5 Reasons why retail jobs are not all that bad

Part time retail jobs, no doubt, can be one of the most hectic and regrettable jobs anywhere in the world. But after spending my last 4 years under the green neon lights of one of the largest retail stores in the UK, I've discovered it's not all that bad.

1. The Experience;

While all the other organisations are juggling between skills and experience of applicants, retailers hire the character. A chance is given to everyone who is trainable, and is retained as long as the work ethic is consistently positive.

I was given the opportunity, and trained until I was absolutely confident with people. Then I was multi-skilled and trained on other functions of the business. And then, when they saw I still have a life, they trained me on other departments totally unrelated to my contract and given further responsibilities and expectations. The customer, management and colleague interaction offers a great learning experience of the dynamics of the work force.

2. The Social Circus;

While the interactions provide a learning experience, it also creates an environment of patience, tolerance and understanding of human kind, because on a customer facing role, you pretty much get to see every type of human living out there. Not to mention the friendships and relationships you make within your workplace, it's an ideal place for social enthusiasts.

When it comes to events or celebrations, the retailers are probably one of the most enthusiastic businesses, may it be football world cup, valentines day or diwali. The differences and diversities are ignored when the fish is half price on Good Friday!

3. Flexibility and Job Security;

While being one of the most ruthless and cruel organisers of 'human capital', they absolutely can't afford to let an efficient member of staff leave, that's why they are known to offer great flexibility to not too hard working individuals, mainly students. 

The flexibility and job security offered ensured that I don't run away else where, even when I had two other jobs in the working week in addition to university commitments. Maybe I was that good that they didn't let me go, but I think they must have forgot to tell me that!

4. Growth opportunities;

Despite the numerous number of people complaining about lack of opportunities within retail, the born leaders and those with extraordinary people skills always manage to go up the hierarchy by hook or crook. There's opportunity to shine for those who are gifted and not afraid, because it's not particularly an easy environment to grow. 

The current managers have been through the system, the journey makes them hard, and they make sure their successors don't have an easy ride too, therefore only the tough ones are able to succeed. Saying that, it doesn't always appear to be one desirable place where one would like to see itself, or maybe that's what they try to show.

5.  Peace of mind;

The body aches, but once the card is swiped out, everything is history. You don't ever carry any work with you home, apart from the horrible feeling of being back in the day after, and your rate of pay is not dependent on any pointless target, you always get paid for the work you do! 

I've worked under various different managers, and I think leadership is one of the biggest factors which influence worker satisfaction, loyalty and performance. I may have been really lucky to experience the points mentioned above, but I can guarantee if I was to debate this sensitive topic myself, I can write a book!

This is +Nauman Wasif, tell me what you think...

7 Tactics to Outsmart the Competition

This article is greatly influenced by Richard D'Aveni's 7S framework where he proposes the tactics for firms to gain temporary advantages in the marketplace to stay ahead of the competition, highlighting the velocity of competitiveness and change experienced by businesses in today's day and age.

As this blog takes inspiration from management theories and business practices to suggest ways to develop oneself personally, the approaches suggested by D'Aveni (in brackets) will be reflected here as personal traits to gain a competitive advantage to beat the competition.

1. Connections (Stakeholder Satisfaction)

While keeping stakeholders satisfied is an ultimate goal for any business, maintaining a healthy relationship with your connections and adding value to it by networking further should the goal for every person out there competing to achieve growth. This will result in great opportunities for personal and professional growth, giving you a head-start in any field, as businesses and projects are run by people with whom you would ideally want to connect with!

2. Reputation (Strategic Soothsaying)

It's important to build a strong reputation and be popular for what you do best, by communicating your personal brand to the targeted audience while ensuring the positive word about your performance is fluid enough to reach potential clients. Optimize what you say!

3. Action (Speed)

Personal flexibility and adaptability to develop new skills, outside your comfort zone, with the urgency of taking action can boost personal confidence and capability to outsmart the competition. There might be failures, but if you fail fast enough, you'll succeed quick as well. Just do it!

4. Lead (Surprise)

Don't be scared to take up an approach out of the norm, while 'stability' may appear to be a desired state, it's counter-productive in competitive environments. Therefore, instead of following the crowd, take a direction where you're able to lead from the front. Embrace instability and make the most of it!

5. Innovate (Shifting the rules)

This approach is by far the most effective, where innovation can change the way things are done within your field, leaving the competition confused. Always find newer and better ways of doing things and create disruption to influence a response from the competitor!

6. Broadcast (Signalling) 

You may have the best qualifications and extensive experiences in your chosen field, but if it's not being promoted within your competitive circle, you're losing out on potential opportunities by not maximizing your competitive advantage. Be bold and be seen!

7. Multi-skilling (Simultaneous and sequential strategic thrusts)

Planning to sustain your competitive advantage for a longer term would need strategic thinking into diversifying your skills and competencies in more than one area. Not only will it enable you to generate a secondary income stream and stay one step ahead of the competition, but it'll also provide a contingency plan and position you to surprise the competitors.

These initiatives are assumed to provide only temporary unsustainable competitive advantages due to competitor's habit of catching up quickly with best practice in today's hyper competitive markets. However a series of temporary competitive advantages will provide momentum to sustain a competitive edge and enable you to be the smartest person in the room.

