Joined: 16 Jul 2008
Posts: 5
| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:50 am Post subject: An interview at Macy's on Tuesday? | |
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What should I expect in an interview with Macy's, for a "Receiving/Processing Team Associate, Part Time Days and Weekends?"
I got an 'approval' e-mail from Macy's regarding the specific position above. It stated, "We are interested in meeting with you to further discuss employment opportunities. We would like to invite you to schedule yourself for an interview." So, I did schedule an interview - which will be on this coming Tuesday. I'm just looking for some helpful info about what to actually expect regarding this position and interview? I've read the description of the job on the website, and I can do that just fine. But as I know...those aren't always quite as accurate as they need to be. Many jobs have extra crap-tasks. What exactly will all of my tasks be in this job, which aren't covered in the 'job description' on Macy's website? I was really looking for full-time. I had applied for two positions. They 'denied' my full-time application for a sales associate - even though I have over 2 years of Retail sales experience and 3 years of Customer Service experience. Their reason was, "Unfortunately, we do not have an appropriate position that matches your experience and skill set." Well, my 2 years was as a sales associate that became a department lead. This receiving/processing position...I really don't have that much experience in it. I've done a little bit at my job of 2 years, but I wasn't really a receiving associate. I helped with inventory and dealt with most of the freight, but not not as an actual job position in itself. I had *less* experience for the 'approved' position than I did for the sales associate position that I had 2+ years of experience in. Yet they accepted me for the receiving position. So...I'm a little puzzled about that. Is there a difference in pay between the positions, and what does this receiving position pay starting out? I know that 'part-time' can go all the way up to 30+ hours a week. Hopefully I can eventually tranfer into a full-time position if I get it. Any suggestions? Oh yeah, and they had posted a full-time sales associate position and a part-time receiving position on the same day (the 15th)...so I know that both positions were open, which was why I applied to both. I've heard that Macy's is a pretty good company to work for, though. What say you employees that are already there and know how things go?  Is there a possibility of me going full-time, or do they even *have* full-time receiving associates?
Oh yeah...and the e-mail confirmations that I've gotten for my interview state: Date: July 22, 2008 Time: 11:00 AM (EDT) I'm in EST - Eastern Standard Time, and of course the store itself is. So...why is there an EDT for Eastern Daylight Time? Is the corporate office that sends these e-mails in another state and that's why it says EDT? Or is it just an issue with the Daylight Saving Time and it really should say EST in general, since I applied for Macy's in my time zone? |
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Joined: 07 Jan 2008
Posts: 158
| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:12 am Post subject: | |
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the message is sent out by taleo. it is a new system that we use. before we used wet feet...which i prefered. i gather that taleo is being use all over..hence the EDT.
the dock jobs are the same pay as most sales jobs. any job in sales that is a level 2 job, better sportswear, for example will pay more. it can range from .50 to maybe a dollar. when you applied for a sales job, there might have not been any full time positions avaialble. tomorrow, make sure you let them know that is what you really are interested in doing. i rather work on the floor than be on the dock. good luck and let us know what happens. |
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Joined: 16 Jul 2008
Posts: 5
| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:23 am Post subject: | |||
Is there anything in particular about working the receiving position that you dislike? Or you just personally prefer to work on the sales floor as opposed to in the back? |
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Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 1239
Location: A Place Where No Thongs Are Not Allowed
| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:10 am Post subject: | |
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The dock is better than the sales floor! You do not have to deal with customers, and the hours are way better. But the dock people in my store do not work on w/e's.
As a receiving associate, you will have to do alot of extra stuff, like carry-outs or lifting, maybe pick-up hangers, or refill bags sometimes when you aren't busy with the dock. But IMO, it beats standing in the same area all day long dealing with crazy customers. Also, you will not have the pressure of opening accounts. In my store, "support" associates receive lower pay than sales associates. It may be different in your division, but I know that's how it is here, b/c when I asked to transfer to the dock, I was told that the pay is lower and the reason given was that they do not deal with customers. I also hear them always complaining about their pay, and when they tell me what they make, I can't believe that they can afford gas to get there! Also, I was talking to a girl that works receiving in another store, and she did tell me that they cut her pay when she went from the floor to receiving. There are no FT positions for receiving. You will probably get alot of hours leading up to Christmas, though. If you are going into it looking for FT, you might be dissappointed. I always thought that it looked like a fun job, but I'm sure it's not for everyone. If it pays the same as sales in your store, though, I would definitely choose receiving. I am so sick of the customers that Macy's is attracting, they drive me crazy! As far as Macy's being a good place to work...read this board very carefully! Last edited by MAYcylady on Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Joined: 23 Jan 2008
Posts: 6
| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject: | |
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I work in receiving and for me personally working there is better since I'm quite the introvert and would not prefer to deal with people all day. Accomplishing the goals that Macy's sets for their Sales associates (credit openings, IPT, charity event tickets, etc) require a certain degree of assertiveness which may not be for everyone. Your job primarily would include either helping to unload the truck. This involves on person taking the cartons off the truck and putting it on a roller belt. Other associates are positioned at different points of the belt and are responsible for different types of merchandise. E.g. one associate may be responsible for hanging merchandise while another may load up carts with merchandise that goes directly to the floor such as shoes and cosmetics. If your hired as a processor, your job would be to strip the plastic of the hanging merchandise, place sensor tags on merchandise that requires it and sort the merchandise by zone. Like MAYClady states you will have other responsibilities such as picking up hangers and sensors, delivering supplies, helping with floor moves and participating in the annual inventory.
