Bag a top job in retail

Written by: Paul Johnson

If you think retail is only for shopaholics, or simply all about stacking shelves and sitting at cash tills, it’s time to think again. With fantastic challenges and rewards, Paul Johnson discovers it’s a great career option

From food to fashion and cooking pots to computers, we all need to go shopping - whether it’s for daily necessities or once-in-a-lifetime luxuries.

Retail is very big business. Nearly 300,000 retail operations in the UK take more than £260bn a year – that’s about £4,500 for every man, woman and child. The industry is the largest private sector employer, with nearly three million people employed across the UK - one in nine of the total workforce.

Experts say that over the last five years, employment in retailing has grown by more than 190,000 – more than in any other sector - and the industry continues to be one of the biggest providers of new jobs in the economy.

Graduates are perfectly placed to take advantage of the huge opportunities and rewards that a career in retail offers - indeed the industry accounts for about 6.5 per cent of all graduate vacancies. There’s a wide choice of employers, skills and job functions, giving the industry unrivalled flexibility.

Kellie Bowdery, graduate development coach at specialist electrical retailer DSGi says: ‘It’s a fast-paced, exciting and challenging environment and there's no better way to get close to the customer and see how they are thinking.'

‘It's an innovative and progressive industry with lots of prospects, there are opportunities to move up the career ladder quickly, and it's so diverse that you can find roles that use all of your best skills.’

Ability and skill are rewarded well in retail and promotion can be swift. Indeed, graduates could eventually be managing their own store or department and be responsible for hundreds of staff and in control of multi-million pound budgets.

Dr Ruth Ashford, executive head of the retail division at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, says: ‘A successful career requires entrepreneurialism, the willingness to take risks, and to develop and follow an intuition about customers’ future wants and needs'.

‘In a cut-throat world, retailers need to be able to reconcile the needs of customers, staff and shareholders. Above all, working in retail requires good interpersonal skills.’

Roles in retail

• Management – a senior position in a store, in a department within a larger store or within a specialised department within head office. 
• Buying – by sourcing the right products at the best prices the buying team plays a crucial role within any retail environment.
• Merchandising – analyse sales, statistics stock information and current trends to try to forecast future sales and stock requirements.
• Marketing – responsible for finding out what customers want and as well as making sure customers know about the retailer and its products.
• Technical and production – the department responsible for ensuring that products bought in to sell meet all legal, safety and technical specifications.
• Information technology – IT specialists are crucial for electronic stock management, point of sale systems, internal networks and web stores.
• Logistics and distribution – supply chain management ensuring the right goods go to the right place at the right time to avoid lost stock or lost sales.
• Other head office and corporate work – most retail business will need many other specialist and support roles, including finance and accountancy, human resources, property management, law and general administration.

Pay and benefits

Many large retail employers offer a wealth of benefits and perks – which can include a company car, excellent profit sharing and share option schemes, subsidised canteens, decent pensions and big staff discounts for a firm’s products or those of its business partners.

Foreign travel is also a distinct possibility, either in sourcing new products from abroad or working in one of a large company’s overseas locations.

However, there’s no denying that the work can be challenging, sometimes with long hours, weekend-work and tough deadlines to contend with, as well as the constant pressure of playing a key part in the commercial success of the business.

Getting a job in retail

Many medium or large-sized companies operate graduate training schemes which might last anywhere from a year up to three years. The aim of these schemes is to let trainees try out a variety of the firm’s different operations – from shop floor to head office - to give a wide overview of the business.

However, you don’t necessarily need to join a graduate scheme to do well in retail – it’s also possible to get a job in a lower position within a firm and then get promoted into management or head office work.

Whatever the career path, employers are looking for candidates with excellent work experience and solid retail knowledge. This might be from industrial placements, job shadowing or working as an intern, but holiday jobs in a retail environment are also highly valued – even if it’s working in a pub or corner shop.

Tesco’s graduate recruitment manager Angela Hodson says: ‘We’re looking for people who are customer focused and have a natural ability to work in a team.

