Retail

The retail sector in Ireland employs approximately 220,000 people, accounting for 15 per cent of total employment. One in five new jobs created are in the retail sector, and a significant number of opportunities exist for graduates. There are numerous roles and entry routes to choose between.

Graduate traineeships in store management will involve:

• ensuring excellence in customer care
  
• meeting sales targets
  
• agreeing store layout
  
• motivating and managing a team of staff
  
• liaising with buyers, merchandisers and head office.

Graduates generally rotate between stores and are likely to progress to the role of Store or Area Manager within two years.

Alternatively there are opportunities in head office. Roles may include buying, merchandising, finance, human resources, IT, marketing.

Working as a merchandiser, graduates will gain experience in setting and reviewing sales targets, analysing production, ordering, range planning and promotional activities. Graduate buyers will be involved with purchasing ranges, decide on quantities and negotiating on price. The role involves visiting suppliers and attending trade fairs.

Experience in the retail environment while at college will demonstrate a genuine interest in the industry to employers. Key skills include strong customer service, communication, negotiation, organisation and planning skills. Starting salaries vary significantly between organisations from circa €20,000 to €45,000 plus car. Mobility, particularly for store management/area management roles is important.

Sales

The major advantage of a career in sales is that there is a direct relationship between sales/results and earnings. Organisations will generally offer a competitive salary plus commission. Commission is generally uncapped and depends on revenue generated. For high achievers earning potential is significant.

The environment is meritocratic in nature so strong promotion prospects exist for high achievers. Key responsibilities will include:

• developing and maintaining existing client relationships
  
• identifying and developing new clients
  
• delivering presentations; meeting and exceeding sales targets
  
• ensuring a high level of service to customers.

A career in sales involves understanding the client’s business needs and requirements and successful candidates are likely to be proactive, resilient, self motivated, entrepreneurial, ambitious and have the ability to handle multiple priorities and pressure with ease.

Customer service

Graduates working in customer services are responsible for ensuring that client needs are met and exceeded in order to ensure their ongoing relationship with the organisation.

The sector is diverse and there are opportunities in customer orders, compliant resolution, call centres, customer care, line support, sales support, technical support and banking. Responsibilities may include:

• communicating with customers face to face or via email, telephone or fax
  
• responding to and resolving customer issues
  
• following up on customer calls and ensuring resolution
  
• tracking and documenting all contact with customers
  
• cross-selling additional services
  
• escalating issues to the relevant specialist.

In order to succeed candidates will need to demonstrate that they possess strong interpersonal, resilience, communication and negotiation skills. All degree disciplines are considered relevant, although there is a huge demand for bilingual graduates particularly within call centre and shared service centre environments. Other requirements include the ability to resolve problems effectively, accurately record information, prioritise workload, work to tight deadlines, exceed expectations, recognise areas for improvement, and deliver solutions.

Written by Caroline Kennedy, Careers & Opportunities Officer, National College of Ireland.