HR Managers

Joined: 12 Dec 2008 Posts: 16

In response to your comments, I do understand that you all have experience at Lowes and that you are not used to seeing younger people in store management positions. However, times are continuously changing and college graduates are being more sought after by a lot of major retail organizations.

Target for example hires directly on my campus for their executive team leader positions. They start them out at $45,000 per year. At Target, a college degree is required to move into store management positions.

Kohls already offered me an executive store management position at a little over $47,000 w/ executive benefits. Furthermore Lowes, recruited me on my campus, sent me to Glenn Allen, VA for interviews with AHRMs and the Regional Directors two months ago and offered me a HRM position. While yes i will be in training for 8 weeks, I am a salaried HRM and they will place me within 60 days after training. (that is specifically what I was told by the college recruiter) I was also told that I will be an HRM, not a HR coordinator. If you don't believe I was offered an HRM position, I have an offer letter to prove it.

Again I am not trying to start a fight, but I am just telling you all reality. I recommend you check out your jobs career page online to see who they are hiring and what they are hiring them for. Lowes is heavily involved in college recruiting and here is their website: http://careers.lowes.com/college_recruiting_domain_reader.aspx

As far as maturity, I am pretty mature for my age, and not all college students are alike. I do appreciate your comments and I hope that I have not offended anyone.

Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 464

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 497

I can not speak for anyone else but I have observed how the more mature workers react to younger members of management. They don't take them seriously because in reality they haven't had time to experience life. Yes, Lowe's recruits from colleges. Yes, they hire senior management (even store managers) without college degrees. They may have said that they will place you in 8 weeks. Our SMTP (store manager training program) also gives those guarantees. The only drawback is that when the canidate exits the training there isn't always an available position. Yes, they will place you. Yes, you may be coded as an HRM. You may have a store to work in or you may have to be out on the sales floor as a zone manger. You may not. I have observed and experienced the Lowe's way of hiring managers. I wish you well with either position you accept. Maturity doesn't play a huge part in your success. It does however play a huge part in your ability to be respected by those at the store level.

We can all look really good on paper but the truth is seeing someone in action.

Best of luck.

Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 143 Location: Region 1

"Furthermore Lowes, recruited me on my campus, sent me to Glenn Allen, VA for interviews with AHRMs and the Regional Directors two months ago and offered me a HRM position."

Next time they promise you that, make sure you either get it in writing or wear a wire.

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 6045

collegejobseeker -they recruit from college campuses-

These corporations recruit from college campuses for more than a degree they recruit from the colleges because most graduates don't have enough real world experience to know what the job is worth or entails : in other words they want cheap niave labor .

And when I say niave I don't mean gullable but if you are young or don't have alot of actual experience with that job or company it is much easier for them to give you responsibilities or pay that an experienced individual with a frame of reference would not accept .

I've worked for well established companies where a high school grad could get promoted because the job required alot of knowledge/experience-most supervisors got their promotion after 10 years of service .They made 60-80k a year base pay .The company eliminated enough responsiblity with the associated skill requirements that they began to hire college Grads at 25-30k per year-1/2 what an internal promotion would've cost them .

Retail Management doesn't have the same lure as other industries because it does tend to pay lower but the hours and commitments alone are just as much as any other industry .The Wall Street Journal did a piece on this over the last year .No going to the bar at 5 in retail (although many sneak it before 5) .

Again ,Good Luck

Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Pacific Northwest

Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. Lowe's hires a bunch of managers from the outside... there have been a number of them training in my store in the past year. None of the job descriptions for store level positions require more than a high school diploma (although a fair number of people in my store have bachelor's degrees). I'm fairly certain that none of the top management (GM, Admin, Opps, Sales, HR, Zone) in my store has anything beyond a hs diploma. One of the top managers is under 30 years old, most are over 50... but age doesn't mean as much as character and charisma when it comes to leadership ability.

Just to be clear, the position requirements for HRM include (but are not limited to):
Must have 3 years HR Generalist experience with Lowe's or 3+ years HR Generalist experience with another Home Center and/or Mass Retailer. And the preferred candidate for the position will have PHR Certification. If you can talk your way into the position without meeting these requirements, you've definitely got the character and charisma that Lowe's is looking for. Good luck to you.

Joined: 07 Jul 2003 Posts: 110

I would snap up the Lowe's HRM position. In a heartbeat.

It seems that from store to store, the position is what you make it. The job has changed over the years, not necessarily gotten easier. As far as getting respect or support from the senior managers, it is the same as for any other associate. Many HRs spend their entire shift in their office. If they are doing this, they are doing busy work, there is NOT enough work for them to stay in the office 48 hours a week. As HR you should be on the floor a large chunk of the time, working with associates, seeing what the jobs are, so that when you look for candidates, you can really tell them what they are doing.

The HR position has NEVER been there as an advocate for the employee. They are paid by Lowe's and will always look out for the best interests of the company. Most of the time, if they take care of our associates, it IS in the best interest of the company.

The HR should be the right hand of the store manager, they must work closely together to succeed.

