Getting out of retail?

[teithi71]

[ I live in Houston ]

I am desperately trying to get out of retail but I'm not sure how. Is there any certification that I could earn that will allow me to get out of the retail sector and get a professional job that I can actually put on my resume? Something I can do at least temporarily until I graduate. I need something flexible due to school and can't handle full-time right now. I've applied for some part-time jobs at the local library (such as library clerk, mail-room clerk, library assistant) but have yet to receive a call. Honestly, am I missing something? What else is there that I need to do? Those positions only pay 14 more cents than I make now but at least its more professional. I can at least I can put it on my resume and is more worth mentioning compared to useless retail experience.

I'm currently working @ JCPenney. The only good thing about this job is that it is flexible thus allowing me to earn a bachelor's degree online and also close to home. I'm on the replenishment team which means I have to wake up at 4:30a.m to be there @ 5:30a.m. (The retail industry is also not a very nice place to work)

I am 24 at the moment. I'll be graduating with a B.S in Criminal Justice in Spring of 2012. I have an Associates degree in paralegal studies and do have some slight experience volunteering for a couple of law firms. I was working for a law firm downtown through a staffing agency earlier this year for a temporary assignment (making $11 something, 40 hours a week, no benefits) but I had absolutely no time for school because of the full time office schedule. There also wan't any guarantee that the law firm would hire me permanently. This is why I went back to my old job @ jcp. About 15 hrs per week @ $8.11. Even though this sucks, at least it was permanent. There was no telling when the firm would lay me off. If I stayed at this firm for 1 more week, I would have been terminated from my job at jcp since my leave of absence would run out. It was too much of a risk.

I really want to get a county or government job but I have no clue at the moment as what to do. I even faxed my resume over the local library that I've mentioned but no answer. The positions I applied for (such as library assistantt or library clerk) don't even require more than a high school diploma and here I am with an Associatess degree and experience in the legal field and they don't even get back to me. It doesn't make any sense. I apologize if this is excessive information. I thought it might help. I would appreciate some good useful advice. Thanks

[chatima]

As you need a part-time, flexible job right now, retail and food industry are probably going to be your best bets. Food industry (bartending or waitressing) can at least make you more money, but the work is tough and if you aren't super great at customer service, it will directly effect your tips.

A lot of people are over qualified for the jobs they have right now, just the outcome of the recession. Perhaps if you took some courses in Microsoft Office (and got the Certificate of Completion) to put on your resume, it would help you stand out for an office job.

GCFLearnFree.org has tutorials and online, instructor-led classes for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Access. All for free. The online classes are based on the information you can also find in the self-paced tutorials on the website but it has that feedback that a lot of people like through having an instructor you can work with. The instructor led classes are only in Office 2007 and Office 2010. At the end of the online class, you'll receive a certificate of completion that you may also use for Continuing Education Units. (you may already know these Microsoft programs, but it's nice to have a certificate just so you can put it on your resume)

Hope it Helps!