I spent five years working in retail across several different retail businesses.

Retail is a rollercoaster of the highs and lows of the human experience. On the bright side, you get to help people and meet many cool people whether they be your customers or your coworkers. On the low side, you often bear witness to some of the worst of humanity on a somewhat casual level. But all in all, it is a highly valuable experience that will teach you many things and I believe everyone should spend at least a year in retail as it will make you a better customer and a better person for the rest of your life.

My typical day

A typical day at work varies highly from business to business but in general, your day will start with prepping the store and various other opening procedures. The middle portion is mostly just helping customers, selling products, and cleaning or otherwise engaging in merchandising activities to make the store more attractive or presentable. Then the end of the day are all the closing procedures to tally up the cash flow and perhaps make a bank deposit and clean and lock up the store.

I worked in at least a half dozen retail stores growing up from kitchen supplies to sports equipment and much more. I highly recommend working at a place where you use or believe in the products or like the clientele. If you hate sports, don’t work at a sports store. If you hate watches, don’t work at a watch store. Especially right now, everyone needs help so job seekers can be pickier. The more you like the store, the better you’ll do at your job, the more you’ll sell, and life will just be better in general.

If your boss sucks, quit and find a new one, but try and do some due diligence before starting anywhere so you know a bit of what you’re getting into. You can learn a ton of things from working in retail and patience and empathy are things you get to exercise on a daily basis, so it can be a really rewarding experience even if you’re not looking to make a career out of it. Just go in, do a great job, have a lot of fun, and enjoy the experience.

Warehouse Worker – Tim Brown

Manomin Resawn Timbers

I worked pulling nails at a resawn timbers company, Manomin Resawn Timbers. My job was to use a hand-held metal detector to find nails in the wood whi … Read More

Retail Sales Rep – Jody Rice

Ashley Homestore

My typical day at my current job is walking around a 150k square feet showroom floor looking for customers to help. My current place of employment is … Read More