Students
Careers
Retailing careers are incredibly diverse and demanding, and a Kelley education is excellent preparation for them. Kelley is a top recruiting destination for leading retailers—such as Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, Best Buy, Bloomingdale’s, Bridgestone/Firestone, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gap, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Sears, and Target—giving you frequent opportunities to learn about retailing careers and make connections with potential employers.
Connect with Top Retailers
We make it easy to get your foot in the door with top retailers, which visit Kelley to recruit and to participate in classroom and Center activities. You’ll have opportunities to network with retailing executives, hear about their companies and retailing careers, and participate in case studies related to their business activities.
Kelley’s Undergraduate Career Services Office will help you set up interviews with employers and apply for internships and jobs. Please contact:
Beth Barnhart
Assistant Director, Recruiting
(812) 855-5317
bhbarnha@indiana.edu
Entry-Level Positions
Retail positions are either at the corporate or store level, and nearly all Kelley retailing students pursue corporate careers. Entry-level jobs in retailing are often positions of responsibility that deal with large dollar volumes and include decision making, problem solving, team management, and calculated risk-taking.
Retailing careers require a hard-to-come-by blend of creativity, analytical skills, and interpersonal skills that we emphasize in our courses. And because overseeing a product category is so similar to running a business, employers value Kelley students’ leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
The three main entry-level corporate positions in retailing are:
- Assistant buyer: You’ll help a buyer decide which products to order for your stores and in what quantities, taking into account what you think customers will want, which new products are primed to take off, and which products will make your company the most money.
- Planner/allocator: You’ll use sales data and your knowledge of regional differences to determine how much of each product should be sent to each of your company’s stores, ensuring that the customers who are most likely to buy a product have the best opportunity to do so.
- Product developer: You’ll help create brand-new products, from the raw materials to finishing touches and everything in between. You have to keep the customer and the bottom line in mind, so that your customers get a product they want at a price they’re willing to pay.
