I am FINALLY getting around to sharing some of the nitty gritty details about my first week as a Nordstrom Intern. I thought it would be cool to give you all updates every week as I progress in the program...and some of my experiences and lessons learned!
BACK STORY
So once Andrew and I got married, I had about a month before my internship started. It was nice to have somewhat of a break to get our apartment all organized, new drivers license and all those grown-up things. During this month period, though, I also had quite a bit of time to worry haha. I was super nervous to start my internship and really didn't know what to expect. Now after a week in the program, I can say that those fears and worries have gone away...whew!
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The program I am doing is called the Retail Management Internship. The basis of the internship is to give each intern management, leadership, and sales skills to become an assistant manager of one of the Nordstrom departments. There are goals and daily tasks to complete, along with projects and other team building exercises. I am currently interning at the Nordstrom located at the City Creek Center in Salt Lake City. I was WAY happy about this because I am right next to Temple Square and the store is closed on Sundays so I get to be home on the Sabbath, and go to church. A Win-Win!
MY FIRST WEEK
DAY 1: The first day we met with all of the department managers and other intern for a breakfast, and then we had training for the next 7 hours about the company culture, values, and also some logistics. I learned a TON...but there was also a lot of sitting so I was pretty tired. I came home trying to remember everything I had learned...and I could honestly say that I only remembered like half of it haha. My favorite part was seeing that there is a ton of room for growth in the company and the opportunities are endless if I want to continue to work for Nordstrom after the internship. Plus...I love fashion and being able to work for a top retailer--and with a discount, it is a bonus. Everyone was also super nice and friendly and seemed really invested in helping each of us interns reach our career pursuits.
DAY 2: This was probably one of the most informative days of them all. We spent all day focussing on cashiering, sales, returns, etc. I have never worked retail before, so It was a little challenging at first to get the hang of the register. We also spent part of the day actually working the floor doing returns and transactions--and I really liked this part. It was so fun to actually get to work with customers and be involved in the selling process. I did however appreciate all of the training we received before going on the floor...because I would have been more lost than I already was. Plus, I was working in BP shoes. I LOVE SHOES haha.
DAY 3: This was a big deal...as it was my first day shadowing on the floor. I am assigned to the Kids Department which I was actually super stoked for. I knew this would be a high energy environment, but would also be super chill since i'd be working with mostly moms, kids, and grandmas. I spent a majority of the day helping with transactions and didn't make too many sales right away. There was a lot going on when people started coming to the sales floor, so I mostly just watched to observe how my co-workers helped the customers. We also had a training on strollers lol. I know...kinda funny, but SO helpful to me the next day haha (i'll explain later). In my department we sell everything from baby gear to girls and boys clothes and shoes. There are TONS of different products, so there is a lot to be aware of. This was a bit overwhelming when helping customers because I literally had no idea about anything--but I am slowly learning. I was able to get some insights from my co-workers about certain products and about helping customers which was super helpful to me throughout the day. I left that day having a learned a lot, but super exhausted. Standing on your feet all day is NO joke.
I guess my biggest takeaway is to always take care of the customer, and go above and beyond. If you take care of the customer, then you will make the sale. At Nordstrom, all people working in sales are paid on a commission basis, so to make good money, you want to sell a lot. This was a little intimidating to me, but I realized that it's totally possible to reach sales goals as long as I am always working to help people. Sometimes, talking to people randomly can sometimes be pretty scary for me, so I had to push myself to talk to people even though it made me feel a little uncomfortable. I found though as soon as I started taking to people and making connection with them, they were super nice and I was easily able to help meet their needs and make the sale.What an awesome feeling it was to make a customer happy!
DAY 4: So, this was day 2 of shadowing, and I was actually really excited because I felt like I knew what I was doing more than the previous day. I received a shoe training with helped a ton...since I had no idea how to fit shoes and then I was actually working on the floor. My sales goal was to make $500 and that seemed like a lot. I knew I was going to have to push myself to reach it. At the end of the day, I had sold over $700 worth of product, which was so amazing to me. I was able to sell one of the strollers in our inventory which was so cool. The training helped me so much. Mostly, I just felt really productive and I loved that. That's one thing that is really cool about this internship is there is structure, but also tons of room for growth. I am excited for this coming week and to see how I progress!
I came home late that evening after work to ice cream and a lasagna Andrew had gotten for me. That made me so happy to not have to cook! Working on a Saturday was not my favorite, but always coming home to Andrew makes it all worth it. He is pretty much the best:)
Overall, I'm very happy to be where I am at right now. I believe this internship will offer me many great skills, and experiences to further me in my career!
Hope you enjoyed reading! There will be another update on week 2 soon!
-Erin
FUN FACT: DID YOU KNOW THAT "A NORDY" IS AN ANIMAL. WELL...NEITHER DID I! THIS USED TO BE THE NORDSTROM MASCOT. PRETTY COOL, EH?
My very own cup. Now this internship is official.
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