Bookseller
Booksellers buy books from publishers or wholesalers and sell them on to customers.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
You might:
- serve customers and take payments
- make suggestions and give advice about the books available
- review books for in-store reviews or book clubs
- organise in-store promotional events
- monitor stock levels and create book displays
- work with publishing companies and order new stock
- process online orders
- complete admin tasks like accounting, order distribution, arranging deliveries and returns
Working environment
You could work at a store.
Career path and progression
With financial backing and a lot of experience, you could open your own bookshop.
You could work for a publishing house and sell books to retailers.
You could also work from home as a book dealer, or set up an online bookshop.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- customer service skills
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to sell products and services
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- business management skills
- the ability to use your initiative
- persuading and negotiating skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
You may have an advantage when looking for work if you've completed a qualification at university, like a higher national diploma or a degree. Employers will accept any subject, although some may prefer English, humanities or the arts.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a higher national diploma
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
More Information
You can learn some of the skills you need for this job by doing a:
- Level 2 Certificate or Diploma in Retail Skills
- Level 3 Diploma in Retail Skills (Sales Professional)
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
More Information
You can apply to do a Retailer Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship or Team Leader Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
More Information
You can apply directly for jobs. You'll usually need 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English and maths. You'll have an advantage if you have previous experience of:
- retail or online sales
- customer service
- publishing
You'll need a broad range of reading interests and an enthusiasm for books.
You may need specialist knowledge for some bookshops. For example:
- comic art for a shop that sells graphic novels
- classic literature for rare or antiquarian books
- art history for specialist art publications
Career tips
You'll need sound business skills and a good grasp of the publishing and bookselling industry, if you want to go on to open your own bookshop. This includes some understanding of online promotion and sales methods or e-commerce.
Further information
You can find more advice about bookselling and setting up your own business through the Booksellers Association.
Related videos
Suggested videos
Coffee With is in early release mode with a limited number of videos. New videos are being added every week, so please check back for updates.
External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.