Retail & Sales

Vast opportunities exist for graduates in a variety of roles within retail and sales. Also, graduates of all disciplines can be found across the industry, not just those with a business related qualification. Examples of some of the types of careers available to graduates in retail are:

• Store management
• Area management
• Buying
• Merchandising
• Retail banking
• In support functions such as IT, HR, Finance, Marketing, Logistics, Operations, Property etc

Some of the skills required to have a successful career in retail are:

• Attention to detail - Retail is detail as they say and customers can be swayed one way or another by the smallest of details.
• Organisational/Planning skills - Efficient time management is essential in having a productive day in the retail trade.
• Good communication skills - Effectively engaging with customers can win them over for life.
• Commercial awareness - On the spot decision making is required in what is a constantly changing sales environment.
• Good customer service skills.

Overall, working in retail is very demanding. It requires great flexibility and there is pressure to perform. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is very important to having a long career in the industry.

Almost all of modern businesses have a sales function and thus require a constant influx of graduates. Examples of some of the sales roles in which graduates may forge a career are:

• Advertising account handler - Working in an advertising agency acting as the link between the client and the agency in coordinating jobs, monitoring the effectiveness of the ad campaign etc.
• Media Sales Representative - Responsible for business development, the sale of advertising space etc.
• General Sales Representative - Based either in the field or in the office, sales representatives are essentially their own bosses.

To have a successful career in such a diverse role as sales graduates would need to be well-rounded as well as have excellent business acumen. Some of the skills required for a sales role are:

• Motivation
• Ability to work to deadlines/under pressure/meet targets
• Good organisational skills
• Good communication skills
• The ability to multi-task
• To be adept numerically
• To have an outgoing personality and a good telephone manner