ROLE WITH FROM DEALING WITH CUSTOMERS TO MAKING SURE STAFF ARE PAID ON TIME, THERE'S A POSITION FOR EVERY ASPECT OF THIS SECTOR W orking in retail is a service role - but there are a lot more people behind the scenes than you may realise! As well as serving shoppers directly, many more talents are needed to run a successful store... Sales advisers Working in a shop as a sales assistant is a great start to a career in retail as it will give valuable skills and experience for your CV. The role can vary from manning a till to giving advice to consumers about products such as mobile phones. Your main task is to serve customers and make sure they are happy, so communication skills are key. With many stores open 12-hour days (or more), shift work is common. More than half the people in this sector are part-time, so flexible working hours mean students and parents may find work to fit in around school hours and holidays. Another huge benefit is the staff discounts some stores offer their employees. What can I earn? Salaries tend to start around the minimum wage and increase with experience; you may earn commission and bonuses based on sales figures. The National Living Wage means that from April 2017 every retail worker aged 25 or over earns at least £7.50 an hour. Store/ e-commerce retail managers The role here is to run a store (physical or online) as efficiently and as profitably as possible. For traditional store managers, 1 8 6 /// J O B S & C A R E E R S