Apparel Manufacturing Career Description
Apparel Manufacturer Positions with manufacturers involve work in the following general areas:
- promoting or selling the product line,
- merchandising or planning the line, and
- overseeing the production and operations of manufacturing the line.
In smaller companies, career positions may include duties in several of those areas, such as sales plus merchandising. In larger firms, positions may fall more neatly into one particular area. Many jobs involve on-the-job training with regular workweeks (occasional overtime during peak seasons).
Entry-Level Positions
- Showroom sales trainee
- Showroom receptionist
- Clerical assistant
- Product development trainee
All of the positions just listed may be very diversified depending on the size and nature of the firm. Responsibilities include any of the following - showing and selling the line to clients, dealing with buyers in person and on the phone, reception, greeting clients, keeping sales records, faxing, follow-up on deliveries, writing up orders, possibly modeling garments, and attending meetings.
Requirements: Necessary qualifications include fashionable appearance, assertive personality, excellent oral and written communication skills, computer skills, and a high level of organization. Past sales experience is often helpful.
Long-Range Career Goals: Showroom sales and showroom manager - responsible for sales with own list of clients. If manager, supervise showroom sales force and staff; coordinate sales meetings. Road sales person - sales outside of showroom in a particular geographic territory. Usually occurs with a large company after proven showroom sales record.
Retail Sales Coordinator
These positions are unique in that they provide an opportunity to gain exposure to manufacturing as well as retailing. One facet of the job involves duties in the showroom (usually serving as the home base) such as showroom sales, coordinating sales among retail store locations, analyzing inventory reports, and ordering and reordering goods for retail store locations. A second facet of the position includes promoting the manufacturer in a retail department store setting through costumer service, displaying and merchandising the goods, and preparing sales and inventory.
Requirements: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, high energy level, math aptitude, flexibility, sales ability. Computer skills. Past sales experience can be helpful.
Long-Range Career Goals: Potential growth as merchandiser or in sales.
Merchandising Assistant
Duties include working with the merchandiser in planning upcoming product lines; researching the market trends and colors; keeping records; dealing with sales force, design staff, and costumers
Requirements: Ability to be highly organized and detailed is essential. Good fashion and color sense, team worker, analytical aptitude, and follow-through ability are important. Computer skills. Sketching skills may be helpful.
Long-Range Career Goals: Merchandiser, with responsibilities for planning colors and fabrics, giving direction to the design staff, estimating prices. In a smaller firm the owner or designer usually fulfills the role of merchandiser.
Assistant Piece Goods and Trim Buyer
Duties include assisting with ordering fabrics and trims, keeping track of inventory and records, maintaining swatch file and samples, accompanying buyer on trips to fabric market to learn resources.
Requirements: Interest in textiles, detail oriented, well organized, ability to make good business judgments. Course work in textiles or garment construction may be helpful.
Long-Range Career Goals: Piece goods and trim buyer - to resource piece goods and trim market, price and cost goods, make purchases in conjunction with needs of design staff, possibly give direction to design staff for fabrics and trims.
Production Assistant
Duties involve assisting production manager in keeping records relating to production, sales, shipping, and inventory; keeping track of orders; writing up cutting tickets; costing garments; acting as liaison among factory sales staff and costumers; heavy phone contact with factory. If production is done overseas, may assist in coordinating imports.
Requirements: Important qualifications include high degree of organization, tolerance for stress, communication skills, planning follow-up and problem-solving ability, math aptitude, computer skills. Increasingly, second-language skills are valuable.
Long-Range Career Goals: Production manager - coordinates and supervises all aspects of producing the line. Usually works out of factory. If overseas manufacturer, makes regular visits to factory to check quality and coordinate production and importing.
Administrative Assistant
This position can be very diversified and usually involves assisting an executive of the firm (vice president, sales manager) in the following capacities: scheduling appointments, keeping records, filing follow-up work, coordinating information, typing memos. For college graduate, this is generally a job one takes just to get a foot in the door, with an eye toward moving to a more career-oriented position.
Requirements: The ability to organize efficiently is essential. Detail orientation, strong communication skills, computer skills, and potential for advancement are also important.
Long-Range Career Goals: Upper-level management - position in a specialized area (sales manager, operation manager) involved in policy making and overall managing of the firm.