Three ways NRFSA members should start getting involved right now:

1. Join the NRF Student Association LinkedIn Group.

Create a profile, share your areas of expertise and experience, and connect with other talented students who are also interested in retailing as a career. The LinkedIn Group is also open to NRF Foundation’s Employer Partners and NRFSA sponsors, making this an unique networking opportunity for all participants.

2. Make plans to attend the NRFSA student events, held in conjunction with NRF’s BIG Show in January.

Only members of NRFSA are eligible for the discounted student rate. The tentative agenda includes the second annual Retail Talent Networking Luncheon, a panel discussion on internships, and the NRFSA business meeting.

3. Sign up for Retail Careers Facebook and Twitter updates.

By following Retail Careers on Facebook and Twitter, you’ll have access to the latest news and announcements about which retailers are hiring, interviews with retailers who know what it takes to succeed in the industry, and other career advice resources.

At the launch of the association, the following fifteen colleges committed to offering members of their campus retail associations the opportunity to join NRFSA. (Read the press release for more information.)

• FIDM/The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
• The Fashion Institute of Technology
• Florida State University Center for Retail Merchandising and Product Development
• Georgia Southern University Center for Retail Studies
• Fashion School at Kent State University
• LIM College
• Longwood University
• Ohio University
• Retail Management Institute at Santa Clara University
• The University of Florida David F. Miller Center for Retailing Education and Research
• University of Arizona Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing
• University of Arkansas Center for Retailing Excellence
• University of North Texas School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• University of Tennessee
• University of Wisconsin-Madison The Kohl’s Center for Retailing Excellence

Interested in joining but your college isn’t listed? Colleges and universities offering a degree program with a focus in retailing, marketing, fashion, product development, finance, supply chain management, real estate or related fields should consider becoming a College Partner of NRF Foundation and taking advantage of the opportunity to join NRFSA.

Sandels Building, Florida State University’s Center for Retail Merchandising & Product Development

FSU’s Retail Center has a number of corporate partners such as Chico’s, Macy’s, Kohl’s and HSN.  What role do your partners play in the development of your students? What examples can you share that that demonstrate the value of these partnerships?

Our Center members play a very active role in our program. They speak in our classes on topics that are related to the course and share “real world” experiences with the students. They provide input for developing our curriculum so that our students are properly prepared to enter the workforce. Members give the students workshops and advice on resumes and interviewing techniques, as well as recruit our students for internships. Center members provide scholarships and speakers for our fall scholarship dinner as well as speakers and contacts for our annual spring Retail Summit.

Your center’s mission is to shape tomorrow’s retail leaders and advance retailing. Why do you think retail provides attractive career opportunities for young people today?

The students that choose our program here at FSU do so because they have already developed an interest in the retail industry. Once here, they soon discover they have made the right choice because of the exciting and abundant careers retail has to offer. What other industry will give them the opportunity to move up so quickly based on their performance and experience. This industry is so diverse and allows students to progress at a personal pace; there is no “glass ceiling” in retail!

You’ll have students graduating in May, what advice do you share with them as they apply and interview for jobs?

Throughout the students coursework we focus on “Executive Presence” working on proactive, professional and positive behavior so that they are properly prepared for their job search.  We make sure that our students understand the importance of a strong work ethic. Their first job may not be their dream job, but they can build on that experience. Two pieces of advice that we always pass on to our graduates is to “ABN” (Always be Networking) and never burn your bridges — the retail industry is surprisingly small!

There is a general misconception that retail is not a lifelong career.  What programs, classes or activities does FSU have in place that help dispel this myth, and communicate the multitude of diverse career paths available in the retail industry?

We begin at the sophomore level by acquainting our students with the many career opportunities to be had in the retail industry. Students become familiar with the numerous industry resources that are available and begin identifying and developing the skills that are necessary to succeed. Throughout their coursework they are exposed to the variety of careers to choose from in the retail industry and we encourage them to do summer internships to give them a chance to explore different types of professions. There has been a required internship in place for over 40 years and this gives the students an opportunity to research and find an internship in the retail arena that interests them and many lead to full time employment. During our annual Retail Summit, we invite our alumni back to give retail advice concerning their careers and successes and it gives the current students a chance to network and find out more about the careers of these young professionals. Right now we have four groups of students that are involved with the Florida Retail Federation Retail Masters Class in a team competition to determine the most effective, creative way to inform and excite a cross section of today’s university students about the enormous career opportunities in retail and we hope to make this an annual competition!

You recently held your Retail Summit and featured executives from JCPenney, Disney, Sports Authority and Cotton Incorporated.  Can you share some highlights of the event? What did the students learn from these retail professionals?

