woman with caption 'when ur 'temporary' part time retail job through college has transitioned into a full time retail job and every job you apply to denies you because you have no experience in anything other than retail' (l) Customer paying for items with card (c) woman with caption 'when ur 'temporary' part time retail job through college has transitioned into a full time retail job and every job you apply to denies you because you have no experience in anything other than retail' (r)

Prostock-studio/Shutterstock @spillame/TikTok (Licensed)

‘It’s like I’m stuck’: Woman blames long-time retail job as the reason she can’t get a job anywhere else

'I literally only have 20 years of customer service experience in retail.'

 

Melody Heald

IRL

Posted on Nov 7, 2022

A woman went viral on TikTok after sharing how working retail in college has hindered her from finding another job.

The five-second clip features user Sie (@spillame) as she recounts how her college job makes it difficult to acquire a new job. In the text overlay, she writes: “‘when ur ‘temporary’ part time retail job through college has transitioned into a full time retail job and every job you apply to denies you because you have no experience in anything other than retail.”

Sie vented her frustrations in the caption, writing, “working in customer service should be enough to tell you i am a STRONG candidate for the stuff we deal with!!!”

@spillame working in customer service should be enough to tell you i am a STRONG candidate for the stuff we deal with!!! #retail #retailproblems #work #wtf #fyp #crying ♬ Um excuse me wtf – posts with 2% effort

The video has garnered over 82,000 views as of Monday, with many viewers offering suggestions and showing their support.

“Try a job in operations job at a retail company that’s growing! They want people who experience with customers and cross functional work,” one viewer suggested.

“I’ve been in retail since 2010, and the past 3 years I’ve been my retail stores admin assistant! It’s still retail and I do a lot of customer service, but I’ve learned so many skills (HR, scheduling, tech support, payroll, ect),” a second offered.

“I thought this would be an issue for me but this year i left retail and now a receptionist in a assisted living home. it’s not much but it’s a start!” a third wrote.

“Don’t give up! After 17 years I finally got an office job in HR! It can happen!” another stated.

Others shared their current situation, revealing how Sie isn’t the only one feeling this way.

“Literally me except for in the restaurant industry it’s like I’m stuck,” one person shared.

“I’ve been in the work force for 4.5 years having worked only 2 jobs. Trying to quit my current job has been a nightmare because I only have experience in those two industries,” a second commented.

“Omg I feel this so much rn!! I hope to leave retail after college. I swear these place be saying ‘customer service experience isn’t enough,'” a third echoed.

The Daily Dot reached out to Sie for comment via TikTok comment.

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*First Published: Nov 7, 2022, 2:13 pm CST