Retail Job Hunting: Some Advice
Here are two things to keep in mind when job hunting in the retail world, whether it's for your first job or not.
- When it comes to applying for a job in any type of retail setting, remember to be patient. The bigger the company, the most likely it'll take a while to get a respsonse. Their hiring process can be a lot more involved.
Smaller companies in general don't take as long but they could have their own involved process that may take them more than a couple weeks.
Sadly some places don't do well in the keeping in touch part, so sometimes just placing a phone call can help. Don't call them every day or often. They don't like that and that can get your application tossed into the slush pile.
And #2: while they can state they are hiring, sometimes they really are not. Certain times of the year they really aren't hiring and are just collecting those applications for a time when they know they will be hiring. So don't get surprised if you wind up getting a phone call from a place you applied to like 4 or 5 months back.
Just do your best to be patient. When it comes to retail, patience is a virtue. And just keep applying and keep that patience at hand. When you feel like you're gonna go nuts from lack of responses, take a step back, take a deep breath, and then take a look at some of the companies you applied to.
Remember: The bigger they are, the longer it takes.
Thanks for that advice I can't agree any more Ashley.
Cool, thanks Ashley. I was wondering why they took so long to call back after applying. Not to much happening on application account either. I have a couple of apps still sitting in the "under review" status. Hope hiring picks up next month. Thks again
Great advice Ashley. Nice to see a post that is not a horror story about wrong doings. Great job!
Good advice.. Thx
UPS does #2,they say they are always hiring I think for good PR to make them appear almighty or some crap. They hire seasonal temps that could turn to permanent hires if they like you but only if there is an actual non temp position open and sometimes it can take a year and you could be laid for months at a time before being hired. The Seasonal period is something like Nov-Dec every year, those months don't count for getting 30 working days within 90 to be hired permanently. They will lay you off at the end of December and either call you back to work next winter or during spring-summer months to be on call when they need someone to cover vacations Monday -Friday
Ashley, Real sound advice. Financial stress is causing me to have some major patience issues lately but I will keep your advice at hand. Thank you very much
You keep nailing it with this stellar advice, Ashley! We're so glad you're sharing all of this valuable wisdom with the community!
Really cool advice. Thanks for sharing this Ashley!
no wonder nobody is calling me for the thousands of jobs I have applied to. Why would they put up job openings if they're not hiring. That's so misleading and doesn't make sense. I need to find a job soon so i will keep sending out apps and hope for the best. Thanks for sharing this advice with me