How To Get A Retail Job With No Experience
As you scroll through your job search app, an opportunity catches your eye: A retail job that aligns with your personality, interests and even offers staff discounts! But as the familiar dilemma goes - you need a job to get experience, but you also need experience to get a job.
This is always a challenge to navigate as there are many first-timers like yourself looking to start your career. While it can be daunting, there are many avenues and resources that you can turn to.
This is always a challenge to navigate as there are many first-timers like yourself looking to start your career. While it can be daunting, there are many avenues and resources that you can turn to.
So how to get a job in retail with no experience? To keep it simple, we've summarised it into 3 steps.
1
Understand the job requirements
2
Highlight retail-friendly skills in your resume
3
Nail the interview by showing your genuine interest in the company
1
Understand the job requirements
First of all, let's decode the job description. It is crucial to know your exact role and responsibilities, so you can adapt your resume to directly address the requirements of the job. For instance, if the job description requires the candidate to "interact and engage with customers", you should add that you have "excellent interpersonal skills" into your resume. Employers would be more likely to take notice of your application because you would be viewed as a more suitable candidate.
Aside from helping your resume to stand out, having greater knowledge of the job requirements would allow you to ask more meaningful questions during the interview - such as certain aspects you may be curious about or information gaps in the job description. This would leave the employer with the impression that you're sincere in understanding the role and view you as a diligent, viable candidate. However, note that every job's scope is different, and it would be ideal to tailor your resume to different job descriptions to maximise your chance of getting jobs in retail with no experience!
Aside from helping your resume to stand out, having greater knowledge of the job requirements would allow you to ask more meaningful questions during the interview - such as certain aspects you may be curious about or information gaps in the job description. This would leave the employer with the impression that you're sincere in understanding the role and view you as a diligent, viable candidate. However, note that every job's scope is different, and it would be ideal to tailor your resume to different job descriptions to maximise your chance of getting jobs in retail with no experience!
2
Highlight retail-friendly skills in your resume
You might be stressing over how to craft a resume with no retail experience, and we want to assure you that the qualities requested from employers can be found in other aspects of your life!
In common job descriptions of a retail assistant, employers often highlight responsibility, being presentable and having good people skills. These traits can be obtained from many other experiences, it's not a must to have worked at a retail job to be a dependable person or to be properly groomed! You can include a wide range of past experiences from team projects, sports and community services that helped you develop these skills. For example, you could say community service helped to develop your interpersonal skills by giving you the opportunity to interact with people from all walks of life. Such a display of retail-friendly traits would greatly boost your chances of landing that interview.
In common job descriptions of a retail assistant, employers often highlight responsibility, being presentable and having good people skills. These traits can be obtained from many other experiences, it's not a must to have worked at a retail job to be a dependable person or to be properly groomed! You can include a wide range of past experiences from team projects, sports and community services that helped you develop these skills. For example, you could say community service helped to develop your interpersonal skills by giving you the opportunity to interact with people from all walks of life. Such a display of retail-friendly traits would greatly boost your chances of landing that interview.
3
Nail the interview by showing your genuine interest in the company
Passion is vital in everything in life, especially at a job. When you are enthusiastic about a company, employers would know that you are determined to perform well and would view you as a more attractive candidate.
How can you let your passion shine through? Display your knowledge about the company in your cover letters, and share the reasons why you are personally and professionally excited to apply.
In interviews, you can go the extra mile by elaborating on your hobbies that correlate to the job. Remember to also give indicators that you're listening and interested when the interviewers are talking, such as by smiling or nodding. An important consideration to retail employers would be your potential ability to promote their company well - hence, it is important to convince them that you will go above and beyond for the company to get a job in retail, especially with no experience.
How can you let your passion shine through? Display your knowledge about the company in your cover letters, and share the reasons why you are personally and professionally excited to apply.
In interviews, you can go the extra mile by elaborating on your hobbies that correlate to the job. Remember to also give indicators that you're listening and interested when the interviewers are talking, such as by smiling or nodding. An important consideration to retail employers would be your potential ability to promote their company well - hence, it is important to convince them that you will go above and beyond for the company to get a job in retail, especially with no experience.
Take the first step and start applying!
TL;DR - The key is to set yourself up to stand out from the rest - if you can't make up for it in experience, make up for it in terms of attitude. Remember the classic quote by Winston Churchill: "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Keep your head up and continue sending out those applications! It is certainly possible to get a retail job with no experience.
Start your retail job search with FastJobs today, with over 200 retail jobs waiting for you!
