The first “real” job I ever had was in retail, working as a seasonal sales associate. I babysat in high school and was already running Bowtiful Life, but the summer before I started college I worked at the J. Crew in my local mall! I had SO much fun that summer making new friends and learning more about a brand that I’d always loved! The people that I got to work with at that store were so kind and the management team was awesome. I will admit that the constant folding and re-folding wasn’t my favorite thing in the world, but that was easily outweighed by the enjoyment that came from helping customers put together outfits for whatever occasion they were shopping for.
One of the best compliments that I could get when helping a customer was when they would buy the “same” outfit that I wore to work that day. (Talk about a confidence boost!) That first summer, I created some solid customer relationships where I would help them with shopping and styling whenever they came in. (I’ll mention this again later in the post, but the relationship building was one of the many things that I loved about working in retail.) Once I started college, I continued to work at J.Crew over the summer and when I was home for various holidays. At this point I had already learned so much from working at J. Crew, but was ready to shake things up a bit! After two full summers and multiple holiday stints, I chose to take a break from retail to focus on my blog and nanny during the summer before my junior year.
I can honestly say that I missed the hustle and bustle during those few months. I loved the rhythm of retail and realized I wanted to jump back in once summer was over! While scrolling through social media one day I saw that Kendra Scott, an Austin-based jewelry company, was getting ready to come and open a store in Chicago! They hadn’t announced any dates, but I was intrigued and sent in my resume asking for more info. I ended up attending a hiring event that they held later that summer and I got the job! I helped open Kendra Scott’s first Chicago store on Michigan Avenue and watch as the brand expanded throughout not only Chicago, but the world! (They just opened a store in London this past year!)
Unlike my previous role, at Kendra Scott I was a year-round, part-time employee rather than just working seasonally. I’d go to my classes in the morning and then head into work for my shift in the afternoon. I cannot even begin to explain just how much taking this job improved my time management skills! I was juggling a full load of classes, a long-distance relationship, a social life, a leadership role in my sorority and Bowtiful Life while also working around 15-20 hours a week. Those first few months were quite an adjustment, but set me up to be much more efficient and use my time wisely.
I ended up spending over three years with Kendra Scott! During this time, I formed so many amazing relationships, both with coworkers and customers, and I know that years from now I will still stay in touch with many of them! Recently, I made a career shift and am no longer working in retail. (Don’t worry, I’m still blogging and Bowtiful Life isn’t going anywhere!) The years that I spent with J. Crew and Kendra Scott gave me a well-rounded set of skills that I know I’ll use for the rest of my life! I put together a list of just a few of the many skills that I learned thanks to my time in retail. Check it out below!
10 Things I Learned From Working in Retail
1. Communication & Tone
I majored in communications when I was in undergrad and I already had (what I would call) good communication skills. My experience in retail taught me how to better interact with coworkers, managers, customers, and people higher up within a company. One of the biggest aspects of communication that was strengthened for me was the power of tone. Tone has a huge effect on how people perceive things and how they ultimately end up reacting. It’s important to be able to gauge what tone to use when speaking to someone to get a desired result.
2. Teamwork
With both companies, I learned how to work and function as a part of a team. In any business or company, the team is like a puzzle. Each person is a piece and the puzzle can’t be completed if all the pieces don’t do their job. It may seem like a silly analogy, but it’s true! By partnering with coworkers to achieve a common goal things can get done SO much faster and more effectively. This goes for working with others in any setting!
3. Confidence & Initiative
I’ve always been a relatively confident person, but after working in retail I would say that I am even more-so. When it comes to company culture, my mangers always encouraged us to “own” anything we did. Meaning, if we were in a situation where we needed to make a choice in the moment, we made that choice with confidence and readjusted after the fact if need be. I felt empowered to make choices for myself and that helped to encourage the confidence I have now.
Along with confidence, I also learned how to take initiative in any situation. With the concept of “owning” whatever you do, you’re given a certain power and push to take control of a situation when necessary. This also goes beyond the idea “taking control” and can simply mean knowing when to offer to do something or just doing it yourself without being asked.
4. Patience
My time in retail taught me a LOT about patience, especially with myself! I’m typically pretty patient with others, but not at all with myself. Going slowly when needed, double checking things and not beating myself up too much when I didn’t do something “just right” the first time all came from being patient with myself and allowing the time I needed to get it done the right way.
5. Customer Service
At both jobs I learned that the customer is always right – even if they aren’t exactly “right”… Let me elaborate. When working in retail, your customer is your number one priority, because at the end of the day that’s who you’re there to help. They are your purpose. Even if they aren’t quite right in a situation it’s your job to do your very best to make them as happy as possible (within reason, of course).
6. How to Build Relationships
It may totally sound cheesy, but I learned SO much about building relationships from working in retail. As I mentioned above, the relationships that I built with both coworkers and customer were one of my favorite aspects of the job. Working in retail gives you a solid set of interpersonal skills and teaches you how to connect with others.
7. Technical Skills
This may come as more of a surprise, but I lost track of how many times I helped with something tech-related. I was already pretty tech savvy, but I became far more familiar with the interworking of printers and how registers and display screens worked on a technical side. I’d sometime joke that I was our personal, in-house tech team when it came to helping out with little tech things that would pop up throughout the week.
8. Mental Math
I’ve never been a big numbers person, but working in retail definitely strengthened my mental math. Figuring out discounts and how much tax would be helped me flex my math brain on a daily basis!
9. Problem Solving
One of the biggest lessons that I learned was that there’s not always just one “right” answer. Sometimes when you’re solving a problem there are a few! Working around the holidays was always a bit more stressful because it’s the busiest time of year. You tend to run unto a few more “problems” on a daily basis. It’s important to know how to keep your cool and solve whatever problems you come across into during times like these.
10. Time Management
As I mentioned earlier in the post. This was a HUGE skills that I came away with from my retail experience. Especially while in school, working in retail taught me how to better manage my time and my schedule. Honestly, there were still many nights where I was up late finishing homework after a closing shift. However, I got so much better with managing my schedule and how I spent my time thanks to this experience!
I am SO glad that I decided to work in retail at age 18. The list above includes just a few of the many skills that I walked away with from that time in my life. These roles also introduced me to some absolutely wonderful and incredible people. For that, I will be forever grateful!
To anyone else who worked/is working in retail, what are some of your biggest takeaways and skills from your experience? To anyone in high school or college that’s reading this, I would HIGHLY recommend working in retail at some point. (Even if it’s just a brief seasonal role over the holidays). You end up learning SO much!
I hope you all enjoyed this post!
