want to get out of retail... please advise

positivenote

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hi all,
a friend of mine has been working in retail for years and has over 4 years management experience in the retail fashion industry, but she is now desperate to leave because of the hrs shes expected to wrk... basically she has no life as days off are spent trying to catch up with the sleep she misses due to getting up at 6.30 and getting home at 8.30 5 days a week. She got a first class hnrs degree in media a few years ago. She is looking to wrk a 5 day a week job that will give her some of her life back and at this stage she doesnt really mind what sector it is in... is there anywhere she can go to get advice on what options are available to her as if this current situation keeps going i think that her health may be getting affected.
thanks
 
Perhaps your friend could have a look at publicjobs.ie and see if there are suitable civil/public service jobs. Many of these would be regular hour jobs - 9.30-5.30 Monday to Friday.
 
She could also try temping. If she's any use the odds are she'll be offered a permanent job at one of her "temporary" placements.
 
Hi

Has your friend considered moving up ther ladder within retail, area manager role for instance.
A lot of travel involved, if an all-Ireland role, but maybe could get something with a smaller base. Give her back a Mon-Fri working week.

Other roles could be merchandiser. trainer, buyer, work for a supplier?

Quite difficult to move from retail, as you tend to accumulate lots of little skills instead of one big transferrable one.

Perhaps moving to another retail sector not as fast paced as fashion?

Tried one of the above myself, and missed the shopfloor experience so went back. Working times are a pain, but if it's what your good at, then stick to the knitting.
 
Hi

You mentioned that she got a first in Media...if she were considering a move back into this area perhaps a postgrad (part-time even) would ease the transition.

She should take stock of her interests, hobbies, skills etc at this stage.
List out what it is she really wants and then what's she willing to sacrifice... time (studying), money etc. in order to get it.

Hope this helps.
 
hi all,
she has no life as days off are spent trying to catch up with the sleep she misses due to getting up at 6.30 and getting home at 8.30 5 days a week. thanks


I would have thought theses are fairly standard hours anymore. I do something similar and so do most of my friends. Tell her thats life and to go to bed a bit earlier at night and she wont have to spend her day off in bed.
 
thanks for the advise i will pass it on... regarding the hours, i wouldnt say they are as standard as you may think. The vast majority of people i know with the exception of people working shift are usually in work for 8.30/9 and finish 5/5.30 monday to friday with maybe a few hours overtime that gets paid for. Retail Management from listening to her is a thankless task with very little perks, no spare time and poor wages for the hours worked.
 
You said she gets up at 6.30 not starts work at this time?
 
She could also try temping. If she's any use the odds are she'll be offered a permanent job at one of her "temporary" placements.

I would second the above. I found it very useful lately in terms of reconnecting with an area of work that I had previously liked. I also found the recruitment agency I ended up with quite good in terms of focusing in on an aspect of my CV that I wouldn't have thought too much of myself. Agencies vary, obviously, and they're not career advisors, but they CAN be useful in suggesting career alternatives.
 
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