Education · 1 of 5

The path

You start on the sales floor. Everything after that is performance.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 10 to 12

   Get a part-time retail job now. Weekends and holidays on a till teach you the trade and put two years of experience on your resume before you graduate.

2. 2

   Sales associate

   6 months to 2 years

   Serving customers, stocking, counting, opening and closing. Turn up on time, learn the stock system, and volunteer for the jobs nobody wants.

3. 3

   Key holder or shift supervisor

   1 to 2 years

   You hold the keys, open the store, run a shift and handle problems without calling anyone. This is the real test.

4. 4

   Assistant manager

   1 to 3 years

   Scheduling, hiring, stock ordering, loss prevention and the parts of the accounts you are allowed to see.

5. 5

   Store manager

   3 to 6 years in

   You own the whole location: its sales, its payroll budget, its staff and its inspections.