7 Transferable Skills From Working In Retail

By Marina Krivonossova on April 27, 2021

While working in retail might not seem like the most glamorous opportunity, it’s certainly an important one when it comes to expanding your skill set for the future. When you’re working in retail, you learn so much more than how to fold a shirt or what promotion to recite to a customer who’s ready to check out. Don’t believe me? Check out this list of seven transferable skills you gain from working in retail. As someone who spent a few years on-and-off working in this industry, I can vouch for the positive influence it’s had on my future.

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1. Teamwork. No amount of high school and college group projects can prepare you for the realities of working in a team. But when you find yourself pursuing a job in retail, you’ll realize what it’s like to work as part of a team, how to best get along with teammates, and how to delegate tasks amongst yourselves as team members.

2. Multitasking. Working in retail, you’ll find yourself needing to help a customer check out, help another customer access the fitting room, aid your colleague who spilled soda everywhere, and so much more — all at the same time. Even if you weren’t too keen on taking up several tasks at once before starting your job in retail, you’ll quickly learn how important of a skill multitasking really is in the real world. And lucky for you, working in retail will help you master the art of multitasking in no time.

3. Leadership. Working as part of a team is important, but sometimes, you’ll need to take charge. Someone will always need to be the leader, and if the manager steps away, you may find that the team is falling apart without that well-needed leadership. Sometimes, it might be you stepping up to the plate, and other times it might be someone else. Either way, your time to prove your leadership skills while working in retail will come.

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4. Organization. Your schedule will always be changing. You may need to cover some extra shifts. You might be requested to come in to work last minute. You’ll likely be given a list of 12 tasks to finish before the end of the day. Whatever it is that happens, you’ll need to stay organized. Even if this is something that was once difficult for you, working in retail will help you learn the best ways to improve and master your organizational abilities.

5. Time management. “So much to do, but so little time.” That’s the sentence that best describes my experience working in retail. Our task list was always extensive, but it felt like we never had enough time to get everything done. Situations like that are right when time management skills are put to the test.

6. Prioritization. Going back to the extensive task list I previously mentioned, I have to say: not everything on that list is going to be equally important. For instance, putting out the new inventory before the store opens is likely going to be more important than making sure all the hangers are facing the same direction. That being said, everything needs to be done, but you need to learn to prioritize tasks in the order of importance, and working in retail certainly helps you learn how to make that happen.

(Image via pexels.com)

7. Patience. Screaming kids? Agitated customers? A task list longer than a takeout menu? A manager who’s just not satisfied with any of the work you produce? You’ll have to deal with all of those situations and more when working in retail. But, as painful as that may sound, it truly is a liberating experience, because it teaches you how to be patient. And I promise you that no matter where you go in life — no matter what personal or professional path you pursue — you’ll find that patience is a virtue.

Have you ever worked in retail? Share the most important lesson you learned in the comments down below!

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