As a potential employee, you need to be able to access and understand information on what the current job vacancies are and use it in a timely fashion to effectively shortlist those employers who meet your own criteria and skills base. Top retail jobs are highly sought after by job seekers, and the ability to respond quickly will give you a competitive advantage when it comes to the rest of the job hunting pack. The luxury retail jobs segment in particular demands that candidates possess excellent customer service and communication skills and present extremely well. Understanding what a potential employer is really looking for will give you a further competitive advantage when it comes to persuading an employer that you are the right candidate to fill the vacancy.
The Internet is an obvious first choice for researching information on vacancies in the retail sector, but you need to be aware of exactly what you are being shown when you surf the web. Much of the information provided on the web is out of date in many instances and is of no practical use to a candidate looking to make the next move, and indeed, many vacancy summaries are simply not accurate in the information that they are presenting. You must find a resource you can trust and which will provide you with the information you are going to need.
Internet resources most obviously include recruiting and vacancy web sites providing information on retail positions. The issue becomes, which resource or web site are you going to be able to trust?
Internet sites that are online outlets for recruiting companies are unlikely to be able to provide a comprehensive and specialist resource for retail positions at the higher end of the market. Sites that aggregate vacancy information from a range of online and offline sources are likely to provide the most comprehensive information on vacancies within the retail sector. The user needs to be aware however, that there are several pitfalls to trap the unwary when accessing these services. Many portal web sites are simply providing listings of other web sites offering recruiting and retail vacancy services while many others are simply harvesting resumes from candidates in a simple exercise which involves selling resumes to third parties or simply throwing them at possible employers with little thought for placing candidates with matching vacancies.
Before you steam into web sites which may have dubious value for your career search, take some time to shortlist the characteristics and features of a web site that will actually be able to help you. A portal web site which aggregates vacancy and job information is going to provide you with a comprehensive listing service which will be up to date and provide in depth information on the employer and the vacancy provided.
Checking the bona fides of a web site is a good starting point as many sites will simply fail cursory examination of their ''Contact Us'' section. Ensure that a web site provides a physical mailing address and a landline telephone number — ensure they are not simply providing an email address or a cell phone number which is a sure sign of a less than substantial organization.
You also should be looking for a service which will allow you to produce and manage multiple versions of your resume. Your resume is the most powerful presentation tool you have for getting yourself noticed by an employer — it is what a potential employer sees first when they are considering applicants for a job. Different employers and positions will have differing requirements, so you should be tailoring your resume to suit that particular vacancy so you can highlight high end retail experience in fashion to an employer looking just for that while for a luxury jeweler you will be using any aspect of your past experience or skill sets to highlight your attributes making you suitable for that role.
Finally, there is a lot of debate about the subject of fees and charges. Many recruiting agencies do not charge individual job seekers for using their services and instead generate their income from charging employers either to advertise their vacancy or upon placement of a candidate in that role. By definition, these web sites are simply not comprehensive in their vacancy listings as they are simply providing a database of job openings from employers who are advertising with them. Reversing the charging model and allowing employers to list vacancies for free while charging individual job seekers produces a far more comprehensive database of job vacancies and indeed, a really good site will simply be aggregating vacancy data and listing it as a matter of business routine.
