February 2, 2011

Looking for retail work? Target these Northwest companies

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By Kristen Fife
NWjobs

Q: I have worked mainly in the retail industry. My last job was as a group store operations manager for four states. I was responsible for inventory management and operations reporting (sales reporting, inventory, purchase orders, month-end and quarterly reconciliation). I've also been on the management team for several different stores. Where should I be looking?
-CM, Seattle

Kristen says: Definitely look at the larger retailers, both in the metro area and the Northwest to see if there might be some territorial openings to fit your multi-state background. In the retail arena, look at companies like Nordstrom, Costco, Sur La Table, Fred Meyer (corporate headquarters in Portland) or Coldwater Creek (out of Sand Point, Idaho). But also think of companies like Starbucks, Amazon.com, Boeing, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Nintendo or other companies that sell tangible items and have large inventory management systems.

In addition to thinking of “inventory,” it also looks as if you have quite a bit of accounting and reporting experience. I’d look at jobs that have the word “analyst” in them, in conjunction with reporting. An example job title would be an Inventory Analyst. Depending on what computer programs you are familiar with (Excel, SQL, Oracle, SAP or other databases), you might be able to also look at junior accounting roles and even administrative positions. WorkSource recently purchased access to free self-study modules of more than 1,000 software products. You might want to look into honing your skills on programs related to reporting and asset tracking. You can access information and register online or at your local WorkSource office.

Make sure you target your resume by industry and job, and don’t try to be all things at once. You may need several versions for different job types. Use tools like LinkedIn to connect with managers and recruiters at target companies using the “title” and “company” search functions. Often jobs are not advertised on job listings sites, but they are on the corporate websites, so set up time to check your target company career pages weekly. It sounds like you have a broad range of skills to call upon, which is a huge advantage in this competitive market.

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