What they do
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Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers.
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| Also called: |
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Car Salesman, Customer Assistant, Retail Salesperson, Sales Associate, Sales Clerk, Sales Consultant, Sales Person, Sales Representative, Salesman
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Wages
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| Vermont - 2023 |
| Percentile1 | Hourly | Yearly |
| 10% |
$ 13.97 |
$29,070 |
| 25% |
$ 14.63 |
$30,440 |
| Median |
$ 17.24 |
$35,860 |
| 75% |
$ 19.24 |
$40,020 |
| 90% |
$ 24.03 |
$49,980 |
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| Average |
$ 18.85 |
$39,200 |
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| More at CareerOneStop |
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Industries of Employment
| United States - 2020 |
| Industry | Percent of total |
- General merchandise stores
| 20% |
- Clothing and clothing accessories stores
| 16% |
- Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers
| 13% |
- Motor vehicle and parts dealers
| 9% |
- Miscellaneous store retailers
| 8% |
| More at BLS |
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Knowledge
| People in this career often know a lot about: |
- Sales and Marketing
Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
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- Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
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- English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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- Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
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- Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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Skills
| People in this career often have these skills: |
- Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
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- Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
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- Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
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- Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
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- Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
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| More at O*NET |
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Interests
| People in this career often prefer these work environments: |
- Enterprising
Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.
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- Conventional
Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
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| What are your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler |
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Work Styles
| People in this career will do well at jobs that need: |
- Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
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- Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
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- Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
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- Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
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- Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
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| More at O*NET |
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Tasks
| On the job, you would: |
- Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
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- Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.
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- Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment.
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- Prepare merchandise for purchase or rental.
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- Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.
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| Related Occupations
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| Career Video
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Projected Employment
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| Vermont |
| 2020 employment |
8,072 |
| 2030 employment |
9,021 |
Annual percent change
(compounded) |
1.1% |
Annual projected job openings
(due to change and separations) |
1,279 |
| More at Occupational Projections |
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Education and Experience:
- Typical education needed for entry
No formal educational credential
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- Work experience in a related occupation
None
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- Typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency
Short-term on-the-job training
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| Based on BLS Education and Training Classifications |
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Physical Work Activity
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
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- Physical activity is Important
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- Level of activity is Moderate
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| Low |  | High |
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Job Zone
| Some Preparation Needed |
- Specific Vocational Preparation Range
(4.0 to < 6.0) - A typical worker will require
over 3 months up to and including 1 year
of training to achieve average performance in this occupation.
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| Based on O*Net Job Zones and SVP |
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Education Level
| How much education do most people in this career have? |
| Education level |  | Percent of
U.S. Workers |
Doctoral or professional degree
or post-MA certificate | | 0% |
Master's degree or
post-BA certificate | | 0% |
| Bachelor's degree | | 4% |
| Associate's degree | | 10% |
Certificate or some college,
no degree | | 3% |
High school diploma
or equivalent | | 63% |
| Less than high school diploma | | 19% |
| More at O*NET |
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Abilities
| People in this career often have talent in: |
- Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
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- Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
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- Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
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- Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
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- Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
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| More at O*NET |
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Work Activities
| In general, what you might do: |
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
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- Selling or Influencing Others
Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
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- Getting Information
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
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- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
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- Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
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| More at O*NET |
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Detailed Work Activities
| What you might do in a day: |
- Gather customer or product information to determine customer needs.
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- Greet customers, patrons, or visitors.
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- Recommend products or services to customers.
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- Maintain records of sales or other business transactions.
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- Process sales or other transactions.
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| More at O*NET |
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Other Resources
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- CareerOneStop
resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals
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- O*NET Online
nation's primary source of occupational information
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