Johnna Davis

Responsibilities

Lord Midas is a small menswear boutique. They sell high quality menswear and leather goods. I had to learn about menswear specifically suits and shoe styles in order to sell them to the customer. I had all the basic responsibility that one has when doing retail. There is only me and one other employee in the store, so there is no specific job description like there would be for a large business. For the most part I was responsible for inventory. In the beginning of the internship, the owner of the store asked me to do an entire inventory list. This is because the small boutique does not have a computerized terminal and had no real record of the inventory. For 3 weeks, I went through every item on the sales floor and basement inventory and recorded everything they had. I recorded the inventory in Excel and took pictures of some merchandise to keep things easy and organized. After finishing the inventory, it was my job to keep things updated throughout the internship. Another thing that I was responsible for selling items on eBay. When doing this I had to create descriptions which was the most challenging thing to do. I wanted to create good descriptions that influenced people to make a purchase, so that was my goal when doing that. Other than those things, I organized different merchandise throughout the store and tried to make things visually more appealing. Obviously, I had to process sales and provide customer service like any retail position.

Accomplishments

Having the owner offer me an extended position and possibility to work at a new location in Iowa or a different store in Palm Beach, Florida. He thinks that I am very organized and pay close attention to detail, so he doesn't want me to leave the company. This was an honor to hear coming from him especially because I wanted an internship where I would be valued and possibly able to stay with the company, so it means a lot to me.

What advice would you give?

My advice is to just do what YOU want to do. Don't worry about what you think you should be doing or what you think you are "supposed" to do. I got this internship on my own because I walked in and handed them my resume. I knew certain things that I didn't want to do which was working for a large corporation. I also didn't really want to do womenswear because I felt there was nothing more for me to learn. In this internship I didn't just learn about menswear, but I got to meet so many different people and learn from them. I didn't originally plan to do my internship in retail because I had done it previously and didn't like it. If you have troubles with conversation or working with people in general, retail is a good way to learn ways to improve. It isn't just about getting an internship or a job. It's about loving every single person you meet and influencing people in ways you would never imagine by simply appreciating what they have to say and always listening. Also, don't treat people as "customers" treat them as you would your friends and things are typically much more rewarding and even fun.