It is true that for the most part receiving/processing is a part time position. I guess my store is one of the few where us rec assoc work full time. However, even though you may be hired as a part timer there is a chance they'll ask you to work hours beyond your schedule, so yes it may be possible to get up to 30 hours. This is especially true during the holiday season. There are of course some caveats to working on the dock particularly climate related. Many of the docks are located outside and depending on the location it can get pretty cold in the winter. Consequently on a hot humid day moving cartons around will cause you to sweat like a pig. |
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Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 1239
Location: A Place Where No Thongs Are Not Allowed
| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:38 pm Post subject: | |
| The problem with being hired as Part Time, but working full time hours is that you will not be able to get insurance, even though you are working full time hours. If insurance is a benefit that you need, then this would not be the way to go. But trust me, support is better than sales. I never see support associates working at 11 PM! | |
Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 296
| Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:17 pm Post subject: | |
| I have worked sales and sales support, and I far and away perferred sales support. There is some lifting involved. If you have a furniture department, you may have to be used to do floor moves. You will have to invest in black shirts and khaki pants. You may even be asked to help with inventory, especially in stock rooms. All in all, it would be a good place to start. And, if you make a good impression, it is possible that they may move you to another area. Go for it. | |
Joined: 03 Jan 2008
Posts: 856
Location: ole wrap stand
| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:29 pm Post subject: | |
Me I would prefer..off stage..but then again they dont offer full time positions by me either..unless your original from the store before they change the policies and grandfather in..  TEAM COUNTS
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Joined: 16 Jul 2008
Posts: 5
| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:34 pm Post subject: Interview Update | |
Okay, I went to my interview today, and it actually went pretty well. I had to fill out another application through the in-store computer in the breakroom, because the lady at the front desk in HR claimed that it was a "different system" from the online application that I put in. Oddly enough, the application that I put in at the store before my interview didn't ask me the 200 questions or so that the website did. Apparently the questionnaire score went through on the website...but not the application.  I had my interview with the support team manager that took an amazing amount of time to get to HR, and had to be paged multiple times for the scheduled interview. Typical retail. lol Reminds me of my managers at my other job.
Once him and I got to talking and learned about each other, he was actually a pretty nice guy. He was probably in his upper 20's or lower 30's, and seemed very nervous most of the time when interviewing me. lol My job would be in the support team. He stated that I wouldn't be unloading trucks or anything like that, and that I may be register trained (just to be "cross-trained") - but will likely never ring a sale on a register. My job would be to pull the freight out of the back room and put it out, as well as helping with some of the pricing and such if they needed help in that area. The interview went very well, and he said he would give me a good recommendation. I come back in a couple of days to interview with either his boss or the general manager. He said I would be working anywhere from 2 to 5 days a week, depending on the amount of hours after the full-time people have had their pick, of course. haha  Then I learned about the 10% hours reduction. If they have 150 hours to give, then they really only can use 135.  Up to a maximum of 35 hours per week that I can work (apparently support associates can't go over that). No full-time positions available, of course. I asked him about any chance of becoming full-time or moving into another area, and he pretty much told me that "contingent" associates are part-time and can sometimes be sort of on-call. They're hiring early for the upcoming holidays.
I have an interview later in the day (on the same day) with Circuit City, several hours after my second interview with Macy's. I don't think I can deal with 2-3 days per week of work, all the way up until the holidays. The Circuit City store is easier for me to get to, since I have to take a bus and don't have a car right now. But..can anyone tell me if I will "know" if I'm hired or not, on the day that I have my second interview with the GM or the support manager's boss at Macy's? Or will I just have to "wait" again after that and they'll call me whenever to tell me? I don't want to say "yes" to this position with Macy's...if Circuit City hires me for a full-time merchandiser position that I am interviewing for later that same day. But I don't know if CC will want me to come back for a second interview, either. I guess that's another thing to investigate. I wish these places would cool it with the "second interview" stuff. It's pretty annoying.
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Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 1239
Location: A Place Where No Thongs Are Not Allowed
| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:52 pm Post subject: | |
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It sounds like you are being hired as seasonal help, which means that after inventory, you are history!
In my store, they reduce the hours by 30%. I don't know why they don't just give us the amount of hours that we are suppossed to use. Anyway, in the position that you described, you will be pretty much under the mercy of your MTM, as to wheter you get hours or not. How can they expect anyone to take a job that offers "2-5" days per week? Did he tell you how much the pay will be? |
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Joined: 16 Jul 2008
Posts: 5
| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:06 pm Post subject: | |||
He stated that this other lady (can't remember who he said - probably the name of his boss or the general manager) would be able to tell me about the pay. He said he didn't want to tell me an amount and have it be wrong. I asked him if it was according to a "pay chart" and he said yes, depending on experience. I have a couple of years of retail/warehouse/stocking experience and a few years of Customer Service experience. But I doubt that will affect the pay that much. Oh yeah, and he emphasized that if you do an excellent job...then you get more hours than the lazy people, of course. Well, he didn't put it in that way...but I pretty much got what he really meant, since I've dealt with retail for a while now.
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Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 1239
Location: A Place Where No Thongs Are Not Allowed
| Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:27 pm Post subject: | |
| ...which is something that I totally dislike about the setup. If your MTM doesn't like you, they can cut your hours, and when there are few hours, they can give them to their favorites. I prefer GUARANTEED hours. | |
Joined: 03 Jan 2008
Posts: 856
Location: ole wrap stand
| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:48 am Post subject: | |
wait till that new schuedling PLUS thingy comes out next spring..  fasten fingers wins and its every person for him or herself.. 
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