With my brief time in retail, I have learned several things that are rather noteworthy. These are the reasons why everyone should get a job in retail.
1) It teaches you diligence.
Retail is an awfully fast paced life, not for the weak at heart and therefore you should always be on your feet moving. Not to mention is also teaches you how to better organize your time since being a store employee entails you learning how to talk to customers, fold, hang and re-hang clothes and do just about everything that keeps a store running.
2) It teaches you how to fold.
This may seem like a joke but in all reality there are many different ways of folding. You learn each of the various styles of folding pants, shirts, undershirts, non-cotton shirts, cotton shirts, the list goes on and on.
3) It teaches you how to work with people.
Now the modern day employee needs to be able to do more than just fold clothes. Interacting with people, since you are the face of the store essentially, is important. Putting on that perky, sunny face at work no matter what is going on in your life is an important skill to have.
4) It teaches you how to be organized.
When trying to make sure a store runs smoothly and cleanly, it is important to go in with some kind of game plan. The store is not going to just clean itself up and chances are you don't want to spend an hour and a half cleaning the store after the doors close.
5) It teaches you how to count money.
When doing change the machine tells you how much change you need but it isn't going to just do the change for you. While this may seem like a no-brainer it is becoming increasingly alarming the amount of people who don't know how to count money. Store employees put their math skills to the use, especially when people begin using fifty dollar bills. Being able to count out the exact change and do it in a timely manner is important.
6) The new clothing lines.
What I mean by this, this is just one of my personal favorite benefits, is that you know the products coming into the store at the very least a few days ahead of the customers. Ever found a style you like but they didn't have the size you wanted? We have all been there and done that. Working in the store allows you to get that size you need right off the bat and maybe nab yourself a pretty sweet employee discount as well.
And most of all, the thing that retail teaches you is how the people in retail are just that. People. Working in retail gives you a whole new respect for fellow retail-ians.
