How to transition into professional / corp jobs from retail

scrimshaw on 21/05/2017 - 17:45
Last edited 21/05/2017 - 17:46

So I'm in my late twenties and having worked about 3.5 years in retail I think I've had enough of it. I graduated with a Bach in Commerce (major in Hosp) which I think, may not really have contributed to my career and so far a lot of the jobs I've done hasn't utilized any of the stuff learned in Uni.

basically
Studied uni (2011)
Worked at uni as a tech support guy (2011 - 2013)
Worked as a Econ 101 / Accounting 101 tutor, employed by uni (2014)
Graduated uni (end 2014)
Started working casual at retail job (2015 - Present)

(I actually got to work something like 4-5 days a week, which is great for my wallet because casual wages pay better than Full time wages, and double pay on sundays. What is not great is that I have to classify it as casual on my resume and people will ask me what the hell I'm doing)

So from what I can gather, my skillsets are either teaching, customer service, tech support, and sales.

I'm now looking at office jobs (primarily admin or something entry level) and I can see several paths:

  1. Work at a call centre at Olympic Park for banks. Most likely would have to work day / night shifts. Problem is, I have terrible sleeping problems and night shifts would probably mean the death of me (and my health). This is a risky route, but it might have the fastest career progression.

  2. Work for Booktopia Customer service. Hours appear to be regular. Pretty safe route. Limited or slow career advancement.

  3. Go to Tafe and get admin certificates, then work as an office monkey for a small business.

  4. Go to university and do post-grad study (maybe MBA or Master of Commerce, dunno what)

  5. Stay in retail and get destroyed by Amazon

  6. Snort cocaine and join the bikies

money wise I'm not poor. Managed to scrape and save over 30k so I can definitely study and work part time, but I can't afford to screw up or lose my job.

Poll Options

  • 1
    Go Call centre
  • 0
    Go Customer service
  • 3
    Go Banking
  • 1
    Go to TAFE and pickup Certs
  • 7
    Go to uni
  • 2
    Climb the retail ladder
  • 53
    Join the bikies (Other)
Education & Work

Comments

  • spackbace on 21/05/2017 - 17:58
    +4

    Sales?

    If your customer service is decent you could look to any sort of sales role, be that a rep on the road, car/house sales etc

    • scrimshaw on 21/05/2017 - 19:51
      +1

      thing is, I don't actually like sales (mainly because i detest high pressure sales tactics the management wants you to do, and second, I don't personally believe in the products that I'm selling. I haven't met my KPI's for over a year now.

      retail gives me mental fatigue. I only like some aspects of it, but pushing things I have no personal interest in makes me feel a little unmotivated, .

      I know that sales in retail is not the same level of difficulty sale as corporate B2b sales, or car sales (which I know you are).

      • spackbace on 21/05/2017 - 20:20

        You learn to be a dick, and you'd be surprised how easy it is to do lol but I came from hospitality (Cafe work) so I was used to up-selling.

      • Ughhh on 21/05/2017 - 20:37

        What do you like then? Sell that or work in that field.

  • dcep on 21/05/2017 - 18:12
    +2

    Property agent.

    • scrimshaw on 21/05/2017 - 19:54

      would need to study property management for that? Can I just jump right in with no quals?

      edit: just realized property management and property agent are two very different things. might consider property and see how that goes.

      • Icecold5000 on 10/07/2017 - 22:31

        It might be worth considering this industry. Get into asset management side of this because it has plenty of exposure to different fields. This is where you manage property from the landlord side and depending on the owner it could encompass anything from commercial or retail leasing (potentially lucrative), project management of fitouts (stressful) or facilities management (boring). What many people don't realise about property is that it doesn't require much in the way of academic qualifications and many senior people don't even have degrees or care where you graduated from. Might be worth getting your certificate of registration as a low cost signal to potential employers.

  • altomic on 21/05/2017 - 18:42
    +1

    have a look at government jobs.

    • toristo on 21/05/2017 - 18:58
      +2

      Nah. OP is overqualified for a government job based on the incumbent.

      • scrimshaw on 21/05/2017 - 19:48

        have tried applying for gov jobs. Bloody long process that requires police checks, background check , health check, working with children check, 4 interviews….

