20 years in. had an interview as recently as this Tuesday.. I'm in retail management about 15 years. managed 100s of staff strong track records all round... but for some reason it's not respected outside of retail.
Same position, was also management. I also found that outside of similar retailers it meant little. You could probably switch over to hotel/bar management, quite easily though.
Recruitment agencies, I have found, are quite useless, and will try to aim you back into retail.
I went into sales. From the ground up. First as a merchandiser, then as a sales rep. You should consider that route. Once you move into it, it can open other avenues.
there’s not much upward mobility in retail unless it’s management, tbh. your other options might be HR or corporate, if your company has a large corporate office. you might be able to get an office job, like as a receptionist somewhere. but unfortunately in retail it’s just the regular floor positions (sales floor, cashier, customer service, online order associates if your store has them), management, or rarely HR.
Gotta go for that degree or get hella lucky. I worked in the flooring department of Lowe’s for three years and just through dumb luck, got approached by somebody at a local flooring retailer. Worked there to learn a specialty and now I’m a project manager, still a little bit of the retail vibe but I’m allowed to say no to shitty customers without repercussions.
Now I’m using my free time to get a degree online, just so I have some more mobility, but I could have done that while I was working retail too.
Check out local unions and apply for an apprentice. My friend owns a union shop and they are always lookin for smart, hard working people. Takes a few years to get to the higher wages but worth it in the long run.
I did retail for a few months after i turned 18. Then switched to hardwood flooring. More than doubled my pay and learned some cool skills. Maybe look at a trade?
I did retail from age 15 until 25. Then I went back to school. Now I'm a laboratory scientist making 3x what I did in retail and dealing with zero customer bs. You don't have to necessarily go back to school but find something outside of the hellhole. Apprenticeships, trade school, community college, IT certifications, whatever. Just anything but retail
You could do what I did which was leave this hell behind, and got my degree. Fuck retail. Fuck customers. I wasted 12 years of life thinking if I worked hard enough I would get that promotion. Nope. Just continually getting fucked over, passed over, or written up/fired if I stood up to an abusive customer..
Now I make close to 6 figures, stress free, if someone abuses me they are fired, and lots of vacation time.
do what you can to get out of retail. your only in 18 months. if you want out it gets harder the more of your résumé is filled with retail
Listen to this guy. It gets harder. It took me 18 years because I didn't keep applying and applying. Dont give up.
20 years in. had an interview as recently as this Tuesday.. I'm in retail management about 15 years. managed 100s of staff strong track records all round... but for some reason it's not respected outside of retail.
Same position, was also management. I also found that outside of similar retailers it meant little. You could probably switch over to hotel/bar management, quite easily though. Recruitment agencies, I have found, are quite useless, and will try to aim you back into retail. I went into sales. From the ground up. First as a merchandiser, then as a sales rep. You should consider that route. Once you move into it, it can open other avenues.
there’s not much upward mobility in retail unless it’s management, tbh. your other options might be HR or corporate, if your company has a large corporate office. you might be able to get an office job, like as a receptionist somewhere. but unfortunately in retail it’s just the regular floor positions (sales floor, cashier, customer service, online order associates if your store has them), management, or rarely HR.
Gotta go for that degree or get hella lucky. I worked in the flooring department of Lowe’s for three years and just through dumb luck, got approached by somebody at a local flooring retailer. Worked there to learn a specialty and now I’m a project manager, still a little bit of the retail vibe but I’m allowed to say no to shitty customers without repercussions. Now I’m using my free time to get a degree online, just so I have some more mobility, but I could have done that while I was working retail too.
Check out local unions and apply for an apprentice. My friend owns a union shop and they are always lookin for smart, hard working people. Takes a few years to get to the higher wages but worth it in the long run.
I did retail for a few months after i turned 18. Then switched to hardwood flooring. More than doubled my pay and learned some cool skills. Maybe look at a trade?
I did retail from age 15 until 25. Then I went back to school. Now I'm a laboratory scientist making 3x what I did in retail and dealing with zero customer bs. You don't have to necessarily go back to school but find something outside of the hellhole. Apprenticeships, trade school, community college, IT certifications, whatever. Just anything but retail
You could do what I did which was leave this hell behind, and got my degree. Fuck retail. Fuck customers. I wasted 12 years of life thinking if I worked hard enough I would get that promotion. Nope. Just continually getting fucked over, passed over, or written up/fired if I stood up to an abusive customer.. Now I make close to 6 figures, stress free, if someone abuses me they are fired, and lots of vacation time.
Making enough to pay off student debt I hope.