‘Any experience from university or school such as hobbies and clubs shows employers you are well rounded. Being able to demonstrate soft skills such as leadership and teamwork is just as important as academic or technical skills.’

Qualifications needed

Most retailers don’t require a degree in a specific subject – they just want to see that candidates are bright and capable with a proven track-record of achievement. For the more specialist roles, or those in some industries such as fashion, a degree in a related-subject can be a huge advantage.

A degree in a business, finance or retail-related subject – such as retail management - is often also useful, though not essential for most graduate training schemes.

Whatever the degree, employers will want to see a 2:2 or better for entry to the graduate schemes, with some of the more popular firms demanding nothing less than a 2:1. However, evidence of a passion and ability for retail will also count just as much as qualifications.

Simon Reichwald, MD of recruitment consultancy Graduate Success (www.graduatesuccess.com), says most employers look beyond bare qualifications to recruit staff who are going to thrive in the retail environment. ‘Their focus will be much more on good people and problem solving skills along with a can-do attitude and customer focus,’ he says. ‘Talented graduates will be quickly recognised by management and begin to progress in their career very rapidly.’

GradJobs top tips for getting into retail

• Be a ‘people person’ – retail is a job where you have to be able to deal with everyone, including customers, suppliers, colleagues and managers.
• You need to be customer focused and genuinely care about what shoppers want.
• Important skills in retail include strong numeracy, being commercial astute, excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, a flair for negotiation and top-notch communication skills.
• Be prepared for a fast-paced environment – retail businesses are highly competitive and don’t stand still.
• Landing a place on a graduate training schemes can be very competitive so cast your net far and wide.
• Go into an interview with a thorough understanding of what your potential employer does – what it sells, how and to whom.
• Get a good grounding on whatever industry sector you’re interested in, be it food, clothing, books or electrical goods.
• Try to look for gaps in the market and how you can fill the niche.
• Get good-quality work experience or an internships – preferably with the firm you’re hoping to eventually join.

Focus on employers

Tesco
Tesco is the country’s biggest private employer and takes on about 220 graduates a year divided between in-store management, distribution and a total of 13 head office programmes.

Qualifications needed are a 2.1 degree and 240 UCAS points, with some of the more specialised or technical roles needing specific qualifications or experience. Graduate programmes last from 12 to 24 months depending on the scheme and include project placements as well as time on the shop floor to build customer facing experience.

The minimum starting salary is £23,500 – but this may differ between graduate schemes – with pay rising on completion of the scheme.

www.tesco-graduates.com

DSG international
One of Europe’s leading specialist electronic retailers, DSGi operates a slew of brands, including Currys, PC World and Dixons.co.uk. The company is looking for a 2.2 degree or better for its Retail and Operations scheme and a 2.1 degree or better for its Finance specific programme.

The Retail and Operations scheme lasts 16 to 19 months and involves a rotation programme where graduates experience four to five key areas of the business before choosing a specialist role.

Within a decade, recruits at DSGi would be expected to be senior managers in the specialised functions.

www.dsgiplc.com

John Lewis
The organisation is unique in that it is owned by the people who work for it - there are no external shareholders. Graduates work at John Lewis department stores across the country and will go into roles involving leadership and management responsibilities.

The starting salary for graduates in 2008 is £23,000 and a key benefit is a substantial annual profit related bonus – in 2005 all employees received 14 per cent of their annual earnings.

Some graduates have become managing directors of their own John Lewis stores within 10 years, with annual sales turnover of more than £75 million and responsibility for hundreds of employees.

www.jlpjobs.com/graduates

Enterprise
At vehicle rental company Enterprise, all senior management start from the bottom rung and advance upwards as they prove their success at each level along a structured career path. The firm aims to recruit more than 1,000 graduates a year in order to keep pace with expansion plans.

Skills, motivation and potential are regarded as more important than degree classification or subject when it comes to the firm’s recruitment. The training scheme lasts upwards of a year, depending on speed of completion, and starting salaries range from £16,000 to £18,800, depending on location. After about a year salary can be about £20,000 to £25,000.

Career progression could include running a large region with 500 employees or running a department at a head office.

www.enterprisealive.co.uk

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