My first ever job was working as a sales assistant for Discovery clothing in Orland Park. I was eager to claim my financial independence from my parents and all bushy tailed and green. I worked 4 to 5 days a week and usually had no less than 7 hours shifts aside from my initial training. My back and feet hurt everyday from the long hours spent on the sales floor. I struggled to meet my quota and being the accident prone person I am, frequently had self - inflicted injuries via the ticket gun. I lasted all of a month before I was pulled off the floor and discreetly told I was fired. At the time it was a relief because I was tired and ready for lunch. However, after my potbelly sandwich was safely digesting in my stomach, reality set it. I had been fired. It was my first rude awakening to retail.
The only thing worse than not having any experience, is being fired from the only job you've ever had. It took me months to lock down another job. I started working for Nautica by some sheer stroke of luck and blessing from my big homie upstairs.
Working in Macy's in the Water Tower as a freelance vendor was the polar opposite of my first encounter with retail. I didn't have a set schedule just set hours I had to complete, I loved my supervisor, I could virtually wear whatever I wanted, got paid double minimum wage and left and came as I pleased. It got lonely as some points but the Macy's staff was super cool and sweet. I loved that position so much I was seriously (not really) thinking of dropping out to do it full - time. But as all things must come to an end so eventually did my job seeing as it was a seasonal position and my supervisor unexpectedly vanished.
Upon moving to De Kalb and realizing my savings were finally depleting I landed a position as a cashier at Wal - Mart. Being the spoiled and lazy suburbanite I am its funny I ended up working in the last resort option. Turns out it was the best decision for me. At first it was fun I loved all my coworkers and we eventually became a family (rather I became apart of the Wally World family) and customers were so nice once I got down the operations of the register I was cruzin'.
Somewhere around 3 months when my probationary period was over is when it started to wear on me: the undertone racism, the crazy attendance policy, the long hours, and the sheer boredom of doing the same thing everyday and having to falsify enthusiasm when my true passion left. I was officially over it. I liked my job during short shifts but I dreaded 8 and 9 hour days. And then came the subtle transformation from my job description being cashier to sells person. The promotions, the charities, the competition. It seemed like crap to me I was OVER IT!
After 6 months I finally couldn't take it. It was bittersweet because I truly miss my coworkers but I truly wont miss the work. Needless to say out of all my retail endeavours to date I've taken away some valuable lessons from being the bottom bitch of a company:
- Be a yes girl (or boy)
- Careful collaborations are easy ways of getting ahead
- Adding onto that... a freelance position is definitely one to consider in your career
- Learn how to work a price tag gun...fast.
- Save your call off days until when you really need them not for when you're just feeling really lazy
- Make friends with coworkers; it makes work bearable
- Always try to out due the competition if at least only by a little
- Ignore rude customers, at the end of the day they aren't worth your paycheck
- There's no crying in fashion
- Supervisors and managers play favoritism, if you're not one, learn how to become one
- Retail is a stepping stone in fashion, you have to be some one's bitch before you can be some one's BOSS!
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