Mast General Store’s Post

A day in the life of Retail. When I was in corporate and had a job interview, I always got the same question about my resume: “You managed Eddiebauer stores? What was that like?” People are fascinated if you have management experience at a storied and cherished brand. Working at Brooks Brothers as an Assistant Store Manager is no different. Actually, running a store is a lot like running a business. Because it IS a business that someone has entrusted to you to run. Retail is a great training/proving ground for building a knowledge and experience base in sales, project management, relationship building, hiring, human resources, merchandising, inventory control…the list is endless. What I love best about running a store, is the opportunity to leave my footprint on a business with my creativity and sales performance. Last week I was the top seller in our location and I’m one of a group of formidable sales people. Check back here for fun retail stories and sales hacks! #retailtherapy #retailsales #salesexperience

𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 When applying for a retail position, you should expect the interviewer to ask about your prior experience with retail or customer service positions, such as: • Have you ever worked in retail? • How long have you worked in retail? • What type of retail stores have you worked for? • How comfortable are you offering styling suggestions to customers? • Do you have experience managing inventory? • Are you experienced with folding and presenting clothes for sale on the floor? • Are you comfortable asking customers to sign up for the company credit card? • Tell me about a busy time when you were working and how you handled the rush of customers. • How long do you intend to stay in retail as a career? • Have you ever been a manager or informally placed in charge of running a shift at a previous retail job?

So... who do we have in this superstar, absolute dream team that is Frontline Recruitment - Sydney Retail? May we introduce to you, the incredibly professional & skilled Ryan Groves How long have you been with Frontline Recruitment - Sydney Retail? 14 Months What did you do before you joined us? Retail Assistant & Online Order Processor at Total Tools What is your number 1 interview tip? Research and understand the brand you are interviewing with What are your hobbies and interests outside of work? Working out, watching sports & being creative Why do you love retail? The feeling of solving someone's problems and positively impacting them Where are some of your favourite retailers to shop? Fast Times, General Pants, Zara & Stateside Sports You can reach Ryan directly at rgroves@frontlineretail.com.au

My first job at 16 was at Vanity (RIP) in the mall. Here are some lessons I learned back then that still apply to my work today, 20 (👵) years later: 1. The importance of being on time. While I don’t clock in for shifts anymore, I still need to respect other people’s time. Whether it’s showing up for a Zoom meeting on time, meeting deadlines, or just recognizing that my time isn’t more valuable than someone else’s, punctuality matters. 2. How to talk to strangers. At 16, I had to approach groups of people I didn’t know, become their trusted BFF, and then sell them an outfit they didn’t even realize they needed. Looking back, it’s wild to think about, but that skill of making people feel comfortable during our first interaction has been invaluable throughout my career. 3. Folding jeans. Okay, maybe this one doesn’t apply directly to my workday, but you should see my closet! The ability to fold clothes neatly has definitely come in handy over the years. What was your first job? And what skills are you still using from it today? #firstjob #lifelessons

opportunity

Want to retain quality store talent? Meet Proximity! My son had friends over last night, 1/2 of whom had retail store associate roles this summer. I asked if they would be back for holiday, they all quickly said, "No." and then followed it by saying their phones were dead at the end of their shifts because the applications/devices they were given were slower than their own phones. NET NET: Store associates are leaving the business - frustrated - due to not having the right tools to do their job effectively! From a retailer's perspective - this can be hard to hear b/c we all know high staff turnover results in higher training costs for new employees and taxes your super-star employees!!! The Retail-Super App provides all the capabilities an associate needs to win, serve and retain customers and makes their live's easier, whilst helping them sell more and reach their targets (earn more commissions), so they stay with a business longer! https://lnkd.in/gV-embBV

Our family was at the mall over the weekend, and we walked into a department store to look around. I noticed how many suits there were. Huge racks of suits that were all relatively similar. Nothing really stood out about them. It made me think about all the different reasons and events that would require someone to wear a suit. Each reason or event could be different, yet we're only given one option to choose from. But the moment you take that suit to a tailor and get it customized, it's instantly a 1 of 1, and it's your suit that will not fit anyone else. So why do we look at hiring as something like shopping at a department store? A Director of Sales at one company is often an entirely different thing at another company. I have seen sales roles with entirely different job descriptions. Yet we go to the same place to find the same resumes. Why not tailor your hiring to your exact needs? Quit using a blanket approach to finding the best talent and get it tailored to your culture and your company's needs.

Lessons I learned from working 10+ years of retail: ➡️ Be knowable People connect with other people, not the sign on the front of the store. People came in either familiar with the brand or not, but it was up to us (the people working at the store) to share the store's brand story, animate the experience and most importantly, help the customers get what they needed/wanted. This is how you build relationships. Repeat customers knew a lot about the product and the brand, but now they wanted to know a little more about me—the person recommending the products, navigating the variables to find the perfect fit for my customer. Knowing more about me helped them trust and ultimately connect. These exchanges enriched my part-time job experience—it felt like the work I was doing was actually helping solve a problem, even if the problem was trying to find someone a great pair of jeans. TLDR: Talk to strangers, share the human experience with each other, even if it's just at the mall. Also finding a good pair of jeans is hard 👖 #Retail #TalkToPeople

What I learned working at the Gap. One of my first jobs was working at the retail clothing store. I started working there as a high school student. I would get off school, come home, change, and head out to catch the buses to get to the store. I would have to get two buses to arrive at my store in Chevy Chase, Maryland. 🚌 Working at the Gap taught many things. How to properly place and fold clothes. Have an eye for asthetics. I became a visual merchandiser. It is when you optimize the presentation of products and services to better highlight their features and benefits. The purpose is to attract, engage, and motivate the customer towards making a purchase and part of the responsibilities included dressing the mannequins and putting the appropriate displays inside the store and store windows. You want the customer to say, "Where can I get that outfit". I learned how to tastefully talk with customers without being too pushy. Asking how I can help, maybe they needed a different size, color, style. I became a better sales person by asking better questions. I became the #1 GAP card seller, the store brand credit card. I became more responsible. If I felt under the weather or went out the night before and had to open up the store early in the morning the next day I still had to show up on time. It did not matter how I felt, you have a commitment and you showed up. A smile and your enthusiasm goes a long way. You can transfer your energy to someone else. Do more. If something needed to be done, step up and take it on. I started in the stockroom in the back, and transitioned to the salesfloor in the front. I received several raises each year. At one point, I was the highest paid employee at the store besides the managers. I was at the GAP for 5 years. I started in high school and left during college. I was working full-time at the store and going to college full-time. They wanted me to become a manager but I passed because it came with additional responsibilities. At that time, I also had a internship at an investment bank and I was focusing my career efforts on this. I learned so much at the GAP and thankful for the opportunity. Retail will always have a soft spot in my heart. And now I represent retailers with their commercial real estate needs. ❤ #retail #GAP #CRE #commercialrealestate

Genuinely curious. I can understand why not to put someone's full address on a resume (safety/privacy reasons?). What I don't understand is why some people don't even include city and state (e.g. Middletown, New Jersey) on their resume? If you're applying for a merchandising position that requires some days on site, the recruiter will be looking for where you live. By not including that, they will need to reach out and ask you, or skip the extra step and pass onto other resumes that provided the information upfront. What are some reasons you think people don't include city and state when applying for on site merchandising positions? #recruiting #recruiter #merchandising #productdevelopment #sales #design #resumereview #artisan34 #newjersey #middletown #hiring #hiringnj