Career Opp: For the time I was there I only saw 2 people make a significant change in their titles, and with one of those the woman wasn't even offered the position until her last day at VS, she had accepted a different job and given VS her notice well in advance. It seemed that the store manager had no idea she was leaving until her last day and had to create a position for her, direct mgr's failed to inform store manager of things happening under their watch. I was hired in as a FT Bra Fitting Specialist which is an elevated position even though the store only had openings for sales at the time I applied, so it seems not all positions are posted and you must state your needs in the initial interview and negotiate from that.
Compensation/Bene: They offered me an amount @interview and I stated I would take no less than $2 more than that, they agreed to the dollar amount because of my extensive work history. Aside from that when annual review time came, I was not thoroughly explained that my review of a 3 was not sufficient for a raise. I was only told during my review the positive aspects of my performance and nothing but good things were said. When I later asked about my annual I was told that I did not meet expectations and therefore did not qualify and was not given an exit interview to explain my concerns about this topic.
Work/Life Balance: Was given days off when asked. Aside from that prepare to work at least 2 closing shifts at this location. Most days you will not leave on time, the store is so big and busy and shifts are often not covered appropriately which leaves you waiting until someone arrives to leave. It seemed a lot of students had trouble with their schedules not being accepted on ACES (the company scheduling software). Many times requests were put in on time and management did not approve them in a timely manner, which left them scrambling for coverage and shifts left unfilled.
Sr. Mgmt: I would say out of the 6 managers I interacted with daily, I felt only 2 of them were good leaders. I know in a store the size of herald square a manager position is difficult to balance the number of employees that you have, but on many occasions managers would have inappropriate/unprofessional responses to a problem or concern of an employee. Working for the company for nearly 14 months, I had to call in only twice. While calling in I was questioned how sick I felt, if I had been out the night before, and told that I could only be allowed to come in late by a certain hour. If I am sick -I am sick. An hour or two hours will not make a difference on my ability to sell product effectively. It is unprofessional to make someone feel like they have to come in despite their reason, especially for a full time employee. If there is an attendance problem then it should be dealt with via company policy.
Culture/Values: The company is not interested in giving "her" a good experience. They want the most amount of money sold in the least amount of time. If you aren't ready to be told you aren't selling enough and you aren't introducing her to the angel card enough and you aren't hitting your individual and store goals enough, then this job is not for you. I personally worked consistently in my selling practices, made quality sales, and had many customer appreciation cards given to me, but yet my reviews were poor (rating a 3 overall) which did not reflect accurately on my skills. Each monthly review was poorly designed to put a higher stress on the company performance than your individual. Which in return yields a poor annual (the one your merit raise is based on). The reviews are an inaccurate representation of how you are as an individual and leave you wondering what you've been doing each day you clock in.
Overall: With little experience in retail I was hired into an elevated position, felt I had little elevation or control over my day or my selling, was not scheduled for an exit interview (ended up being asked to do one off the clock while I was saying goodbye to a friend that worked in the offices), and felt that I told I was a great employee often, but rated poorly in all interviews and not viewed as an asset to the company.
