STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

blubirde · Chanel

Need advice

lsubatgirl · Gucci

hmm not sure exactly but I work for my state and thought about staying on after graduation and it just wasn't worth it to me. The hours are nice sometimes but the job isn't challenging and you don't get paid much so I looked into other opportunities and am going to try the "firm" environment for a while knowing I can fall back on the state.

I'm not sure what its like to work every day of the week but I can imagine it gets tiring and old. My bf works at Circuit City and around christmas he is doing the everyday thing and he is so grumpy and awful to be around because he just gets tired and stressed. Not everyone may be like this though so don't let that dissuade you from trying. You can always try and quit if it isn't working out.

The other option is to look for a different job which you may not want to do but if you are starving you may have to. Not all firms are the same so maybe you can find one that isn't a workaholic type place.

bex · Chanel

one summer during college i worked at my sister's law office as a admin asst. and worked at a retail store at nights and on the weekends.

i was tired. it was hard. that was the hardest summer i ever had... it really starts to catch up with you.

my advice? talk to your favorite boutiques that you shop at a lot anyway. i bet they could use someone a couple of weekends a month, that way you won't be tying up all your nights and weekends- plus you'll get the added bonus of using the discount that they have at their store. i know at some of my boutiques that i shop at, i get asked if i want to work there because i know the brands and how they fit and work for people, etc. and i have thought about working a couple of weekends a month.

good luck!

lynnie · Chanel

It's hard and I don't recommend working every day- you get tired and all you have going on in your life is work! Nothing to talk about but work. It makes you boring. Could you do part-time at the job you are at now and spend the rest of your time developing some other passion? Maybe writing, or opening a small business, or selling on eBay? Something more lucrative and fun, but also riskier? What do you wish you could do but feel like you can't for financial reasons? Also, is the money at your job now good if you cut back your spending a bit? I'm not sure if you did the shopping ban or not, but it's nice to not worry about buying new clothes for a while and just work with what you have- maybe sell what you don't wear. I kind of want to go backpacking or something for a long time where I can avoid shopping and train myself to not want as much. It kind of sucks that I want all these nice things and other people just want to enjoy life. I will not go out for a week to buy a pair of shoes. It's crazy. I think i'm about to go on a mini-ban because I've gone crazy with shoes in the past month!

Elle · Hermes

Have you thought about getting some seasonal work? Like a 'summer job'?

carmenb513 · Coach

I don't know anything about law and/or working for the state. I work 2 jobs........both at retailers. My part-time job has great perks one being 50% off of great handbags. I don't get burnt out because I give my boss at the part-time palce my schedule for the full-time, they work around it and whenever I want time off there's not a problem because there other people who will take the hours. It's usually never any more than 10 hrs a week.I can manage that without blowing a gasket. Also there, I don't have to be in charge of anybody (I'm a manager at another place).........it's completely mindless work! I'm just a "patty part-timer"!

blubirde · Chanel

Thanks for all the advice. It's a lot of food for thought. I'm sure I wouldn't want to work after work (in the evenings) but if I could find something a couple nights a week and a couple weekends, that wouldn't be so bad. Especially if it was at a store/boutique I spend a lot of time in anyway. It might be kinda fun to help out other people with brands, labels, fits, etc. Of course, it could suck.

I'm going to think about it some more and weigh my options.

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

If you do decide to work in retail, I'd try to work in a boutique. I worked for some larger chain stores, and they sucked the life from me. I quit retail in '99, and I'm finally starting to enjoy the holidays again. It was exhausting, thankless work that didn't pay squat! By the time I got home I was bitchy with sore feet. I would expect a boutique to be a more caring atmosphere, because the owners are usually involved and more caring, where chain stores have managers who are reporting to regional managers who haven't met you and don't care as much for your well being (I'm generalizing, some are caring and great, I'm sure, but that wasn't my experience)

-gd