Black Friday Shopping Spree Could Propel You to a New Career
It’s Thanksgiving week. Once the turkey and sweet potatoes are digested, do visions of shopping and discounts dance in your head? On Thanksgiving Day, do you spend part of day mapping out a strategy for hitting stores when they open early the next day (or even late that night) and beating everyone else to the in-demand items on sale?
It’s a make-it-or-break-it time for some. Total spending on the Black Friday weekend reached about $41 billion in 2008, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by BIGresearch. If you were out there, you joined a 172 million shoppers in stores and on retail Web sites.
While you’re heading at midnight or early Friday morning to snatch up deals on designer clothes and purses, TVs and electronics, toys, and other items, think about these three careers that thrive on holiday spending.
- Fashion merchandising: You’ll be getting clothes off the runway and into the stores for buyers to give the latest fashion trends to friends, family and even themselves. The profession involves not only buying items, but heading up ad and marketing efforts and, depending on the size of the store, duties such as arranging store displays. Sometimes that’s exactly why people come – I’ve waited in line to see the amazing holiday window displays at Macy’s in New York.
- Advertising: Your ad campaigns will get the word out about holiday items and pricing, and will entice people to head to your clients’ store or buy your client’s product first. You’ll rely on education and experience to know which mix of media – print, radio, Web sites, TV, billboards, etc. – will attract gift-giving customers.
- Retail: Probably the hardest working people in late November and December are those in the stores dealing with the shopping mob. Retail management jobs are for those who want to be in the midst of it all. Retail managers are crucial in a store’s success during the holidays as they oversee a team of staffers, order merchandise, and assist sometimes harried customers.
If you’re joining the crowds on Black Friday or throughout the holiday season, think about if one of these new careers is on your wishlist.
Happy shopping!
Article by, Lori Johnston and courtesy of CollegeSurfing Insider.
