8 Skills Youll Need for Your Future Retail Career

8 Skills Youll Need for Your Future Retail CareerDepending on your preferred side of the optimism/pessimism street, the future is either something to worry about, or something to anticipate eagerly. What is true either way is that we dont really know what will be coming along. However, we do know a few things there will still be a need for highly qualified retail professionals, and there are skills we can build now to help be prepared for whatever the future retail world looks like. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1472832672400-0) ) 1. Tech SavvyIf you have a Prime account or have developed a first-name-basis relationship with your package delivery guy or gal because you have so many things shipped right to your door, you probably already know that the retail revolution will only become mora digital. If youre working on future-proofing your retail career, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to get caught up (and keep up) with the tech trends. This doesnt mean that brick-and-mortar stores will cease to exist in your career lifetime, or that we should all just apply for jobs at Amazon and be done with it. Rather, departure paying attention to how people are shopping. What devices are they using? What are the conveniences of shopping via tech vs. shopping in person? How can the in-person shopping experience be made better or easier by using technology? Whether youre a corporate employee, a customer service rep, or a retail associate, being familiar with technology (and its benefits) will make you better able to do your job, because youll be equipped to deal with whatever impact apps, online storefronts, or other tech advances have on the retail world.2. Social Media SmartsSocial media has become the go-to place for retail brand ambassadors. Its a way to advocate for your store, product, service, or brand, and to directly reach customers. No matter what your role in retail, being well-versed in social media can help you reac h mora people to build your brand, orat the very leastcollect vast amounts of information on your target customer base.3. Knowledge of Logistics and OperationsThe big push has been to deliver goods and services fastas close to immediate as logistically possible. That trend is likely to keep continuing in the future, so the logistics end of retail is going to be a major growth area. Strong organizational skills, as well as a passion for getting things from Point A to Point B quickly, cost-effectively, and safely will create an incredibly valuable skill set to bring to your career.And if youve got a brilliant plan for making drone deliveries work, well, your future in the retail world is probably very bright indeed.4. A Focus on DataThe future is, unquestionably, grounded in data. We generate data about ourselves and our preferences when we shop, when we browse, when we interact with anything online. But all of that data leid only has to go somewhere, it has to be analyzed and turned into ideas that can actually be turned into better customer service, or an improved bottom line for the store.And data can seem like a daunting, faceless skill that might not have a direct impact on your own career, but it actually creates lots of different opportunities for people in the field. It increases the demand for Information Technology professionals in retail who can capture and present the data, as well as analysts who can turn it into goals and processes for a company, and also managers, associates, and customer service professionals who can take all of that upstream information and use it on direct sales and customer experience.You also dont need an advanced degree in IT or engineering to bump up your data analytics skills. You can use free online analytics tools (like Google Analytics) to departure building a base of knowledge about how people interact with information, what kind of information you can get about people, and how that might affect business decisions. The re are also free online courses you can take to start building your data analysis skills.5. A Knack for Customer ServiceGreat customer service skills never go out of style, and they will continue to be crucial in future retail. This goes hand-in-hand with the social media savvy we talked about before, because so much of the customer/consumer experience is rooted in digital platforms looking for product information, needing help troubleshooting, and giving feedback.The trick for the future of customer service will be adapting those traditional customer service skills to a digital environment, one where you may never face or talk to the customer. There are also additional layers of accountability for the customer service rep in the future, as customers have more and more avenues to talk about their experience with a company. (Im sure weve all cringed at some of the viral stories about customers who have been stonewalled, insulted, or worse by bad customer service, made instantly publi c via social media.) The future of customer service will be balancing the companys bottom-line needs with the realities of working with customers.6. Knowledge of Behavioral FinanceFinance and financial theory are skills and knowledge that have always been essential in retail, and always will be. However, behavioral finance is a relatively new concept. It combines economics with psychology to help guide and understand financial decision-making. Understanding why people make the financial decisions they do (like, say, purchasing one product and not another) is, like data analytics, a skill that will become very valuable in the retail world.7. Design and Merchandising TalentConsumers have come to expect a certain level of design sophistication from retailers, and that trend is not likely to reverse any time soon. Stores and companies are also increasingly focused on behind-the-scenes design and merchandising strategies, meant to steer the customer toward purchases without him or her ev en realizing it. Professionals with an understanding of how design engages customers, and how to maximize that, will bring a very useful skill set to a retail career.8. FlexibilityAnd dont forget a basic personal skill that will come in very handy in the world of future retail adaptability. This is an important skill to have no matter which industry youve chosen to build your careerafter all, very few companies are interested in someone who says, this is how things are done now, and thats just how it should be forever. But flexibility is an especially crucial skill for retail. Look at how things have changed in the past 10 or 15 years for retail, as behemoth companies like Amazon and Walmart have shaped how and where we shop. And as technology upgrades and peoples needs change and evolve, there is no reason to think that the current status quo will hold for the future. An openness to change, to innovate, or to say we can do this better, is an outlook that will help you survive and t hrive as a retail professional in any environment.Retail, like all industries, will continue to evolveand if you start working on skills now that will make you a smarter and more adaptable professional later, youre setting yourself up for an even more successful career.

