In the 9 years I have stayed home with my daughters, I have made several starts at going back to work. The most recent, and serious, attempt was at a local Barnes & Noble book store. I am a regular there, having purchased many books and fed my magazine habit. I met the store manager several years ago and she regularly gave me recommendations to help satisfy my oldest daughter’s reading habit.
One day, I noticed a help-wanted sign on the sidewalk in front of the store. The sign said they were looking for all levels of experience, including management. Since I have an interest in some areas of retailing, but never had a job in retailing, I thought it would be good to ask the manager about their opportunities. As well, since I didn’t have a polished resume, it would give me a chance to explore the opportunity on an informal basis, since I knew the manager.
I was quickly granted an interview with the assistant manager.
As it turned out, the management position was an assistant manager. Since the store is a very small location, with no cafe or CD/DVD sections, their salary was low. The manager said that if I had always wanted a job at a bookstore, than she would make me the offer. But that if I was serious, perhaps I would do better to apply at one of their larger stores. She offered to put me in contact with the appropriate people, but I declined.
Why decline? Perhaps it was the idea of working 6 days per week for a total of 46 hours (or there-abouts). With little flexibility in what hours I worked, or even which days. And a salary in the low-$20,000 range wasn’t much, especially when considering my existing high tax bracket based on my wife’s income.
So I passed on the job as assistant manager of a small Barnes & Noble bookstore. And I still have no retail experience. But I have not ruled out retail. I continue to harbor ideas about owning a music store. In fact, if Swarthmore Music ever comes up for sale, I’m interested.
