Time For Change. Time For Opportunity.

On 17 November 2013, I will complete my career at Target.  Seven years and nine months.  My first post college job that started as a desperate reach for money and employment and ended up being the start of a retail career.  Retail is not what I went to college for, but this is the hand I was dealt.  My mom once told me that retail was in my blood.  I don't regret the college path I took, I only regret not being able to find a job in my field after college.  This job introduced me to many people and I made some great friends along the way.  But here's the thing, nothing was wholly wrong with the job.  So why the change?

I could have worked for Target for the rest of my working life if I wanted to.  A solid company that will probably never go away.  I had found my little niche in the food world of retail.  I worked with food vendors every day (which had it's pluses and minuses), I settled into being the 'food guy' at work, I knew the ins and outs of food safety and how best to drive sales and make it profitable.  All the information I needed to run a successful grocery department was in my head.  But therein lies the problem.  I found myself occasionally not being challenged at work.  It became too much of a routine that wasn't always fun.  The excitement and newness eventually wore off.  A safe job as everyone needs food.

So if it was such a safe and secure job, why leave it?  Challenge and opportunity are the big things.  I needed something more.  Something different.  Something new.  And the job I found, I think will give me that.  Once you reach the point when you no longer feel challenged at work, how long do you hold onto that job?  If you are comfortable in your job, by all means, stay there.  Especially if that is what you want to do.  Me?  I never thought of retail as a career so I feel more flexible and willing to move on when I want to.  When I first started looking around at other employers, I did look at actual grocery stores.  I looked at the local chains and even Trader Joe's.  I sent out applications, but was rejected by them all.  I hit a low point, feeling defeated.  If I couldn't get a grocery manager/assistant manager job with over seven years of experience, what would it take?  

It was a steady job, but there are only so many times you can listen to 'You're a great worker and a strong leader.' just to see the advancement opportunity go to someone else because they are more of a yes man than actual leader that gets their job done.  You can only work your ass off for so many years to see little ground gained in the opportunity and development departments.  You can only watch so many bosses get recruited right out of college not prepared for the retail world and watch them flounder through it, much to your stress and patience.  I had gotten to the point where I want to do more with a company, and I tried several times with Target to do more only to have been turned away.  So I gave up on it and accepted my role within my store.  Again, a moral defeat.  However, I eventually took that defeat and turned it on it's head.  If I'm afforded the opportunity to work somewhere else that will help me develop into something more right out of the gate, what is keeping me at my current job?  The security blanket of being a large company.  That was about it. 

I accepted a job with World Market over this past weekend.  Is it still retail?  Yes.  It will be quite a change of pace from Target.  Not as busy, but I will be able to spend more time working on developing an area into a profitable one.  Own your area is the phrase that was thrown around at Target, but as busy as the days were, it was tough to do.  You can't be in your area when you are running around the store plugging the holes in the dam.  A smaller company and smaller store can afford me that time to do so.  Going from a company that has almost 1,900 stores to a company that has close to 300 might sound like a bad idea, but opportunity to grow with a smaller company is something that I was looking for.  Ideally, I would go work for an independent store just because it would be the ultimate 'own what you do' experience short of owning your own business.  

Sometimes you need to look at opportunities and take a leap.  If you don't take that leap, you might look back and think 'what if....'.  Change is a scary thing.  This change could be the best thing for me down the road, but it could also be a mistake.  I wouldn't ever know if I sat on my hands and didn't leap.  Don't let the fear make your mind up for you.  Take that step.  Don't fear the unknown, embrace it with open arms.  It might be the change you were looking for.