Week 1 EOC: Best and Worst Jobs

I’ve had a total of four jobs since I’ve graduated from high school. I’ve worked at Sunglass Hut, Nevada State Bank, Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack. Of those four, my favorite is my current job, Nordstrom Rack and my least—Nevada State Bank.

I really enjoy Nordstrom Rack mainly because of the company, overall. I see the way Nordstrom values it’s employees. For example, the pay is higher than most retailers; the benefits are exceptional (especially for a student with no children or spouse), in-house promotions, nice break rooms, encouragement of individuality, numerous opportunities to advance and open-door policies. These characteristics have made this company one that I am proud to say I am apart of. While working at the full-line Nordstrom, I liked the fact that HR was available at most hours of the day and invited employees to speak with them. That was also the same thing the store manager did that I admired. "Regardless of the industry segment in which they work, most employees have the same basic wants and needs." (Human Resources Management in the Hospitality Industry, pg. 7)    

Showing employees that you are their equal (though, not applying to job positions) by leaving opportunity to communicate easily is a huge advantage and creates a sense of comfort. Nordstrom’s way of doing things domino-effect all areas of the company and results in a successful strategy. That means employees are willing to go extra lengths to satisfy the company and do a better job at it. The worst job I ever had was my first job at Nevada State Bank. Immediately, I felt pressured into making goals when I started work. I had to open a certain amount of accounts and sale a certain amount of products to customers when they came in. I also didn’t learn as quickly as I normally did when it came to work. Policies were hard to understand, procedures were confusing, etc. Work was stressful to me. The interview was in the HR office. A group of us had to answer questions individually and sell a product to the people in the room and the interviewers. After the interview, I was offered a job on the spot and accepted it. After that, I never returned to the HR office, nor had to. Overall, Nevada State Bank gave me more experience in the customer service field.