I love working. I make sure that I take on jobs that I truly enjoy, things that will make me happy. Working is almost like a hobby to me. I use my jobs as a time to focus on one thing at a time.
I love (almost) all of my past places of employment. They have helped me grow into who I am, and taught me a lot along the way.
That being said, I thought I would go through and rank my favorites. Here they are!
- Claire’s
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I absolutely loved working here. I started out as a sales associate before being promoted to part-time manager at 18 years old. It was my senior year of high school and working was kind of a break from the rest of my life. I made friends with the staff and it was overall a good environment.
The location I was at was very slow and eventually closed down because of it. I wasn’t paid much more than minimum wage, but I did love the job and felt that it was worth it.
My job consisted mostly of arranging the walls and displays (something I love), running the register and piercing ears. I found piercing ears quite calming and fun to do. I liked making a moment in people’s lives. I also got to run a couple of kids’ birthday parties, I love children so it felt like the perfect job.
Unfortunately, I moved jobs due to my location closing, but I enjoyed it while it lasted.
- Designer Prom Dress Store
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I’m censoring the name of this one since it wasn’t a chain, but it was honestly great to work at. I was a sales associate, we were referred to as a “stylist.” I love connecting with customers on an individual level, and this job let me do that.
I was the client’s personal help from the moment they entered the store. I helped them pick dresses, assisted in trying them on and hyped them up. I got to understand people and help them make big decisions.
The pay was minimum wage, but I made commissions on all the dresses I sold and got some pretty hefty tips (sometimes over $100).
My favorite perk was getting to try on the dresses for social media. It is super fun to play dress up in $500+ dresses. I learned a lot about my style and sizing.
The position was seasonal, and I didn’t connect super well with a lot of my coworkers, so after working a homecoming and prom season, I got offered the position at Claire’s and eventually decided not to return.
- Carter’s
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I joined Carter’s after my Claire’s location shut down. Since I had prior managerial experience at Claire’s, I hopped right into the part-time manager position. It was nice, nothing bad, but I just didn’t click with it the same way I did my other jobs.
My main tasks were customer service, running the register and keeping the store arranged nicely. My favorite part was interacting with the children. Also, kids’ clothes are so adorable.
The pay was the highest I’ve received so far, and it was fantastic. I got to save a lot of money for college.
I scheduled to leave when I moved to college, and it worked out well.
- Food Service Waterpark Employee
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I will not be naming them because this is my closest to a job horror story. I honestly don’t remember a ton about this place because I blocked a lot of it out.
This was my first job and they paid me almost nothing. I got under minimum wage because I was “able to receive tips,” but we were told to put any tips into a donation jar.
The job was similar to a fast food window, but everyone is in bikinis. People come up to a window, cranky and soaking wet. They pull sopping-wet dollar bills out of their swimsuits to pay, and all of them are angry about something.
The worst part was that management was wildly unsupportive. We did not get free food, just a 35% discount. When we threw all the extra food away at the end of the night, we were not allowed to eat it. They tried to schedule us constantly throughout the summer and it got ridiculous. The attitude given was just snarky and dismissive.
They had several people quit without notice, and as much as I tried to make it, I ended up putting in a two-week notice before the end of summer. I made it about a week and a half before crying to my manager that I could not do another day and leaving.
Luckily I had the Dress Store job lined up for me, and I left to take the offer.