Hot jobs in retail for fresh graduates

Part I: Jobs: 'It's boom time for graduates'
Part II: Graduates, spruce up your skills
Part IV: ITES/BPO sectors need fresh graduates
Part V: Opportunities for graduates in insurance sector
Part VI: Opportunities for graduates in the ad industry
Part VII: Hot jobs for graduates in the pharma industry

Okay, so we know it's boom time for fresh graduates in the job market. But where exactly are these jobs?

We give you the lowdown on some of the hot industries and job profiles for fresh graduates today. Our first hot industry profile is the retail segment.

A burgeoning working population with a median age of 24 years, nuclear families in urban areas, an ever-increasing population of working women, emerging opportunities in the services sector -- these are the key growth drivers of organised retail in India.

Opportunities galore

The second largest employer after food and beverages, at present, India employs about 22 million people in retail, ie, at par with USA. The present scenario depicts that there will further be a very high demand for manpower in the near future. It is estimated that 8 million people will be required in organised retail by 2011.

Of these, a huge chunk would be working in the 300-400 malls that would be there by that time. The industry turnover is poised to grow from the present figure of Rs 27,000 crore (Rs 270 billion) to 90,000 crore (Rs 900 billion) by 2010 and Rs 1,50,000 crore (1,500 billion) by 2015. Salaries are likely to rise at 30 per cent a year and jobs in retail would be there for the taking.

Moreover, due to its correlation with other industrial and service sectors, organised retailing is generating a great deal of indirect employment: security, electrical and mechanical maintenance, property management services, parking, sorting, packaging, etc. That is, apart from the direct jobs, every retail job created adds further jobs in the support businesses.

If both direct and indirect employment are taken together, there is a phenomenally large growth opportunity in the organised retail industry, the likes of which the country will see possibly for the first time. Though a latecomer in the hiring line, retail is fast catching up with BPOs in terms of the sheer numbers it needs to lap up in the next couple of years.

"As companies diversify into retail right, left, and centre, a career in retail is definitely a good choice. Finding a good job with a lucrative package is no more a dream. Since the purchasing power of customers is much more nowadays, the opportunity for further growth in this sector is also assured," says Manish Arora, 28, an independent recruitment consultant based in Pune.

Some of the leading players in organised retail are:

Pantaloon India (popular as Big Bazaar)

Spencer's (RPG Group)

Reliance

Subhiksha

Vishal Mega Mart

Piramyd

Globus

Job prospects

"The bulk of the demand in organised retail is for the frontliners, which comprise shop floor executives, sales executives, etc. These are the people who interact directly with the customer and comprise approximately 80 per cent of the workforce. Fresh graduates can easily fill these roles," says Manish.

Visit the following links for examples of available prospects:

Bixee.com

Naukri.com

Other job profiles include, which can be filled up by fresh graduates include sales associate, department manager, assistant store manager, buyer trainee, customer service representative, merchandising assistant, and management trainee. Careers can be pursued in other areas of department store retailing, such as the Human Resource Department, promotion, accounting, etc.

Payment structure

You can start out as a floor/ sales executive and expect anywhere between Rs 70,000 and Rs 1.2 lakh a year. From there to a department manager or floor supervisor in about two years. At this level, you can make anywhere between Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 2 lakh a year.

In another year-and-a-half, you can aim for the store manager's slot. With an assured Rs 4 lakh-11 lakh per annum, this is a category where the shortfall is most pronounced. Then you move on to become an area manager, take charge of a few stores of the brand in the region and make anywhere between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 25 lakh a year.

The ultimate goal is to make it to the grade of an operations head or the chief of strategy and planning, where seasoned retailers make Rs 20 lakh-50 lakh a year. There'll be faster promotions in retail and, hence, higher salaries. **

** (Source: Outlook Money)

Institutes to upgrade skills

Keeping in mind the steady growth in the retail industry, many institutes now offer short-term career-oriented courses in retail. These are smart options not only for fresh graduates who want to have an upper hand in the job market, but also for seasoned professionals who want to upgrade skills to remain competitive.

The Indian Retail School has a number of such short-term courses on retail management.
Loyola Institute of Business Administration also offers 3-month weekend certificate courses for any graduates in any discipline. LIBA offers one-year post-graduate diploma courses in retail management as well.
For those who would like to join a two-year full time programme, the same is offered by Pantaloon Retail India Limited (PRIL), together with the Institute for Integrated Learning in Management (IILM).
Pantaloon has also made a tie-up with Wellingkar for a two-year full time programme in retail management.

Companies that hire

~ Shopper's Stop

Webs ite: http://www.shoppersstop.com/Login/login_f.aspx?res=800

Apply here: http://www.shoppersstop.com/emails/Resume_EmailSender.aspx?FirstlevelId=8aef15e8-8b4b-475b-b577-237b6a735ac5&loader=TopLinksLinks

~ Reliance Fresh

Apply here: http://www.ril.com/html/careers/applyonline_retail.html

~ Globus

Web site: http://www.globus.in/v2/index.aspx

Apply here: http://www.globus.in/v2/careers.asp

~ Pantaloon

Website: http://www.pantaloon.com/

Apply here: http://www.pantaloon.com/resume1.asp

~ Fabindia

Web site: http://www.fabindia.com/

Apply here: http://www.fabindia.com/careers.asp