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Key Skills employers want in Retail?

Question is basically in the title. What particular skills/attributes do employers lap up in retail? I.e points to make in a question such as "What skills, knowledge and experience ...." do you have etc.


Cheers for any help; much appreciated! :smile:
Reply 1
Original post by rylit91
Question is basically in the title. What particular skills/attributes do employers lap up in retail? I.e points to make in a question such as "What skills, knowledge and experience ...." do you have etc.


Cheers for any help; much appreciated! :smile:


people skills, customer service, initiative, enthusiasm, determination, good leader and hard working. They're the main ones.

Most important though is customer service, initiative and people skills. Enthusiasm, determination and hard working are pretty standard for every job and good leadership skills is only needed if you want to work up towards Manager.
Reply 2
Original post by Andrew1991
people skills, customer service, initiative, enthusiasm, determination, good leader and hard working. They're the main ones.

Most important though is customer service, initiative and people skills. Enthusiasm, determination and hard working are pretty standard for every job and good leadership skills is only needed if you want to work up towards Manager.


Thanks:smile: I mention those and provide 'evidence' of them, but it never seems to get me anywhere... :frown:
Original post by rylit91
Question is basically in the title. What particular skills/attributes do employers lap up in retail? I.e points to make in a question such as "What skills, knowledge and experience ...." do you have etc.


Cheers for any help; much appreciated! :smile:



Depends what role you are applying for. If I were recruiting for a colleague to work on a till, I would look for polite, friendly mannerisms and a customer-focussed work ethic. However if I were looking to recruit a retail manager, I would look for someone who can communicate effectively to their team, drive performance through incentives and performance management tools and someone who can identify opportunities to drive sales and reduce costs (i.e. generate higher profits).

So the answer to your question, it really depends what role you are applying for.
Reply 4
Original post by davireland
Depends what role you are applying for. If I were recruiting for a colleague to work on a till, I would look for polite, friendly mannerisms and a customer-focussed work ethic. However if I were looking to recruit a retail manager, I would look for someone who can communicate effectively to their team, drive performance through incentives and performance management tools and someone who can identify opportunities to drive sales and reduce costs (i.e. generate higher profits).

So the answer to your question, it really depends what role you are applying for.


Not that it's relevant now, having applied to the places and written and such, but thanks - they were general retail assistant jobs. I would say I am suitable for these roles, but there is always someone with more experience or more relevant qualifications, so I'll never get anywhere.
I think a knowledge of the products and enthusiasm is critical. Customer service is vital, at the end of the day good customer service is memorable and so encourages loyalty from customers. If you can also mention being able to deal with complaints (if you can) thats also useful. I thinks being able to successfully up-sell products is worth mentioning also.
What retail store was it though?

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