Rule of thumb when job hunting: Dress for the job! I agree that for a SA position in a clothing store you should dress with a suit and tie.
This link may be TMI, but you may want to read it before getting all excited about working a DB
http://www.indeed.com/forum/cmp/Dres...essbarn/t63803
When writing the next chapter in your life, start with a pencil and eraser - my first page as Miki is full of eraser marks.
When I interviewed, I noticed three of the associates and the manager were all wearing jeans. I was told I could go to work with jeans and a collared shirt.
Miki, after reading that link, it reminds me of my own experience interviewing at DB a few months ago (the job I just got is actually at Lane Bryant). They kept asking questions skirting the fringes of legality around crossdressing and transgender statuses. I almost walked out of the interview once I sensed that I was only being interviewed as a "diversity candidate" for them to check the block. I can say, that I really liked the manager I will be working for, and the associates I had the chance to speak with seemed to like working there.
Good luck with your new job.
When writing the next chapter in your life, start with a pencil and eraser - my first page as Miki is full of eraser marks.
So you didn't tell us where the store is. We'd like to shop where we know we are accepted.
Sorry I've been away for a while. I am at Lane Bryant. I'd rather keep the exact location quiet though. After one week, it's been an education in retail!
1. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Manager in business? Suit and tie, every day. Period, unless you're told otherwise
2. Forget about telling your prospective employers about anything transgender. You can feel out how they feel about that after you have the job, getting employment trumps your leisure time activities. Don't be led astray by the pink fog of 'everybody accepts us today'. They don't. See the thread by the guy who got screwed out of his job elsewhere on the forum.
3. Be professional. If the topic comes up, about why you applied at a woman's clothing store, just say that you're a good manager, and you feel that you can manage anywhere, and you're eager to learn about your company.
BTW, learn everything you can about the company. EVERYTHING. Who owns it, is it owned publicly or privately, how it's business has been in the recent past, etc.. AFA the tg thing, once you get the job you can say you got a phone call from a man who wanted to come in privately because he was interested in the clothes, but he was shy and was worried about what the staff might think. That will tell you what your boss thinks about crossdressers. Also, if it works out o.k., you'll have at least several CDers in the area coming in to buy stuff. If that works out, you might even get a bonus for bringing in new business; there are a lot of us who would love a friendly, private place to shop (you can always close a couple hours early for 'inventory' and let the TG guys in the back door, and package our stuff in 'plain brown boxes'.
there's lots of potential here.
Good luck.
Some causes of crossdressing you've probably never even considered: My TG biography at:http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...=1#post1490560
There's an addendum at post # 82 on that thread, too. It's about a ten minute read.
Why don't we understand our desire to dress, behave and feel like a girl? Because from childhood, boys are told that the worst possible thing we can be, is a sissy. This feeling is so ingrained into our psyche, that we will suppress any thoughts that connect us to being or wanting to be feminine, even to the point of creating separate personalities to assign those female feelings into.
I would be very happy to have any type of desk job, am really good at typing about 60 wpm and good with anything on the computer, and then I can come into work in a red top and black dress
So yesterday was interesting. I know two of you came in to the store
Allison, I just read your last post that two CDs came into your store recently. I sure hope you didn't suggest for them to shop. Normally that's fine but a drab bra fitting could have easily blown you out and I mean out in the sense that if one of the personnel got upset, or possibly refused to serve them, you would have been in a spot that you should never have to be exposed to at this early date. You have a possible career to be concerned with now and don't need this.
By the way, I'm pretty certain that this chain has an Associates Manual, or similar title, that I had previously referred to in regards to security rules so it would be interesting to know what their written rules are in regards to selling to CDs --- most chains now have pretty clear rules on this subject.
Julie
Hi Julie,
The customer asked for the fitting. I was told there is a certification process we have to go through before we can do bra fittings, which I won't go through until next spring. I have only seen the associate handbook online once and it didn't cover the topic of CDs. I simply treat them as any other customer, like I would like to be treated.
We did have a woman come in and purchase some pajamas and panties for her husband the other day, I told her she must be the best wife ever.
Allison, in line with showing initiative and being pro-active --- would suggest you download that Handbook. Kind of shocked that it's not more relevant to your daily work-lives. Does it manualize procedures such as taking markdowns, associate purchases, sales to relatives etc., etc.? Chain is too big to depend on you, or anybody else, developing your own rules of conduct (and procedures). In the wild possibility that it isn't as comprehensive as it should be then it would be a path to your advancment. Check it out.
Julie
Sounds like a great job Allison; I hope things continue to go well for you there!
Jen
Good for you! Sounds like fun! I've worked in retail before at the Gap when I was 18. It was awesome. The best part for me is dressing the mannequins. There are a lot of guys that work in women's only stores- so it's not that crazy!
Sounds like a dram job or at least a great local team
female lifeguard at the neighborhood pool
Congratulations on the job Allison.
Dana M
Thanks everyone... it's been enlightening but I am leaving the job at the end of the week- too much conflict with scheduling and things at home as a result. It was a good experience to have, worked with some good people, learned a lot too.... mainly that name brand clothes are way too damn expensive, even with employee discounts, and learned a lot about how we are viewed as customers.
Sorry to hear the job did not work out in the long term Allison. Can you enlighten us about your comment: "learned a lot about how we are viewed as customers"? Do you mean CD customers or all customers?
Hugs,
Stephanie
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller (The Open Door)
"I give her my heart but she wanted my soul...But don't think twice, it's all right" Bob Dylan (1963)
I would consider it a dream job if I was a sales type person.
^^^^^Originally Posted by Stephanie Sometimes
This
Sorry everyone, I have been away for a while... a lot going on! I was referring to CD customers. My month there taught me that while SA's will put on a happy face and do what they are expected to, none of the people I worked with are the least bit accepting. I only think I had one CD customer that whole month, which surprised me. I did have two women who told me they were shopping for husbands though.
Almost every day, I'd also have at least two or three women look at me funny and mention they'd never seen a man in a woman's clothing store and ask how that happened? I'd tell them I lost my job a few months back and this one paid better than most of what I had been offered. I was surprised how many thanked me for helping them find what they wanted while shopping and told me they'd come back and ask for me again. I only had one experience even close to negative, and that was with a repeat customer who let her kid run crazy in the store.
My interviewing rule of thumb is to dress one notch better than the person interviewing me. It shows you are paying attention without making a power play.
sorry things didnt work out for you..hope things get better for you soon
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