How to Get a Job in Luxury Retail

Believe it or not, for the past five years I’ve been working in retail (*insert wide-eyed emoji here). I’ve always juggled a part time job on top of going to college full-time and after college was over, it was difficult to let go of retail work because it’s nice having that extra income while I look for a post-grad PR job. While it feels like I’ve worked in all sorts of retail over the years, one type of retail that I’ve never worked in is luxury retail. While I love luxury products just as much as the next person, I always felt intimidated going into those kinds of stores especially by the sales associates. They were always so well-dressed, polished, and most of them had excellent communication skills. I always secretly wanted to work in that kind of position but assumed that I would never get hired. Then a few weeks ago, I saw an opening for my local Swarovski store and decided to just take a chance and apply. And guess what….I got the job! I decided to share my best tips in case you would like to work in luxury retail as well: 

Experience Matters 

I know you probably get sick of hearing this, but luxury retail is pretty much the best of the best and they’re looking for people that are superior in retail and can prove it with experience. Your experience doesn’t have to be specifically in the luxury industry but what they’re looking for is people who have worked in sales and commission and can work under that kind of pressure. If you don’t have that kind of experience but still want to take a chance and apply, then if you get an interview make sure to talk about how important clients are to you and building relationships with them. 

Being Well-Spoken Is Key

Ever notice how most sales associates that work in luxury sound cool, calm, and sophisticated? Make sure to show them that you can communicate well and have good manners and you’re well-spoken. I recommend going to the store that you’re applying for but in another location and just seeing the way the sales associates interact with their customers so that way you can incorporate some of this into your interview and understand exactly what the manager is looking for. 

Dress Well & Wear The Brand 

Right when I shook hands with the manager of Swarovski during my interview, she instantly noticed my Swarovski earrings and complimented me on them. Managers notice everything especially in luxury retail and small efforts like wearing the brand during your interview says a lot. While I know this isn’t possible for everyone, at least try to wear your best professional clothes (no wrinkles on it!) and if all else fails, wear head to toe black. It just looks sleek and most luxury retail shops require their employees to dress like that so at least the manager can picture you in the position easily. 

Show Them Your Passionate About The Brand

At the end of the day, companies want to hire people that are passionate about the brand and love their products. During my interview I actually talked about how I worked with Swarovski as a blogger which not only made me stand out from the competition but showed that I actually liked the brand way before I applied to work for them and had some prior knowledge. 

Hope these tips helped! But my number one advice for any kind of interview would be to be authentic and to really see if the job is a good fit for you. Many people get it mixed up and think the interview is about you being good enough for them when in reality it’s the other way around! You’ll know it in your gut if it’s the right job or not. 

-Ruya