You don't know as much as we do, stop trying to prove that you do. Second- Connect, on some level, with people who work in every aspect of the retail process, from the loading dock, to sales clerks, to cashiers, to merchandisers, to planners, to buyers, to, well, EVERYBODY! Most of the new employees I run into have no idea how a product comes from a manufacturer, makes it to a store shelf and is purchased by a consumer. To them, it just happens. Learn the process, understand the potential disruptions, recognize when they might occur and be informed about the solutions."
—Ronnie Goldfinger, President, Ronnie Goldfinger Sales
9. OBSERVE OTHERS
"I think it depends what success looks like for the individual, work that out and then observe how others have achieved it.
Never stop learning, be gracious with people, ruthless with time. Be humble and always look to serve. And, when you have made it, ask how you can help others to succeed."
—Bernard Page, Head of Brand, Shop Direct Group
10. FIND A COMPANY YOU WANT WITH THE GOALS YOU WANT
"Research different companies and find a company with aggressive growth plan for the next 10 years. Find a company with a strong culture that is the right fit with your personality. Last, find a career path. If you want to be a Store Manager, Buyer, Marketing Professional, or whatever it may be, make sure you know in advance what it takes to get there. Understand the path it will take to reach your career goals. Retail is a great career but can be miserable for people who cannot achieve their goals."
—Toby Dille, Store Manager, Wal-Mart
Would you like to see more retail news like this in your inbox on a daily basis? Subscribe to our Retail Dive email newsletter! You may also want to read Retail Dive's look at 10 big retailers who recently rethought e-commerce.
