Insight into starting a career in retail?
Asked by BookLover
Hello everyone, I am hoping someone can give me some insight into beginning a career in retail, specifically with Barnes & Noble or another large book retailer. I have worked as an assistant in offices (specifically as a Paralegal) for years and find no fulfillment in either my tasks or the environment in which I work. I have a passion for books, and though a career in retail does not appeal to me for several reasons (the pay, the hours), I believe working in this field would give me a sense of happiness and fulfillment that I have been lacking and I can therefore overlook any of these "cons". Does anyone know how the pay structure generally works? Would my job experience give me an advantage (over someone just starting out of high school or college)? How long does it typically take to go from being a Bookseller (assuming I do a fantastic job) to securing a position as a manager (assistant store, merchandising, community relations, etc.)? Thanks for your help.

Best Answer:
i'd say just go and apply at a whole bunch of places, if they like ya and you show up every day then may be they will keep you after christmas. I am a little curoius as to why you are looking for "fullfillment" in retail. without any experience it;s going to be min. wage or maybe like 60 cents above min., wage
11 years retial experience
Answered by the d

Depends on where you live, most ppl hate retail, but stick it out for the perks, ETC. I am 19, live in NY, been doing 4 retail jobs since I was 16, I have the ex, I'm lookinh to become a buyer, the pay now is not bad, but not great, but I am looking at the bigger picture, most places hire from within, so this may sound cliche' but u have to start from the bottom, and rubb elbows with the corporate ppl who come around once in a blue.
Answered by NYC's Drama Queen

I would go into book editing if your passionate about it. Book reatil is more fun then normal i've worked both. I used to work specifically for barnes & Noble the pay is low, the opportunity for advancement is lower. the stores are big your chance compared to others of advancing are low. one manager i had promised a friend of mine who was a shift manager the assistant manager position when it was coming open. then they overlooked her. corporate actually the regional rep said hire from outside, they hired a girl with other company book experience who was horrible and fired a month later, then a girl who had been assistant manger of a bath and body works and had no experience in books, even though my friend had assistant manager experience prior, and was hired as a shift leader. not to mention the upperlevel positions don't come open very often. B&N likes to hire from outside. if you want to go with books then i'd go and apply to work as an editor for books either a copy editor (meaning you read the book and make sure the grammar is right, no plot holes, and that the guy with curly hair on page 8 has curly hair on page 188). or as an production (i think thats what they are called) editor where you basically you read the incoming inquiry letters with sample chapters decide what to produce and what not to, and you keep track of authors do lunches, and make sure they are on tract, you read the stories chapter by chapter as finished, make sure it stays on schedule, and also you meet young new inspiring faces of up and coming writers. i'd try something like that instead. just my personal advice.
Answered by the_beautiful_poet

Your paralegal experience will be of great help as you rise in the ranks from associate to manager because attention to detail is very necessary. The pay at first is mediocre, a few bucks above minimum. But the perks are great if you love books because employees are often allowed to keep the ARCs(Advanced Reader's Copies) that publishers send to the stores. I read so many books months before they went on sale. Management pay is a little better, but you don't see real money until you get into the district and regional management ranks. A good sales associate needs to be able to quickly build rapport with a customer, recognize opportunities to 'up sell' (in the book industry it would be add-ons like book markers or books by different authors but in the same genre that the customer is interested in). Be observant and take initiative-I managed a Border's in a community that had a total of about 15 to 20 elementary, middle and high schools. I contacted the heads of the english/reading depts for each and asked them to fax me their summer reading lists. This simple task opened the door to greatly increased sales. Be confident. Don't be afraid to ask for the sale. Fashion yourself as a person who is recommending a great product to a friend and not trying to boost your commission-even though you are ; ) Best of Luck!
Answered by Uz2BAZroBoy