- Joined
- Jan 8, 2021
- Messages
- 601
Hi all. I found this place while googling and it seems like a nice vibe. Quick rundown that should be vague enough: I'm no longer in my 20's, I'm from the west coast, and was recently promoted in-store after a year working GS, to GSTL. I love the job so far and my username is hopefully accurate.
So far I'm lucky to have an ETL who is a great balance of tough/ambitious and kind/helpful, and a senior GSTL who knows everything and has been training me. I also did not expect to get the job, as I've had a rough patch with a couple of TMs who I'm now supervising, and I was far from the most qualified person up front. I think I got the job through perseverance and improvement, solid guest service and very hard work, but not really for my soft skills.
Initial impression of the job is that it's quite a bit more than I expected. I was doing a lot of shifts at the service desk thinking that I was basically like a TL already, in that I was essentially running the FOS as some leadership positions were unfilled and leaders were occupied with other areas of the store. But that's definitely not the reality of it, as I know now. Being what is something like a head cashier and actually being accountable for the FOS are super different. It's been humbling.
I think one of the harder things is going to be holding people accountable without being a jerk or a pushover. Getting that bit right has always seemed like the crux of leadership, no matter the job.
Advice for a noob? Starting the job in the Holiday peak was something else. I guess if I survived that, I'll be alright. But if you guys have any war stories or advice about being a new TL, I'd love to hear. What do you wish you would have known when you started?
Cheers!
So far I'm lucky to have an ETL who is a great balance of tough/ambitious and kind/helpful, and a senior GSTL who knows everything and has been training me. I also did not expect to get the job, as I've had a rough patch with a couple of TMs who I'm now supervising, and I was far from the most qualified person up front. I think I got the job through perseverance and improvement, solid guest service and very hard work, but not really for my soft skills.
Initial impression of the job is that it's quite a bit more than I expected. I was doing a lot of shifts at the service desk thinking that I was basically like a TL already, in that I was essentially running the FOS as some leadership positions were unfilled and leaders were occupied with other areas of the store. But that's definitely not the reality of it, as I know now. Being what is something like a head cashier and actually being accountable for the FOS are super different. It's been humbling.
I think one of the harder things is going to be holding people accountable without being a jerk or a pushover. Getting that bit right has always seemed like the crux of leadership, no matter the job.
Advice for a noob? Starting the job in the Holiday peak was something else. I guess if I survived that, I'll be alright. But if you guys have any war stories or advice about being a new TL, I'd love to hear. What do you wish you would have known when you started?
Cheers!