        • toristo on 21/05/2017 - 21:01

          (It was a compliment. I'd consider retail skills above those of our MP's)

          Good luck scrimshaw. Try looking for networking opportunities where you can meet people who already work in those roles, and ask them how they got started. Don't expect they will be in a position to employ you, but they can at least explain the processes they've been through and suggest where to get the leg up.

          Make sure your LinkedIn is updated too. Recruiters do check this. Lock down your social media accounts too so the public persona you present it polished and professional.

        • [Deactivated] on 13/06/2017 - 16:14

          I reckon about 5% are actual vacancies.

  • Savas on 21/05/2017 - 19:26
    +2

    Feel free to add OzBargain to your list of skillsets

  • [Deactivated] on 21/05/2017 - 19:47

    How bout apply for a role in the hotel Industry??
    I don'y know much about your degree, but you could use your customer service to climb to management roles here. I guess you dont wanna get comfortable and waste your uni degree, unless you decided you dont like what you studied.

    • scrimshaw on 21/05/2017 - 19:56

      don't like really hospitality that much. tried an internship. industry on a whole is underpaid and requires a lot of travel and relocation. Unfortunately, I'm not that mobile.

  • SydStrand on 21/05/2017 - 20:03

    Use your original degree. I had a similar conundrum a couple years ago, had a bach under my belt but worked retail for a few years because ironically, the pay was higher than if I stuck to my original path. Eventually went back to do a postgrad degree for something I actually loved.

    • scrimshaw on 21/05/2017 - 20:07

      Just out of curiosity, what did you study for bach and postgrad?

  • ihbh on 21/05/2017 - 20:09

    Definitely not 4. - you'll be overqualified without any experience.

    Why does 3. need TAFE and admin certificates? Can you get a small business office role without it?

    What did you do before uni?

    The few uni graduates I've seen being hired by large corporates are very driven. The challenge for you is that Australian corporates have outsourced a lot of entry level/admin/processing type roles to India/the Philippines, etc., so this is not really an entry point.

  • dylanando on 21/05/2017 - 20:34

    Im a fan of the retail ladder option. You can learn a lot and the pay gets half way decent once you climb a few ladders.

    • scrimshaw on 21/05/2017 - 20:41

      assuming said ladder doesn't get cut off by Amazon and e-tailling

      • dylanando on 21/05/2017 - 21:38

        Then you move with it, I wouldnt live in fear just take advantage of what you have or could get and grab some nice skills along the way.

  • brokeunistudent on 21/05/2017 - 21:13

    Ask Scotty to hire you and thank me later

    • shanakatak on 13/06/2017 - 12:10
      +1

      Has he thanked you yet?

  • RandomNinja on 21/05/2017 - 22:25

    You've mentioned a few things you don't like (eg: hospitality, retail, sales), can you share what you enjoy doing that would be relevant to a career?

  • [Deactivated] on 22/05/2017 - 08:10

    Working for Centrelink isn't hard

  • John Kimble on 22/05/2017 - 17:15
    +1

    Hmmm, didn't really think your poll options through… How can you know if people are taking the piss and choosing bikies and not other?

  • [Deactivated] on 23/05/2017 - 00:03

    I don't mean this to sound negative, but based on many of your replies, you sound like you are in a rut and making excuses for every possible options given to you. Sometimes those who dares wins.

  • hashtagbargain on 13/06/2017 - 10:03

    Congrats on the OzB placement, scrimshaw! Goodluck to you!

    • scrimshaw on 13/06/2017 - 10:04

      Thank you for your words of support Hash.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/06/2017 - 16:15
    +2

    Here's your answer….Temp agencies.

    Gets you in the door where you get experience and if you're good they will eventually find a job for you.

    • scrimshaw on 13/06/2017 - 16:19
      +1

      I'm now with Ozbargain as a mod, but thank you for your suggestion.

  • Chik5555 on 18/06/2017 - 18:26

    When I wanted to move from hospitality into office work in my profession I did some volunteer work in a community centre of the same profession. Met all the local employers and was quickly offered a job.

  • donkeydoc on 27/06/2017 - 09:27

    pay someone money for a diploma in building, then get 2 years experience doing shit for 6 days a week doing overtime without question for peanuts for 2 years, get your experience signed off to get a builders licence, build developments for bikies (y)

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