Advice on getting out of retail.

the frill

Hey
I have decided to get out of retail.I have 12 years experience and have finally realised I hate it :pac:. I haven't a clue where to start to be honest.
Has anyone moved out of retail to a different sector?How was it? Did you retrain etc? I am 28 .
Any advice would be greatly appreciated .
many thanks

Show_me_Safety

retail leads to a call centre/customer service job which in turn gets you admin and office experience which will set you up for most office type jobs.

what kinda work do you want to do?

the frill

I wouldn't mind some office based work. I want to get a job where I can just put the head down and beaver away. I am finding the atmosphere in retail too draining,not the hard work or long hours but life is too short for targets rude customers and ruder head management.
I have some call centre experience so cheers I had forgotten about that. :)I know this is probably the worst time to move but grab the bull by the horns and all.

murphym7

You should try and do a Secertarial course by night or some kind of office administration course. This will help you greatley in trying to get some office work.

kittensoft1984

I moved from retail to telesales! :pac: not much more different to be honest.

Doctor DooM

the frill wrote: »

Hey
I have decided to get out of retail.I have 12 years experience and have finally realised I hate it :pac:. I haven't a clue where to start to be honest.
Has anyone moved out of retail to a different sector?How was it? Did you retrain etc? I am 28 .
Any advice would be greatly appreciated .
many thanks

I went to college to do computer science at night at 25.

I moved over to technical sales for a telecoms company, and then into an IT company which I love, although that sector is dodgy right now.

ncmc

Hi there TheFrill, I was in the exact same boat as you 2 years ago, had been in retail for years, hated it and saw no way out. Was finding it very hard to get any interviews for admin jobs, most places saw retail and just assumed that I was under-qualified (I think most people don't realise the multitude of skills required to work in retail, LOL!)

So I had a good hard look at my CV and tried to rephrase my skills and job duties in a way that would be useful in an admin job. So instead of putting down things like, stock ordering, stock replenishment etc. I put more emphasis on the customer care, accounts duties, paperwork and filing etc. In fact, it might be a good idea to have someone else have a look at your CV, a fresh eye might have some ideas on how it could be improved. Also don't under-estimate the power of a good cover letter. It's also an idea to have someone role play doing interviews with you, practise makes perfect and you should be practising how to turn those retail skills into a commodity that any employer would love.

It is hard, and in the current climate it is harder still, but with hard work and perseverence, it will pay off.

I've been in an admin job for over 2 years now, and at first I didn't know myself with the regular hours and non-manual labour!

Good luck.

ncmc

godeas

i work in recruitment and I think obviously now than ever it will be extremely difficult for you to get an office role given the amount of jobseekers at the mo with office exp.

I dont mean to down ur hopes but its an honest opinion. Another thing would be to hang onto ur job with both hands til you do get a job. Telesales would be a good area to progress to as was earlier suggested. Even if the retail becomes unbearable, temp work is a fantastic way to get ur foot in the door. But again there's so much competition out there at the min that it may prove very difficult.

Best of luck anyways :pac: