Seeking Work in Retail Industry - JB Hi-Fi, Apple, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys

Hunter80 on 30/09/2018 - 08:44
Last edited 30/09/2018 - 12:00

Hi all,

I am in my late 30s, and looking for a different work environment in my life. I have been in an engineering field for the last 12 years. Want a change for short term (6 months), before I likely return to my normal career.

I am very tech savvy, and don't mind genuinely helping people. Never worked in retail industry and think that's the part of life experience that I missed in my teens.
I know retail is not an easy job, but I am up for a new challenge.

Can you guys please share your experience on how to best score a job at one of these retailers. You can PM me if you want. All your comments/advice will be highly appreciated.

Education & Work

Related Stores

JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi
Apple
Apple
Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman
The Good Guys
The Good Guys

Comments

  • whooah1979 on 30/09/2018 - 08:50
    +11

    I have been in an engineering field for the last 12 years.

    Changing to retail sounds like a demotion. Low wages and crap hours.

    • hawkeye on 30/09/2018 - 09:10
      +1

      yeah but you get perving privileges look at Al Bundy https://s2-ssl.dmcdn.net/n3hp8/526x297-tAY.jpg

      • Hunter80 on 30/09/2018 - 11:57

        You got it…!!!

    • Hunter80 on 30/09/2018 - 11:59
      +1

      Na mate, work is work…. Money isnt driving force.. And I want a break for my normal career for few months…

      • whooah1979 on 30/09/2018 - 12:11

        Why not travel around the world for 6 months if money isn't an issue?

        • Hunter80 on 30/09/2018 - 15:13

          I m already travelling to Australia..

      • SBOB on 30/09/2018 - 18:56
        +1

        a few months?

        Work an extra month in engineering and you'll earn what you'd earn in 3 months in retail… you can now have three months to have an actual break.

        having gone the opposite career direction, unless you're seriously lacking people skills in your engineering career, you arent going to gain anything useful working in retail.

        • Hunter80 on 01/10/2018 - 06:16

          Your last paragraph is good, and that's why retail.

  • 87percent on 30/09/2018 - 08:50
    +5

    Apply for Christmas casual, show your worth, and then hopefully get offered fill time employment?

  • holoz0r on 30/09/2018 - 09:09
    +13

    You don't genuinely help people in those sorts of retail jobs. You sell people extended warranties they don't need.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2018 - 10:22
      +9

      Don't forget the $360 HDMI cables.

  • Ozbargainite on 30/09/2018 - 09:27
    +4

    Good Luck OP.
    Be prepared to be bombarded with irrelevant and unhelpful advice unrelated to the crux of your question because everyone here knows more about your wants and needs than you do.

    • Hunter80 on 30/09/2018 - 12:09
      +1

      Hahhaa.. I am.just grateful for people taking time out to read and then type a response.. Any feedback/recommendation shall be good…

  • GangGang on 30/09/2018 - 09:36
    +3

    It's the best experience I ever got. Dealing with customers, suppliers and products.

    The downside is pay and hours. You don't finish @ 5pm. Counting registers and locking up starts when the store closes. Same for opening.

    I guess it depends on your position and where you work. You may not need to do those things.

    • Hunter80 on 30/09/2018 - 12:08

      Where is thumbs up on this.. that's what you got from me.. Experience is all I am after.. Something that will make me better at communication/interaction with others…

      • FunkyHoratio on 01/10/2018 - 06:56

        Why not look at a different focus for your engineering skills? Look at fields like business analyst (BA). They spend their days dealing with customers, gathering requirements, and organising documents for the requirements process. Lots of people interaction with both customers and engineers.

        • kerfuffle on 01/10/2018 - 08:30

          The OP says he only wants a gig for six months; will any company hire someone for a BA role that they only intend to work for six months in? At least with retail, he could apply now for a Christmas Casual position …

          • FunkyHoratio on 02/10/2018 - 20:04
            +1

            @kerfuffle: A lot of IT is contact work, wouldn't think it would be that hard to find BA contact work…

  • waterbottled on 30/09/2018 - 09:43
    +3

    I was a david jones Sheridan for half a year. started as a Christmas casual. Good experience in building rapport and learning how to interact with people. Time goes by fast during sales (eg. boxing day sales, Christmas sales, "half-yearly sales"), but time goes by really really slow when there aren't many customers. You have to be on your feet all day which will get tiring, and it's a more physical job than you'd first think. You'll also have to unpack boxes of stock and fill up the stockroom for hours at a time which gets boring and tiring as well. You get staff discounts though which is something you'll appreciate, and you'll find yourself browsing the store during downtime just looking for stuff to buy.

  • kerfuffle on 30/09/2018 - 09:58

    Obvious question, but have you tried applying online?

    You might need to remove your qualifications too as they may pass on you if you look overqualified and seem like you'll only be there for a few months …

    Also be prepared for extended trading hours; some shops will open up until midnight in the few days before Christmas. And abuse from customers …

  • meong on 30/09/2018 - 11:56
    +1

    Working in the Retail Industry doesn't always mean working at the shops as a Store Manager or Shop Asisstant.

    There are a lot of companies which actually ventures into Retail as well. I once work in the pharmaceutical/health industry and was dealing with the retail channels a lot and thought it was challenging. Then I moved into a completely different industry and fast forward later, I'm being charged to handle retail venues across VIC and NSW and still find it challenging. I guess sometimes you just can't escape what you're good at haha.

    FYI, I work in IT…

  • DemocracyManifest on 30/09/2018 - 12:06

    You will have to upsell instead of assist to keep your job and put up with (profanity) and dont expect to earn more than 40k.

  • DemocracyManifest on 30/09/2018 - 12:08

    Stay away from franchises cause they burn through staff faster to keep costs down to stay afloat

  • [Deactivated] on 30/09/2018 - 12:18
    +5

    I am very tech savvy, and don't mind genuinely helping people.

    Then you are over qualified. Look elsewhere.

  • MITM on 30/09/2018 - 12:50

    www.bunningscareers.com.au

    • holdenmg on 30/09/2018 - 14:37

      Pros:
      Near Sausage Sizzle.

    • Mike88 on 30/09/2018 - 15:10
      +5

      Cons:
      Near Sausage Sizzle.

  • Pharos5 on 30/09/2018 - 16:57
    +3

    I was a manager in retail electronics during uni. It's not about helping people; it's about hitting sales, warranty, upsell, etc.

    Personally I enjoyed helping old people that came in to dickies for help with remotes and older tech. However, every 10m you spend with them is 10m you aren't selling a tv or laptop to someone else. In fact, if they want to then buy a remote or small electronic off you after you help them, it actually HURTS your targets.

    I'm not saying don't do it, just have realistic expectations.

    Secondly, obviously, don't tell them you are only in it for 6months. While retail turnover is mid-high they want it to be on their terms and not yours.

    Lastly, just apply online. Taper your resume towards sales experience first, customer service second, and professional engineering/hobbyist third. Make sure you have key words as that's how they search through the thousands of applications. Remove obvious indicators of your age until you get to a face-to-face stage.

  • farknos on 01/10/2018 - 07:54
    -1

    FFS, try washing windows at the traffic lights

  • Hithere on 01/10/2018 - 10:49

    If you are good at lying and enjoy ripping people off try Hardly Normal.

    Their staff turnover is almost weekly.

    On second thoughts, if you are tech savvy and enjoy helping people don't bother, you won't fit in there.

    • Hunter80 on 01/10/2018 - 12:09

      I won't mind Hardly Normal either… I won't have any conflict of interest so can genuinely try to help customers, and improve my own skills along the way.

  • elgrande on 01/10/2018 - 19:11
    +1

    Nothing like 6 months in retail to remind you why you studied engineering!

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