Is there life after retail?

poly1

I first took my job as a part time position to make ends meet when I moved, now I have been working for my company for over 10 years and have worked my way up to deputy store manager. Retail is not something I would have foreseen that I ended up in but I made the best of it and have done well. BUT I have now come to the point where I have really had enough, I have no idea what to do next, but I would just like to hear from people who moved out of retail into something else. I do not even know how to write a CV! Believe it or not I have never had one. It is not that I can not do the job, I can and I am on their 'progression plan' to store manager, it is just that I have had enough of the actual 'retail' side of the job if you know what I mean. Is there anyone out there who can give me some hope?!

april87

Poly there is definitely life after retail. I was in a similar position to yourself about 3 years ago, and like you just got fed up with some of the retail stuff. I applied for endless jobs, although I would recommend tailoring your CV to them once you get it written up. I ended up in a receptionist job for the local authority and have since managed to climb into a financial position with them. Quite a lot of the ex retail people I know have found work within their local authority so it is definitely worth a try.

WibblyGirly

I worked retail for years and honestly I struggled to find a job out of it. I tailored my CV and applied for entry level basic office jobs and never heard back. Instead I decided to go to uni and I'm now in my 3rd year and will be doing an MA to enable a complete career change.
I felt quite pigeon holed by retail, a few of my friends got out of it though into better jobs so hopefully you'll have better luck than I did!

*Margaret*

I worked in retail for many years, in order to leave I took a course in typing/admin in the evenings and was able to get a job in an office (subsequently my life took an 'interesting' turn and I'm now a cleaner, but this almost certainly won't happen to you!)

I know several people who were in management positions who went on to do other things, some office work, recruitment etc. There is definitely life after retail. Good luck!

poly1

WibblyGirly that's exactly what I feel, pigeonholed. I don't even know what I want to do, I just know I have got to the point where I need to get out! I am not really suited to jobs that involve alot of telephoning though as I am hard of hearing and although that hasn't stop me yet I don't want to struggle because of it. I just look at job adverts locally and get depressed because nothing seems to be available that isn't retail or caring work (I am not suited to that). Then I look further afield and there is nothing that strikes me as great either.

Madbags

There is life after retail.


I started out in retail, probably worked in retail for around 6 years before I gave up on it myself.


Ended up going for CS/Admin based roles with an agency and did several admin temp roles until I found a temp to perm admin job. Worked on reception for over a year and now I'm working in their payroll department as a payroll administrator and have been the last 2/3 years.


So don't give up, just figure out what you want to do and make sure you work out what all your transferrable skills are and apply them to whatever you can.

usernameisvalid

I started in retail, I actually loved it, but in a moment of madness thought a nice cushy 9-5 office job with weekends and BHs off would be a step up, so I applied for an admin job with the NHS and got it

Plenty of transferable skills, good customer care, working within teams , prioritising work loads, data entry, and so on and so on

Never even seen a PC until then ( this was 1986)

Took me about three years to start progressing

I hated it though

trailingspouse

Think about the parts of your retail job that you do enjoy. Maybe you enjoy the customer contact? The finance/money/budgeting bit? Dealing with colleagues/staff management? Stacking shelves/merchandising/window-dressing? Whatever it is, are there any non-retail jobs where those skills would be useful? That way you're not starting from rock-bottom, and some of your hard-earned skills will still be useful.

GrumpyMini

I was in the same place, ended up in retail after graduating. I worked my way up to store manager, but hated the job! I've now worked for retailers for 18 years.

What worked for me, was still staying with the same employer, but taking a slight backwards/sideways step, and going into a head office role. I've had training roles, health and safety roles, and am now training to be an accountant, paid for through work. It's a business I know, and have found it easier to have my transferable skills recognised. I did have to take a pay cut to do it, but am now MUCH happier, and have far more career options open to me.

It's not a route that everyone gets an opportunity to explore, but it may be worth looking into if you can. (I live 350 miles from the company's head office, but it doesn't stop me doing the job!).

Andrew_Ryan_89

Retail is probably one of the best experiences you can have as you can go in many directions. I started of in retail and moved into finance/professional services. The first thing is to realise that you shouldn't limit yourself when thinking about job progression, break down your skill to most basic of attributes and you will realise that you have skills that are easily transferable.

As a store manager you -

Manage a team
Lead a team to achieve certain results
You can multitask
Great at customer service

There are probably more I can list but those are you key skills. Doesn't matter what industry you are in, those skills are transferable. You could go into banking, project management, area sales management etc. Spin your CV in such a way that it is attractive to whatever industry/job you are trying to get into (I can help, PM me if you want) and then realise that other industries are well within realistic expectation.

Fireflyaway

I feel the same. I started out in call centres and customer service and really want to change career but just getting declines one after the other. Its frustrating! I did a qualification in my new chosen field and I'm being realistic applying for entry level stuff but always get told there are stronger candidates.
Maybe see if you can get some unpaid experience? Can you volunteer somewhere for a few hours a week to get something extra on your CV? Like grown up work experience?!