Real Talk The 4 Things I Learned After 6 Months of Job Searching

Real Talk The 4 Things I Learned After 6 Months of Job Searching Job hunting is exhausting and, often, discouraging. Competition can be stiff and sending off hundreds of resumes into the dark abyss that is the internet, in the hopes that someone will open it and call you in for an interview, can take what feels like forever.For some, it takes months. One FBGer under the name StillClimbing38 took to the FGB Community to share zu sich own story of job hunting for six months.Ladies, I am very pleased to announce that after mora than six months of tirelessly applying, searching, interviewing, receiving numerous rejections, blood, sweat and (many) tears, I have finally landed a new job she writes. Along the way, I had to reevaluate what was really important to me. Please bedrngnise my earlier post about being in a toxic work environment. In the past, I had a tendency to jump from one toxic work situation to the next. For one thing, I was so desperate to leave a bad situation that I didnt notice that I was jumping into anotzu sich toxic work environment. Secondly, I focused too much on money and not enough on culture. Finally, I decided the industry was partly to blame and tailored my job hunt toward a different industry.In her interviews, she says she asked tons of questions about company culture and work-life balance, and she focused her inquiries on how employees felt coming to work.I had five interviews with this company before they finally made an offer to me, she says. When asked what my expected salary was, I thought long and hard about what was (is) truly important to me. I thought about all the perks, culture and atmosphere I loved about this company. I threw out a number that was on the modest end of what I wanted. They offered me the job. I start next month and I couldnt be happierStillClimbing38 also acknowledges that there are so many other women in her shoes.I feel there are SO many women out there dissatisfied with their current job who need a career change but are unsure how to go about doing so, she says.Thats why she goes on to share the lessons she learned in her half-year job hunt with the community. Heres what she had to say.1. Finding a job takes time.You have to apply for a lotof jobs, she says. You will get a lot of rejection notices. Most companies dont even have the courtesy to respond that you didnt get the job. You will think you are a loser. It is an emotional roller coaster. People kept telling me to hang in there, it will get better. I didnt believe them. But they were right Believe in yourself. It will happenOther FGBers are chiming in on the discussion in agreement.Its always been said the hardest job is finding a job especially when youre unemployed, writes Tamiam. Because when you are working, everybody wants to hire you... Its very hard to keep looking for jobs when youve been turned down so many times Im proud of you for not giving up.They all seem to understand the struggle.Congratulations on your successi t can be a long and hard road, but you showed you had the perseverance needed to achieve your goals, says LadyPele. Well done2. Asking for help is OK.Get help, she advises. A career coach is an excellent investment. Shop around and find someone that you like and can afford. You may only have to meet with them a couple of times, but they can help you figure out what you want and how to get it.3. Keep an open mind.Diversify, she says. When I first started my job hunt, I applied for all the jobs I thought I wanted, administrative manager, inside sales, project manager. However, after applying for supply chain analyst roles, I found those were the call-backs I was getting. Find out what recruiters see in you, not necessarily what you thought you could do best.Again, other FGBers agree that that the job hunt is difficult and can bring you down.This is amazing I have been searching since February and you totally understand how depressed someone gets after putting so much effort into inter viewing and then its always a no, writes Liz Bui. Congrats on this, and I hope you have found your forever home4. Make time for yourself.Plan to do things just for yourself that have absolutely nothing to do with networking or job searching, she concludes.You have to look inward, FGBers add.Congratulations for doing the inner work and shining your light says Jackie Ruka.--AnnaMarie Houlis is a feminist, a freelance journalist and an adventure aficionado with an affinity for impulsive solo travel. She spends her days writing about womens empowerment from around the world. You can follow her work on her blog, HerReport.org, and follow her journeys on Instagram her_report,Twitterherreport and Facebook.