This is +Nauman Wasif ... Tell me what you think!

10 Things they never told you at University...

Right, the good news is that I am finished with my Masters in MSc Management.
The bad news, welcome to the real world! 

The reality in fact, compared to the university, is very different. A few things which the university didn't bother telling you;

1. There's a special set of skills required to get passed the computer, in the hunt for the graduate job you came to university for! (Forget about teaching you it!)

2. There are no Passes or Merits in real life. If you don't get a Distinction/First Class grade, you don't get paid. Certainly no extensions!

3. Not a single employer will ask you about the time spent at university, while you were enrolled into the university. They'll always ask you about the time spent outside the university gaining work experience. While enrolled at the university!

4. There are no such things as breaks, holidays, vacations or development weeks in real life.

5. The need to network and talk to right people to have any chances of success outside the university gates.

6. No one is interested in what you know or how many sources you've used in your time at university, it's all about who you know and what you've done! That's why they call it "academic," meaning not of practical relevance; of only theoretical interest. That's right!

8. There's no such thing as Word Count in real life. It's either a work of quality or crap.

9. You'll be forgotten as soon as you finish your final assessment... forever!

10. There's no job waiting for you to graduate. If you're not good at looking for one, create one!

Also, no one will penalise you 25% of your final mark for missing out on number 7!

This is Nauman... What do you think?

5 Ways You Can Establish Your Personal Brand Online

Branding, one of the most important aspect enabling businesses to differentiate themselves from others to win customers. Likewise, in these competitive times, you need to realize you're no less than a business, if you're trying to generate value for yourself. 

Without going into why is creating you personal brand so important (another potential blog topic), I would like to pin some of the things which one should at least do to make an impact;

1. Set Objectives

Like everything else, evaluate what you would like to achieve from your brand, what would you like to be known for, and who your audience is for each objective! 

While, over time objectives can change, so does your online activities, and they must always be consistent with what you want yourself to be known and respected for!

2. Online Presence

I can't stress more how important it is to think like a business, and get yourself where your customers are, ONLINE!

It's absolutely essential in modern age to create your online presence through social media, work portfolio, blogging or networking.

When your customer, which can be your prospective employer, friend, future partner, whatever your objectives are, look you up online, you should be the first one to appear on search results (just how businesses are trying to achieve with SEOs!)

3. Segment your Content

It's great to be present everywhere, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogger, even Match.com, but don't, please don't end up writing your blogs on dating website, your dating profile on LinkedIn or your Facebook rants over Twitter!

Customize your content for different audiences, usually your professional expertise on LinkedIn and Blogger while positive personality traits must be echoed on personal Twitter and Facebook profiles (with bedroom skills shared on dating platforms, yes, you're selling yourself everywhere!).

4. Engage and Connect

It's all good having optimized online presence and creating a great impression, however, the best way to communicate this is through effective engagement!

Always remember, social media is not broadcast media, its ENGAGE media that's why it's called social. Broadcasting a great personality and reflecting great value, without connecting with others, is just like going to a high school reunion and sitting in the corner playing with your iPhone 5. Communicate!

Best way to do that is, get involved in groups and topics you have an interest, experience, knowledge or expertise in, and it's easier to do that online than skimming over groups in a reunion to find your old friends.

5. Manage your eFootprints

This is what EVERYONE needs to do! Manage your electronic footprints - wash your hands and delete the evidence, simples!

While it's common sense not to leave behind any content which can negatively affect your brand, it's also important to discover and adopt new platforms quickly. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc are here today, gone tomorrow, and while you're putting your efforts in enhancing your profile there, the world's moving on to bigger and better things!

Tip: Create your own blog, that's your own platform and therefore will always be. Think long term!


This is +Nauman Wasif, tell me what you think....

4 Techniques to Get a First in Every Business Assignment

The Winning Formula!

1. Answer the Question
Copy and Paste the assignment brief on Word and split the brief into separate sub-headings. That way, you won't miss out on any part of the question hence compelling the assessor to pass you.

2. Library is Useless

Books are outdated the day they're published! The only resource you'll ever need to complete a first class business/management assignment is a computer connected to the internet. Journals, Newspapers, Magazines, Lecture Slides, Google, Blogs etc give you brownie points. The more you use them, the better!

3. Loads of References
Most important! References make up the bridge between you and that First/Distinction grade you want it so bad. Ideally, depending on the field of topic, you should be able to connect each sentence with a reference in your written article. My Golden Rule: The number of references is directly proportional to the number of marks you'll get! (Tip: Use MS Word auto-referencing if referencing is not your stronghold)

4. Calculate & Commit
Calculate what's the absolute minimum you need to do to get a First. Depending on the university/faculty, your result may only represent the average of best 5-7 modules of your course. Identify them, work out the averages, and commit yourself to getting that 72 you need in 2nd assessment to balance out the first one or increase the average. (Chances are you might get some positive surprises from other modules too!)

In my opinion if the techniques above are followed, no matter whatever your skills/weaknesses are, you'll always get a positive feedback! Goes without saying that your content must be relevant, this applies only to written assignment submitted on time, which is what the tutor expects and is grammatically correct!


This is +Nauman Wasif - Tell me what you think....