Sales Assistant (General)
What the work is
Sells goods and services such as food, clothing, hardware, household appliances, office supplies and cosmetics, in a retail or wholesale establishment.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Greets and assists customers in selecting and purchasing goods and services
- Provides information and advice on products to customers
- Processes sales transactions and handles payments, including the use of point of sale software
- Replenishes and maintains stock levels
- Handles customer enquiries, complaints and returns
- Upsells products and services
- Maintains a clean and tidy sales area
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a family-run homewares and gift shop on the main street of a fictional country town. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A customer comes in unsure and leaves with exactly the right thing
- A quiet moment to rearrange a shelf and have it look brilliant
- A regular who comes in just to say hello and tell you how their last purchase went
Hard days
- Three customers waiting at once while the phone rings and a delivery turns up
- Standing for hours, then being asked to stay back and restock
- A customer who is rude about something that is not your decision
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 631131, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.