Top 9 skills you need to be successful cashier

Alertness

First and foremost, cashiers need to be aware and alert at all times. You may be required to do any number of things at any given time -- sometimes all at once. You might have to guide people into your line, greet customers walking into the store, engage in conversation, address concerns and ring up your customers -- all at once. You need to master the art of multitasking even when helping just one customer. You must be able to talk and address any concerns as you ring up the sale, all the while keeping track of what you're doing and making sure the transaction is going through properly.

Friendliness

As a cashier, you need to be friendly and interact with countless customers on any given day. At the very least, a smile, a greeting, a goodbye and minimal conversation in between are necessary when interacting with customers. Part of your job is to make sure customers have everything they need, even if that means they end up exchanging an item or need help finding something else. It's up to you to represent the company and to ensure customers know they are valued. Part of the challenge is balancing friendliness with an ability to get customers through the checkout line and done with their shopping as quickly as possible.

Trustworthiness

As a cashier, you are responsible for keeping watch over the money the store takes in during your shift. Since you have direct access to the cash, you must be trustworthy to do this job. Even a small breach of trust might tarnish your reputation beyond repair. The managers of the store trust you to keep an accurate account of the money that comes in and goes out of the drawer, and to keep a safe and responsible watch over it. You will need to come up with a balanced drawer at the end of each shift. You are also being trusted to help customers to the best of your ability and to ensure that customers have the best possible experiences.

Math Skills

Although registers do a lot of the work, an effective cashier still needs to have a solid understanding of basic math and be able to do it quickly and competently. Even if the register does all the work, you still have to count out change for customers quickly and accurately. Basic math is required when registers freeze or break down, or if you work at a business where the register does not do all the calculations. Finally, transactions are often made more complicated by customers changing their minds midtransaction, asking for several transactions in a row or deciding to use more than one payment method.

“Excellent interpersonal skills”

First and foremost, working in the customer service industry gives you the chance to spend your entire day communicating with people. You learn to be helpful, but genuine. Friendly yet efficient. You also get the chance to work with quite a diverse group of people, allowing you to experience and deal with a mixture of personality types.

Perhaps most importantly, you learn how to fake a smile when you need to. Not sure how exactly to answer the question your interviewer is asking you? No problem – you worked retail.

“Effective time management skills”

Your Monday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. shift is followed by Tuesday’s 12:30-7 and Wednesday’s 5-close. A flexible schedule forces you to learn how to utilize your time to get everything done.

Perhaps you are on the prowl for a more permanent position or you’re still trying to fit your badminton games in three times a week.

Working a job with ever-changing hours forces you to be ever-on top of things.

“Ability to stay calm in stressful circumstances”

You’re behind the cash. The line is halfway through the store and you are ringing through one customer’s purchase while someone else is wagging damaged items under your nose.

Every industry is going to throw situations at you which require you to multitask. Fast. Having this previous experience can only help. Remember the most challenging circumstances you’ve faced in your retail career and how you overcome those circumstances – they’ll come in handy in a job interview one day.

“Experience handling cash, debit and credit card transactions”

Handling money indicates that you are trustworthy and able to count (which, believe it or not, is a skill in and of itself). A future employer will appreciate both of these things.

“Ability to problem solve and think on your feet”

If you’re working on commission (or aren’t but still have managers watching you like a hawk), you better sell – meaning you better learn how to handle that customer who says she’s “just looking”. Coming up with creative ways to make sales and converse with customers is going to impress any future employer – and in the meantime, maybe even make you that commission.