UK retail guru Mary Portas recently focused her attention on revamping charity shops. As she waded her way through piles of society’s cast offs her normally bubbly personality visibly began to wobble.

Weeks later, when she revealed her first concept shop, the transformation was amazing and shop sales skyrocketed.

So what was different? It is easy to suggest she threw out all the clutter but she actually didn’t.  

Instead she heavily edited it, creating a clearly defined structure by sorting like with like to appeal to specific buyer requirements. Throwing out everything that wasn’t up to scratch or relevant. Then showcasing key designer pieces with higher price points to upgrade the overall look of the place, making it feel more cohesive, exclusive, expensive and desirable.

So, as job hunters are we marketing ourselves as a charity shop or an exclusive boutique? Let’s adjust our full length mirrors and take a long hard look at our own shop windows to access what we are trying to sell and who we are trying to appeal to. 

Do we know who our target clients are and what they are looking for?

What’s our competition offering and our unique competitive edge?

Is the irrelevant clutter we are promoting hiding our best assets, scaring off potential employers and reducing our perceived value? 

Mary measured footfall and spend per sale before and after her shop transformation. Both increased dramatically afterwards, more than refunding her costs and pain of transition.

Mary also noticed customers visited more regularly after she updated shop displays to reflect changing trends and fashions, attracting customers who had never visited charity shops before.

Can we take a few job hunting tips from Mary? Enjoy the company of friends and family and start  stocktaking in readiness to launch the new you!