Advice for applying to a pet store

Hey i am applying to work at a new pet store in my town, and do you have any advice to make me stick out?:)

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Originally Posted by footballpythons

Hey i am applying to work at a new pet store in my town, and do you have any advice to make me stick out?:)

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Having many years under my belt in the retail pet business, I feel very good offering up my advice here.

Making a good first impression when looking for a store position is important (as it is in any business). You don't want to stick out in a bad way. :) Don't go in looking like you just rolled out of bed and felt like you needed some cash so why not get a job at a pet store. You're not applying for a job on Wall Street or anything, but it's still key to present yourself well. Think to yourself - do I look and act like the kind of person my potential manager would be happy to introduce their customers to?

Secondly, EVERYONE applies at a pet store because they love animals - that's a given. If you do get an interview, think about what makes you different and be prepared to speak to that. Obviously talk about your love, but what else is there? Do you have previous retail or customer service experience? If not, what groups/teams/leadership roles have you been a part of that you can speak to that show off those qualities?

Ultimately, you're applying for a customer service job in a business that happens to sell animals and supplies. You're not applying for a job where you can play with and care for animals all day long that happens to have customers. It's those amazing people that are great with customers and pets that end up succeeding the most in this business.

Good luck to you!

Best regards,
Eric

Having past managed a retail shop myself for 13 yrs myself, I can tell you that Eric is spot on.

To add, there is almost nothing worse than an employee who can not answer basic questions about their products. It dramatically takes away from the store's credibility. Make it clear that you are there to learn and are willing to study up, even on your own time. You are expected to sell which means knowing your stuff.

Make it clear in the interview that if a customer asks a question that you don't know the answer to, you will find the answer, or someone who does. There is no shame in that. The cardinal sin in retailing/seller is making up answers due to pride.

Best to you

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Originally Posted by Reinz

To add, there is almost nothing worse than an employee who can not answer basic questions about their products. It dramatically takes away from the store's credibility. Make it clear that you are there to learn and are willing to study up, even on your own time. You are expected to sell which means knowing your stuff.

Make it clear in the interview that if a customer asks a question that you don't know the answer to, you will find the answer, or someone who does. There is no shame in that. The cardinal sin in retailing/seller is making up answers due to pride.

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THIS. There's getting a job (which is the easy part), and then there's keeping a job. This is how you keep one. :gj:

What pets do they sell?
I would study up on those. For example, anything related to say, tropical fish can get fairly technical. I would also walk in with some familiarity with the product lines they happen to carry.

You got such good advice here so far! I was going to tell you a lot of the same... But here is one piece of advice. If you work at... Let's say... Smart? Then don't get caught in a video on the Internet in Co, in your work shirt, buying stuff for your pets. And if you do end up in that video, don't be helping a customer make right choices about buying the cute little iguana.

On on the other hand, I did get a better job offer out of it, so your mileage may vary.

Also remember, YOU don't know everything BUT you are willing to learn. ;)

Thanks I am 15 years old and I know much more than majority of the employees already there