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job vacancies in arts, design and crafts Louise, buyerLouise is working as a buyer at one of the major UK supermarket retailers. She wanted a career that mixed good job prospects with fashion and travel. ‘Getting into the fashion and design sector is very hard, even if you have the right qualifications. I realized that all I needed was some work experience.' She started working in Topshop at Oxford Circus on the shop floor and stock control. ‘I was very interest in buying so during my work experience I started applying for buying jobs and got my first as buyer admin assistant (BAA) at BHS.' Louise got her first promotion to assistant buyer and then moved to her current job progressing to buyer. Ads by Google Louise has a degree in textiles. ‘I learnt a lot about design process and creativity which were very helpful but I didn’t learn much about textiles. Having a degree related to fashion has helped me to get my foot on the door but nowadays you can get into fashion through a great variety of degrees.’ ‘My role involves analyzing trends, defining and studying the market, liaising with the supplier to develop the right product, working with the merchandiser to plan the budget of the department, placing the orders, seeing the orders through, being responsible for quality control, making sure that orders delivered on time and analyzing sales. Working as a buyer can be a very creative job that involves traveling to exciting places’. Louise’s career aspiration is to move to a senior buyer role responsible for more product areas. Career development is very structured at buying. You normally start as a buyer admin assistant and you can work all your way up to head of buying. If you are interested in a career as a buyer, Louise would recommend you get as much work experience as possible in a buying office. ‘Make sure that you know the market and the trends. Develop your commercial awareness skills and knowledge of the sector. Your CV should be tailored to the retailer you are applying for - the market is very competitive. Finally, be prepared to start at the bottom.’ Jacob, junior merchandiserJacob wanted a job that was analytical and involved mathematics and problem solving skills. ‘I came out a university that was directing students towards accountancy but I wanted something different. Once I graduated I started looking for jobs. I applied to an advert I saw on internet and I started at Debenhams at the Allocation department.’ After a few years at Debenhams he got his current job through a recruitment agency. His degree in geography equipped him with the necessary analytical and problem solving skills. He started as an allocator and worked all his way up to senior allocator managing a team and having more responsibility. He then got promoted to assistant merchandiser, moved to his current company and then earned promotion to junior merchandiser, managing his own department. The career path is very well defined and depends on the ambition and the passion of the individual. Jacob's role involves analyzing sales, identifying best and worse performing lines, negotiating new prices, and working together with the buyer to take decisions in order to maximize sales. He works closely with distribution team to make sure that there is the correct amount of stock at a time. The role involves very limited travel to suppliers, usually within the UK. ‘I really enjoy seeing products work and getting satisfaction from good sales. Because of the nature of the job, targets change continuously so it’s hard to adjust all the time.' 'I would like to see myself in a senior merchandiser position, despite the fact that in more senior roles stress levels are higher.’ 'If you are interested in a careers in merchandising, try and get some relevant work experience, even working in a store to understand retail, do your research when applying to a company and brush your maths skills, as you will be tested.' | 
