Bath & Body Works – “Great Job if your Single!”

Pros

If you are someone who is motivated by praise and recognition, this is the place for you. As a Store Manager weekly conference calls are mandatory to allow for summary of previous weeks sales numbers and traffic conversion, "opportunites" with Brand, Talent, and Capabilities (which is there term for administrative focus on everything from merchandising to payroll. Sets the pace and goal for the upcoming week. They have "playbook" that if you follow, WORD fo WORD, will bring much success and a lot less grief for you as a manager within the Limited Brands World. It's basically "Retail Management for Dummies". Very structured company.

Cons

Because the company is Very structured, you will have very little opportunity to "think outside the box". Be VERY careful with alllllll of their policies in place. They do enforce them, even if you think they are the most minut and trival procedures. You will succeed if you give your life to them. This is a VERY hands on position. Work/Life balance may come after your first year once you have finally caught up with all there is to learn and establish your foundation. There is NO life in the months of NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, AND JANUARY! (January is their Semi-Annual clearance event.) If you are not good at organization, and time management, this is NOT the place for you.

Advice to Senior Management

Establish a more formal corporate style of training and on-baording new store managers, as oppossed to laying that responsibility on other store managers who are just as busy and may not give all that upper management requires for you to competently run your stores in the field.