After the winning team of this year’s Intercollegiate Retail Challenge delivered their presentation at NRF’s BIG Show, a panel of retail’s top talent developers offered best practices when trying to break into the industry as a college student or recent graduate.
Here are a few of their tips:
Going abroad. Many companies will be looking to expand into new international markets as the economy starts to turn. If you’re interested in going overseas, companies will be more inclined to send a young person rather than a senior executive for cost purposes says Jim Viola, strategic HR and talent management consultant. However, as Robert Diee, senior manager – learning design at The Home Depot pointed out, there is a transition period that college grads experience when entering into the workforce. It will serve you better to tackle this transition first by putting a few years of retail experience on your resume then combining your effort with a cultural transition.
The power of networking. Kira Martin, a student from Florida State University explained to the panel that while she is in excellent academic standing, has lived in China, has retail experience; she has applied to numerous internships and has yet to hear from ANY she’s applied to! Rick Philips, Ph.D, chief technology officer and VP of Business Development for Castle Worldwide explained that the lack of response from employers is more a sign of the economy then it is her resume. In which case all three panelists agreed that you’ve got to try even harder to market yourself with networking – not just online such as Facebook and Linkedin but by making face-to-face connections with employment opportunities. Moderator Christopher Hollins, VP, retail industry strategic relationship group, American Express adds that getting a job in today’s economy is 5% talent and 95% effort.
Developing your skill set. When you secure an internship, make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. If you’re not able to work for your dream company, you still should be developing a skill set that you can offer to your future employer. Internships are a great way to get your foot in the door and many companies will be more likely to hire you after you’ve been exposed to their culture and environment.
Note: You can read a full recap of of the students’ presentation over at NRF’s BIG Blog.
