How retail experience prepares you for anything

Story # 1: Retail is not a stupid job

Duane P. is a creative director of branded content, which means he tells stories for a living. Like a lot of people, Duane worked in retail stores in high school and college.

Duane says, “Customer service roles in retail require that you deal with people. That’s not something that everyone can do. Having that experience speaks to soft skills that managers value.”

Duane credits retail experience with teaching him basic customer service skills that translate into his interactions with clients today. Duane advises not trivializing your retail work as being “just a stupid job. It’s not stupid to the customer.” The exchanges you have with customers are real and they matter.

Duane tells a story from his days working in a sporting goods store that is “seared into my mind.”

A customer called and asked if we had a certain type of soccer net in stock. I knew we carried the item, so I said yes, we had it. I didn’t check, though. She drove an hour to the store with her kid, and we didn’t have it. She came up to me and dressed me down in front of the whole store. It was a cringeworthy moment that never left me.

Duane says that experience taught him to realize that his actions in the workplace had a real impact on people.

Another lesson Duane learned came from working in a toy store. “Retail is very organized. There’s a deep strategy to how things look,” he says. He remembers taking pride in keeping the shelves organized. That pride is something he carries with him today. When he needs to present something to a client, he takes pride in how the final product looks.

In his current role, Duane notices a difference in people who have experience working in retail. He finds people with retail experience are often more willing to put other people’s (read: customers and clients) needs above their own. They’re more service-minded.

He’s not the only one who feels this way. Duane says that other managers often react favorably when they see retail experience on a resume. That’s good news for someone looking to bridge the gap between retail and the professional world.

Duane advises not shying away from talking about your retail experience in job interviews. “Think about how you can leverage that experience in such a way that it’s relevant to the work world.”

Customer service roles in retail require that you deal with people. That’s not something that everyone can do. Having that experience speaks to soft skills that managers value.

Story #2: If you do it well, working with the public builds empathy

Glen S. currently works as a visual designer. Before that, he worked in retail for several years, selling clothes at Ben Sherman in New York and musical equipment at Guitar Center.

When asked if his experience in retail helped him in his current role, he said, “One hundred percent. If it wasn’t for retail I wouldn’t know how to speak to people. In retail, you have to build trust with complete and absolute strangers. You have to learn empathy.”

Glen had one encounter that taught him the importance of putting in the effort to work out misunderstandings.

This is when I was working at Guitar Center. It was a slow day. I was chatting with a coworker when a kid walked into the store. I asked if he needed any help. When he didn’t answer, I kind of gave a shrug. I didn’t think anything of it, until the boy’s mother walked up to me. She was really upset. She thought I was being mean to her son.

Glen spoke to her and found out that the boy was autistic. He had trouble using social skills and people were often mean to him because of it. Glen listened and the mother saw that he wasn’t targeting her kid. It took just a little effort, and the situation turn around quickly. Glen says, “There ended up being a good outcome. They bought some things and left laughing and smiling.”

Glen says that one of the difficulties of working in retail is that “if people are having a bad day, they take it out on you.” You have to learn to turn those situations around.

Glen sees this same type of thing happen in his current role. Now, when colleagues get upset, he responds the way he did to the woman at Guitar Center. He listens, tries to diffuse the situation, and looks for ways to find a positive outcome for both parties.

A lot of Glen’s retail experience involved direct sales with commissions. He said working in this model taught him to present himself well and how “not to be a jerk,” when you’re trying to make a sale. He sees his work in design in a similar light. Except now, when he’s presenting his work to large companies, he’s selling his own expertise.

From what Glen has observed, hiring managers see retail experience as “a benefit, and not a strike.” He personally values previous experience in retail. He says, “I prefer you went through the gauntlet, learned how to be the dartboard. I ask people directly, ‘Have you ever worked in retail?’ I think it’s important. It’s applied experience.”

Working in retail helps you develop skills that are transferrable to professional roles.

Final thoughts

In short, don’t shortchange yourself because you “only” have retail experience so far. Retail work builds patience, empathy, and a mindset of being service-minded. You’ll use these skills in your future roles. They may even make a hiring manager give you a call.