I assume you are able to relocate. Otherwise, even tho you will have the title of HRM, you will be placed in a store, to go through your training, and once that is complete, you will more than likely be an extra HRM for that store, as well as help other stores in your district. After a while, your home store will get tired of paying two HRM salaries

Lastly, I would thing that Lowe's is looking hard at how HD is handling this thing where they got rid of in store HR. If it seems to be working, we cannot be far behind

Any specific questions?

Joined: 18 Dec 2008 Posts: 4

Heres my personal take on it. While I have not been an HRM I have however worked with my HRM and others as an administrative/customer service manager.

The HR position is what you make of it. The position is supposed to be a "for the employee" position, but it's really not. Your basic function is to keep employee records and take care of problems before the company gets sued. You have audits that you'll be responsible for. Your in charge of training for the entire store, as well as employee concerns, finalization to the payroll process, insurance, 401k, hiring,and of course you know all the best gossip of your store.

Anywho the position really isn't that hard. I will warn you though that if your stores management fails to produce this looks bad on you. Case in point at my previous store before I quit as an admin/customer service manager. My HR manager's future raises and scores were based off of what I did as a manager. How I input my schedules, timely completion, making sure schedules are functional and correct to availability. All these processes effect you the HR and their audit scores which is pretty much their job. If another person F**k's up it's your @$$. Sorry trying to keep this clean but to the point. My personal opinion. Take the job and milk what you can out of the company, but know this that you will honestly wokr 50-65 hours a week depending on what is going on. If you do not have an assistant more will be put on you than you might not what to do with.

Joined: 12 Dec 2008 Posts: 16

Another thing I was told was that HR Managers only get 2% increases per year for meeting/exceeding expectations...is that true? Is the pay increase always set at 2% for all the store management? Is it possible to get more than just a 2% increase???

Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Pacific Northwest

I'm not upper management, but my largest yearly merit increase was 10%. With Lowe's you can't get too bogged down in the amount you make... just do the best job you can and the money will follow. If you're really concerned with income, know that any appliance sales specialist worth his salt is bringing in well over $70K per year.

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 497

The raises for all positions are measley. With the economy the way that it is right now don't expect anything and be pleasantly surprised when they toss .02 at you. Now that isn't 2 percent mind you it's actually two cents.

Joined: 18 Dec 2008 Posts: 4

each raise depends on the area and how well you do with your audits and how well you perform. Most companies from a general standpoint this year are giving 3% raises compared to the 5-6% usually seen during prosperous times. I suspect lowes as with most other companies will be slightly under the bar, but if the store is doing well and the company is doing well I might expect that number to increase some. The point is like everything in life. if you stay in one spot forever sure you will make a lot of money, but if you spend time to learn the position and move on then the amount of money will be all the more greater.

Joined: 22 Dec 2007 Posts: 445

"However, times are continuously changing and college graduates are being more sought after by a lot of major retail organizations."

Which explains why there wasn't a single retailer at the last job fair at my school.

"Target for example hires directly on my campus for their executive team leader positions. They start them out at $45,000 per year. At Target, a college degree is required to move into store management positions."

I've heard conflicting things on this. Some told me only the sm but others have said lower positions. I knew a LP there but they wanted him to move all over the place so he quit. He said it was a great place but he had a kid and got married so the likelyhood of doing that with a wife and kid are far lower.

"Kohls already offered me an executive store management position at a little over $47,000 w/ executive benefits."

Reminds me I hear a sm at rentacenter maxes out at about 40K...some places don't pay that much I guess.

"Furthermore Lowes, recruited me on my campus, sent me to Glenn Allen, VA for interviews with AHRMs and the Regional Directors two months ago and offered me a HRM position. While yes i will be in training for 8 weeks, I am a salaried HRM and they will place me within 60 days after training. (that is specifically what I was told by the college recruiter) I was also told that I will be an HRM, not a HR coordinator. If you don't believe I was offered an HRM position, I have an offer letter to prove it."

And I received a letter from Nintendo in 1989 saying I might have won a championship...

I'm not putting down what you are saying but if HD got rid of their HR's what makes you think lowes won't? HR isn't a billible position, it brings no revenue in, it sells nothing. If anything it's to prevent lawsuits of all types and screen people that apply.

"Lowes is heavily involved in college recruiting and here is their website: http://careers.lowes.com/college_recruiting_domain_reader.aspx"

I go to the largest public college in Massachusetts. There's a lowes about 20 minutes away in the other town. Lowes has never been to a job fair at my college. Why would anyone from a store show up? HR? SM? district? regional?

"Depending on the particular program in which they are placed, Lowe’s interns will work at one of the following locations:
Our Customer Support Center in Mooresville, NC (25 miles north of Charlotte)
Our Customer Support Center in Wilkesboro, NC (45 miles west of Winston-Salem)
One of our state-of-the-art Distribution Centers
One of our many Lowe’s stores across the nation"

So someone would end up doing customer support, work in a store or a RDC? Why would any of these require a degree?

I'm not saying you are immature but don't put all your eggs in one basket. If you get to be a HR that's great but I wouldn't stop there. As for that 2% that was referenced I think that's a crock. I'd generally expect 5%...at least 10% if moving up though.

