Summary Report for:
41-2031.00 - Retail Salespersons
Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel in a retail establishment.
Sample of reported job titles:
Sales Clerk, Sales Associate, Clerk, Sales Consultant, Sales Person, Merchandise Manager, Retail Salesperson, Selling Manager, Store Manager
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Additional Information
Tasks
- Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
- Open and close cash registers, performing tasks such as counting money, separating charge slips, coupons, and vouchers, balancing cash drawers, and making deposits.
- Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.
- Compute sales prices, total purchases and receive and process cash or credit payment.
- Maintain records related to sales.
- Watch for and recognize security risks and thefts, and know how to prevent or handle these situations.
- Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.
- Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.
- Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers.
- Ticket, arrange and display merchandise to promote sales.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Bar code reader equipment — Barcode scanners |
| Calculators or accessories — Calculators |
| Cash registers — Computerized cash registers |
| Magnetic card readers — Credit card readers |
| Ticket dispensing machines — Lottery machines |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Accounting software — Intuit QuickBooks |
| Human resources software — Exact Software |
| Point of sale POS software — CyberMatrix software; ICVERIFY software; Plexis Software Plexis POS; TokenWorks Magnetic Card Reader |
| Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel |
| Word processing software — Microsoft Word |
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Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
| Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
| Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
| Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
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Skills
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Instructing — Teaching others how to do something. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
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Abilities
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Trunk Strength — The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing. |
| Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
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Work Activities
| Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
| Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. |
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
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Work Context
| Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? |
| Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Frequency of Decision Making — How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? |
| Physical Proximity — To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people? |
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers. |
| SVP Range |
(4.0 to < 6.0) |
| Education |
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed. |
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Interests
Interest code: EC
| Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
| Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
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Work Styles
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
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Work Values
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
| Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2008) |
$9.86 hourly, $20,510 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
4,477,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Average (7% to 13%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
1,935,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
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Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
- National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)
, Public Relations Dept., 8400 Westpark Dr., McLean, VA 22102-3591. Phone: (703) 821-7000.
- Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU)
, 30 East 29th St., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Phone: (212) 684-5300.
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