Career map
Where a retail job can take you
Retail is not one job, it is a starting point. These are the paths people actually follow, the skills that come with you if you leave, and what each step pays.
The retail career map
Every path starts in the middle. Hover over a role, or tap it, to see what it involves and find matching jobs.
- Ways in
- Steps up
- Top of the path
Stores and operations
Visual merchandising
Buying and merchandise
Marketing
Warehouse and logistics
Office and support
Finance
People and culture
Technology
Pay bands are indicative and come from the Retail NZ wages guide. What you are actually paid depends on the employer, the region and your experience.
Skills that come with you
Whatever you do next, these come with you. They are the part of retail work that every other industry is short of.
Talking to anyone
A hundred conversations a shift, some of them difficult. Every employer in the country is looking for this and very few can teach it.
Keeping your head
Christmas Eve, a queue to the back wall, and a customer who has had enough. Once you can work through that, most jobs feel calm.
Handling money
Tills, floats, refunds and end-of-day reconciliation. This is the same care any finance or admin role asks for.
Working a roster
Turning up, on time, for a team that is counting on you. Reliability is the reference that gets you the next job.
Selling
Working out what someone actually needs and matching it. It transfers straight into sales, real estate, hospitality and recruitment.
Leading a team
Retail puts people in charge early. A supervisor at twenty has management experience most graduates do not.