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 497

Dove, Don't tell this person to expect annual increases of 10%. That is just silly. It may happen when one moves up the ladder but not usually in managerial positions.

Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Pacific Northwest

Dove, you RULE! I wasn't about to put the guy's words back in his mouth, but when you do, none of what he says makes sense. And as for the 10%... yes, a yearly merit increase (without a promotion) can be as much as 10% (although you only get this much if you totally rock) and maybe 2 or 3 people in the store (read 2%) get this much, it's totally possible and it happened to me. Collegejobseeker... really, if you got the offer and you don't mind 60 hour weeks, take it. If you do mind 60 hour weeks, don't take the position. Don't post egocentric justifications... just take the job or don't. If you take it, do it to the best of your ability. If you don't, maybe someone who already works for Lowe's will have a chance at it. Ciao, all. I won't be posting here again.

Joined: 19 Oct 2003 Posts: 2801

Wow, Get a college degree (and debt) to be offered a job for $47.000 a year and work 60 hours a week. Lets see, if they gave you 2 weeks off you would work 50 weeks at 60 hours a week. 3,000 hours a year . That's $15.67 an hour. BIG DEAL!

Joined: 03 Dec 2008 Posts: 15

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 497

Joined: 12 Dec 2008 Posts: 16

Mdovell: I'm sorry that recruiters were not at your school....They were at mine and my school is the top public research university in the state of maryland...and it's located 2.5 hours from the region 1 lowes office. I was interviewed on campus by store HRMs and the interviews were coordinated by the campus recruiters. I guess your lowes region decieded to recruit at other institutions. Also I did not interview for an internship...they were interviewing for full time positions.

lowesnorthwest: What exactly are you confused about? Are you just shocked that HRM positions are being offered to college students like myself?

All through this post I have been given feedback on HR Managers and I am thankful for eveyone's honesty. However, if you are going to be skeptical about something, then please be more specific and tell me with relavent information instead of "In 1989, I recieved a letter from nintendo saying I won a national championship."

Joined: 12 Dec 2008 Posts: 16

Joined: 27 Dec 2005 Posts: 35 Location: Wisconsin

During my 3 years with Lowe's, I have had 3 different store managers and 3 different HRMs. My first store manager and HRM worked very well together and made things at my store very good. When the store manager was promoted to a regional position, things went kind of downhill because we were given a store manager who knew nothing of the Lowe's way of doing things. Shortly thereafter, circumstances with his son's health caused our HRM to leave our store and we received an HRM that also was a disaster. My third store manager (and current one) is very good. He didn't exactly know the Lowe's way of doing things, but learned very quickly and was willing to change his ways some to match the Lowe's ways. My third HRM also is very good and they have worked well together to make things good in our store again. So, basically, what I am trying to say here is that whether the HRM position is a good position with Lowe's really depends on the ability of both the store manager and the HRM to work together in a way to cause the best possible outcomes. One thing that I can say is that you will work a 60 hour workweek as an HRM, you will be massively busy during spring hire season with interviews and orientations, and the job is what you make it as is any job.

Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 90

Our HRM. He is a total disaster and has been in that position for 10+ years. He conveniently loses paperwork, creates new work rules and store policies in opposition to Lowes policy, skims hours and more. In short he is a total disaster. He is totally unethical and amoral, but at my store, ethics are very low (management and hourly both), so he fits in just fine. But all stores are different because they are run by people, which of course, are all different. It was better when they were called personal directors. Now the "personal" has been taken out of the job and now they are "human resource", meaning the workers are now a commodity (better yet, we are equivilent to livestock), not an assest being treated with the respect we deserve. Good luck on your job search. Remember, those people you step on, on your way up the ladder, are the people you when come back down that ladder. I am going to call the ethics hotline on this jerk and my job will be history. Lowes will probably give him a raise while I get the boot.

Joined: 07 Jul 2003 Posts: 110

so, did you take the job with Lowe's?

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 6045

Night Stalker brought up a good subject with the morales and ethics of plenty a manager .This applies in other companies .

One thing to remember early in your career,especially early in your career is that you have to hold the line or at least give the image you are by the book .Book won't always work and you can make totally justifiable exceptions ON OCCASSION but if you cave in early to rule breaking or questionable requests early in your career you send the message to the employees and your fellow management that your " flexible " meaning you'll look the other way or ignore the rules .

Your immediate management might want to look at you as being a 'team player',a good thing .BUT your reputation will still be with you when your current or first management leaves or moves on .You might not get that first promotion as fast as you want but down the road 'the straight shooters' or 'by the book' managers will get respect .They know you can be counted on to do certain things .

GET your reputation established early-in a GOOD way .You are already going to be tested alot more by employees and managers alike since you are a college person so if nothing else establish a good reputation .In any position ,job knowledge is always respected but so is honesty .

In other words stay out of politics and focus on the work and people .

Joined: 12 Dec 2008 Posts: 16

Thank you all for your continuous feedback. I have until Wednesday to decide to take the offer. I feel that while the position is challenging, the HR work still interests me. I will definitly take all of your comments and advice into consideration. I'll post my decision after the new year.

-collegejobseeker

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