I have never felt so stressed?

Question

I am 20 years old, full time college student...I have 5 years in retail and sales experience... I used to work for a bridal shop for many years, then at another clothing store as a store manager, and then I was offered a position at Bath and body works, and now they want to make me a manager here...which i am completely happy about....right? well, there is a good chance the only store that needs a manager, is a store thats many cities away, which obviously, i wont want to do, nor CAN i do...the sad thing is, that if his managers position doesnt work out, then ill have to go back to a sales associate, which gives me about 3 hours A WEEK. no, really. lately i have been in tears, over the amount of stress ive been under, and so many bad things always seem to happen all at once. i might be facing the possibility of not having a job, and i have tried everything.where else can i work! i dont have the time rite now to work a $7/hr job. i have experience, i am a hard worker, and i have BILLS

Answer 1

Here is the crux of the problem: your current job sees you as an asset to be used as they see fit, where they see fit. Your own priority is, or maybe should be, your full time college career. The two are not compatible. Well, that is not a problem. Finishing your degree is worth way more than whatever difference you'll make as a retail store manager for an extra two years. I say extra two years because you can always go back to bath and body works after you finish college if you like it that well.

My suggestion is this: Start looking fast and hard for another job. Create a decent resume and emphasize that you are a college student. Apply anywhere you can think of that would need someone reliable and easy to train for similar jobs. Decide what your minimum acceptable wage needs to be, and stick with it, assuming it's realistic. If you were making a certain amount at B&BW, then, it should not be a problem to get that amount somewhere else. B&BW is another nifty retailer, just like about a zillion other places, and the turnover in those jobs is high, which means...lots of opportunities elsewhere.
You may not find something overnight, but if you spend all of your extra time during the week getting ready, identifying possibilities, dressing up your resume, and having a few people check it over for spelling and grammer (everyone makes a mistake somewhere), then hit it hard starting early on saturday and even sunday, you may have a new job paying what you need inside of 2 weeks. Don't get discouraged after 10 tries. It may take 11. Don't get discouraged after 20 tries, because it may take 21. Just remember it's a numbers game and go after it.

Remember, you are a full time college student. The job you have now is just temporary job with respect to that. Any job you find right now is just a means to an end. Once you finish school, your earning potential will go up tremendously. Alot of young people drop out of school because of this or that 'great opportunity' to be the store manager, or the dock foreman, or whatever. The reality is, they slap nice titles on these jobs to entice you, but where will you go after that? Unless you are fairly unique like Michael Dell, or started at Wal-mart or Home Depot during their growth phase and got alot of stock options, the reality is, store manager of a BBW is not a job for someone who has completed their 4 year degree. Stick with the books at all costs, and in a couple of years or so, you'll go way past that store manager job, and continue to climb and earn.
I realize that finishing school may be a big goal, but it does not put food in your mouth or heat your apartment right now.
Therefore, your immediate goal, since BBW doesn't seem to be compatible with your long term goals, is to find a job that does. You don't mention waiting tables. It's hard work but if you work at the right restaurants, you'll make more than you would managing that store. Find someplace with alot of other college students working there. It probably means they are 'student friendly'. Find someplace where the entrees run $10 plus, and make sure they serve liquor. Even if you can't serve until you turn 21, they will help you out on those orders, and your tabs in general will be much higher. Think about it: table for 4, drinks, dinner, maybe desert, will run 80 to 100+ dolllars for their dinner tab. Some people don't tip but most do and some do well. A tip on an $80 table is 12 bucks. If you are dealing with 3 tables at a time on the average, you would make $36 an hour.. Maybe it would only be 20 some places, or 15 on some nights. The point is, you can make enough to pay for school and bills by waiting tables if you go to the right places. You are NOT going to pay for school by waiting on people at Golden Corral or Ryan's steak houses. You would probably do very well at Outback or someplace similar.
Its true that you won't be that busy all the time, but then again, if you need to study and be in school during the day, why would you want to work anything but the busy evenings anyway? The restaurants don't want staff hanging around making minimum wage with no tables to wait on either so they'll try to schedule you evenings and when you are available.
I hope you see a solution in here. It's here to be seen. If you feel that waiting tables is too hard or that the manager job just holds so much potential (which it doesn't), then go for it, and there's not much I can say to help you. I hope for your sake that you have hope, stay in school, and simply take a firm grip on the situation and push through to a solution. Tens of thousands of students have similar problems each year, and gut it out no matter how hard it gets. That's what it takes, and you can do it too, but you have to decide that it's your very highest priority.

Another comment: you need to attack your situation from both sides. I talked alot about finding a job that would work for your situation. The other thing you need to do, is look at all your bills, and start figuring out how to minimize them. Are you splitting a place with 2 or 3 or so other people? If not, and it's feasible, that's the first thing you need to do. It will cut your electricity, rent, water, trash, sewer, and maybe phone by half or more. Do you have a car payment? Sell it and get a reliable beater. You can get something that will work 99% of the time for $1500. Do you have a cell phone? You probably need one but get the cheapest plan you can find. Not enough minutes? Don't talk so much. Got cable? Drop it.
At the risk of losing your interest if you've gotten this far, I'll stop with the points because I'm sure you get the idea. The bottom line is, you have to make the sacrifices necessary to get the degree. If you don't, you'll simply end up as the 40 yr old store manager at the mall working holidays and saying 'yessir' and 'yesma'am' and trying to keep the clerks honest all day and making 25k or whatever for the rest of your life. Alot of people choose this path. It's honest work and I respect that it's as high as some will go. But, if you want more than that, then, you need to dig in, don't fret about anything they tell you at BBW, go find a job that will accommodate your long term plans, and kiss BBW goodbye. If they argue or get verbally pushy or manipulative, consider the source. Listen to those that support your goals. The world is full of people that won't, people serving their own interests, and people that will use you in a heartbeat for their own shallow gains. You have to be strong, keep your big goals in the front of your mind, and not be distracted by situations such as this one. Good luck. - Kevin

Answer 2

Hi,
I started my own business while in school through BeautiControl, it's an excellent company. I think you would do a wonderful job and make really great money with the experience you've mentioned, and you can work this business around any schedule. The products are absolutely wonderful and the parties are fun and relaxing. I love all the products, and they have a very large variety to choose from. Please check out their site, it says $179 to join, but this month there is a $179 rebate offer, so it's like joining for free. Amazing offer if your serious about building a business for yourself. When the site prompts you to find a consultant my number is 1029211, or email me at [e-mail] for more information.

Good Luck!
Barbara

Answer 3

Academy Sports and Outdoors! They start you off at a fairly decent wage, and they help out with college! or Walgreens starts people off at $7 an hour, but most of them are open 24 hours and want you to work nights. There are also many doctors offices that hire people just to file things, and they pay pretty well too. Good luck!

Answer 4

sweetie, cant u just turn down the mgr job? and then find another retail job w/ more hrs but better pay?

w/ your retail experience i'm sure u could get a better paying job, what about a dept store or makeup store? (or makeup at a dept store)

Answer 5

It's good, because stress is negative. Maybe you are just a calm and confident person?

Answer 6

Look for job on Campus, They don't pay alot but they give you a little money until you can find something else or some close! part time work.

Answer 7

Forget it, the manager position sounds like a McJob: a dead end.