The Retail Summit is held in the spring and we have over 250 students attend. Our goal is to expose them to a variety of executives in an array of retail careers. One of the favorite speakers was from Disney who shared the product life cycle of Disney’s “Vinylmation” and then the students were given the actual product! The EVP from JCPenney shared her career path with the students and advised them to learn the business from the “ground up.” Sports Authority pointed out the power of the customer in this millennium; how you have to define and listen to your customer and how much social networking has affected the retail industry. Cotton Incorporated educated the students with their “dirt to shirt” concept and provided a grant that allowed the students to compete in recycling and reusing their cotton apparel. This is the second time that the students were able to participate in “speed networking” with the executives and FSU Alumni. One of the best pieces of advice an alumni shared was to always “dress and perform for the job you aspire to have.”

What else should retailers and others know about The Retail Center and your upcoming programs and plans?

HSN CEO Mindy Grossman at 17th Annual Scholarship Dinner

We will be holding our 17^th annual Scholarship Dinner in the fall. Last year Mindy Grossman, CEO and President of HSN, inspired our students with her “Eight Life Lessons.” This fall’s event will also include a special speaker and a ribbon cutting for our new labs and classrooms, featuring the Macy’s Merchandising Lab, The Office Depot Technology Lab and the yet-to-be-named Product Development Lab. We are always looking for new partners in the industry, and some of the benefits of joining the Retail Center include: providing input into a dynamic curriculum, creating an employer of choice strategy, and creating a visibility strategy for their companies.

Below is the “RetailNet Consulting” Aspire2Retail Challenge Winning Team together at last!

Starting from left:  Ashley Cline (Florida State Univeristy), Sarah Losse (University of Arizona),Samantha Weaver (University of Florida), Alex West (Univeristy of Michigan), and Kyle Bender (University of Wisconsin)

This fabulous weekend in New York City was extravagant! Along with meeting and networking with some of Retail’s famous executives, I acquired so much information from this weekend by attending presentations, panel sessions, and networking luncheons. The real reason I was here though in fact was to present our winning team’s solution to the Aspire2Retail challenge sponsored by American Express. Sunday morning the RetailNet Consulting Group (my team, minus Kyle Bender who was delayed because of weather and snow) presented our final 30 minute project in front of an audience which included the board members of the National Retail Federation.

Through the stressful times of the holiday season, we were challenged with using Web 2.0 and social networking tools to help our fictional multichannel department store website connect its brand with our customers. We implemented tools like customer reviews, customer loyalty programs, blog advertising, SecondLife and Facebook to raise awareness and increase its image. We also created marketing, merchandising, and technology solutions to accomplish our goals in the challenge.

Afterwards, we were awarded with engraved trophies along with a very exciting surprise scholarship award of $2,500 to each student from Scott Silverman, Executive Director from Shop.org. Later that day we attended a networking luncheon where we discussed trends in sustainability. We spoke with executives from Cisco systems and Ralph Lauren. It’s quite amazing to see the money that retailers are saving by becoming a more sustainable store! Later this weekend I was able to attend sessions about the Retail industry included: Martin Lindstrom and “Buyology: The Truth and Lies about Why We Buy” which included studies showing how the brain influences our decision making; also presentations dealing with creating new and innovative ways to gain better customer relationships and to better serve them in a tough economy. Speakers were very positive even in these tough times. They emphasized ways on improving training and searching for new talent to bring to companies. Instead of this being a negative time, this as an opportunity to learn from these hard times in the economy in which retailers can use this chance to become unique and different from others. This gives hope to many students like myself who are looking for jobs and interested in retail.

Sunday night we were also very fortunate to attend the opening night party at Gotham Hall. Everything was fabulous from the food and cocktails, to the band and the dancing, it was a motivating event to start off the Big show. People from all over the world attended and it was amazing hearing the different languages and yet, we all have something huge in common: Retail.

Overall it was an unforgettable weekend and I was extremely fortunate to meet the members of my team Sara Losse, Alex West, Samantha Weaver, and Kyle Bender. I strongly encourage anyone to participate in such an eye opening experience. Next year, if you are a student and are faced with an opportunity to join the Aspire2Retail Challenge 2010, sign up! If you have the teamwork, the passion, and creativity to pull together a great presentation, you will never forget the experience of a lifetime from a student perspective of the NRF’s BIG Show.

Some of the wonderful faculty members from Florida State University and Myself.

Opening act at the BIG show.  Clearly some “Outside of the Box” thinking going on!