Ayana Sears: Ayana's First Week at Macy's!!

After stressing for two semesters (well, really one, because I figured I'd be set by December 2015), I landed an internship with Macy's the last few weeks of school! I am doing the Store Management Internship at Macy's in North Point Mall in Alpharetta, GA. I was extremely excited and grateful when I got the news, because I know how important of a role internships can play in your future success after college.

The Friday before my first day, I decided to take a test drive to the Macy's location in Alpharetta, which was 35 minutes away from my house. . .without traffic! On Monday, my first day, I arrived almost an hour early with my friend and schoolmate, Sahara Calderhead. We waited in my car and did last minute beauty preparations and ate the last of breakfast. Since the mall does not open until 10 during the week, employees had to enter through a side door. We arrived before most of the managers and waited.When the managers arrived, introductions were made and everyone was so excited to meet the two new interns! Everyday at 8:30 and 3:30, the managers have a meeting. At 8:30, we entered the conference room and waited for the meeting to being. Usually, a manager spoke about sale goals, credits, how well a department was doing, how many percentages a department was up compared to last week, and other issues that I am still wrapping my head around.

Three of the managers (Cheryl, Lynn and Cindy) took Sahara and I to the Cheesecake factory for lunch on the first day and that's when I learned about their careers. Two of the managers, Lynn Wade and Cindy, have been with Macy's for 25+ years, such a great accomplishment! Cheryl has worked at almost every Macy's in Georgia and she's been with the company 13+ years. Before lunch, I was paired with this girl named Ali, who graduated from Alabama State about a year ago, She interned in New York and is now a manager at Macy's--she didn't go through the internship and EDP program, so I think that's pretty cool. For the rest of the summer,I will be paired with Cathleen, who's the sales manager for the Shoe and Intimate Apparel Department.

The most difficult task so far for me has been understanding my role in the company, learning how to work the cash register and the other technology they use in the Shoe department. The managers understand that we're new, so we took training lessons on the computer on our first and second days. We watched lessons about earning credit (rewards cards), working the register and how to be the MAGIC at Macy's. I perform and learn better by actually doing. Since I am doing the Store Management Internship, I felt like I should know everything quickly, but it's okay that I don't. When new associates see my red tag, which mean indicates a managerial position, they seem confused as to why they're helping me with basic stuff then I explain my story of being an intern and they go "ahhhhh, okay." To be a manager, you have to understand the roles of sales associates. So I know for the first few weeks we will be doing more work that associates do, but over time, we will hopefully do more managerial work.

The most humorous thing that happened this week was more relaxing than funny. It's just nice being able to laugh and joke around with the other managers, especially the young ones, but also know when it's time to be serious. I am mostly looking forward to going to Houston in July with Sahara and meeting other interns in our district! I am also looking forward to doing more managerial work. I know the only thing I don't look forward to is the traffic! Between 2:00-7:00 p.m., it will take me an hour to get home. However, the good thing about retail is that my schedule will fluctuate so some days I'll be off at 9:00 p.m.

Note to Know: Be grateful for every opportunity given to you and give 100% because you never know where that opportunity can lead you to in life.