Maggie Neil

Responsibilities

My responsibilities really vary within my internship at the book store. As student gift buyer my man responsibility is creating purchase orders, and keep track of the gift department by analyzing sales. I also help with merchandising on the floor, as the product that I have ordered comes in. I also work with our open to buy to make sure I stay within out budget for each class of products that fall under the gift department. One of the larger responsibilities that I have coming is preparing and help run our state fair booth.

Accomplishments

A lot of my larger projects in my internships are still to come, but I have still accomplished a lot. One of the things that has been very rewarding is designing, and bringing in a new product seeing it on the floor. I also have taken over the drinkware department, and have started to revamp it. We have been making great turns on our products and I am excited to continue with drinkware analysis.

Learning experience

I have learned so much already in the time that I have been here, and still have the rest of the school year to continue to learn. Currently in our world there are a lot of issues with supply chain and that has been difficult to navigate as a new buyer. I have learned that you have to be quick on your feet and always have a back up plan because things might be delayed, but you will still need to bring product into your store.

What advice would you give?

My advice would be to apply early and often to internships. You are entering a very competitive field, so you may not end with that dream internship but whatever you end up is always a learning opportunity. Always keep an open mind, and remember connections go a long way!