Our entire building is decorated with color reminders of why we show up to work every day.

June 9th, 2018

Rachel Lynne
Sep 4, 2018 · 3 min read

·“To Inspire and empower families to lead fulfilled lives” — Kohl’s Purpose

Kohl’s is so passionate about their mission that they have it posted on every hallway in the corporate office. And you know what? It makes their associates feel inspired and empowered to make a difference. I felt it as I walked through the doors of Corporate each morning of my first week, as I watched my office work together, and as I saw fellow employees having fun while they worked. I’ve only worked for Kohl’s for five days, and let’s be honest, haven’t even done much work yet, but I already know that I will be supported and uplifted during my time here.

So, back to that “not really working yet” thing; I HAVE worked A LOT to learn about the Buying Office. During my first week as a Merchandise Analyst Intern within the Accessories division, I watched online training videos to educate myself on the structure of the buying office, the role of each employee, how cross-functional teams relate to my department, and

what programs Kohl’s utilizes, and how to understand the customer. I was told they’d be pretty boring, but since this was all new information (I hadn’t taken any college courses on retail), I actually found them very interesting.

We also attended six in-person classes taught by employees from various buying offices. Yeah, that also sounds like it could be extremely boring, but these were actually really fun. All the interns were together, and the speakers cracked jokes and told personal stories. It was really cool to see how passionate everyone was, regardless of what products they worked with on a daily basis (one team we met was from Utility Bedding, meaning they ONLY sold white bedding, pillows and blankets, but they actually had the most fun together). We were taught basic retail math equations that we’d use to analyze data, how to pull and understand reports on large and small scales, and how to apply findings to future actions. I will admit that the free coffee Kohl’s provides probably helped with my enthusiasm.

And then, all of a sudden…we actually had to start pulling reports. And relating it back to our products. WHAT?

These reports will still super confusing; it was much easier to watch and listen to an expert talk through the steps. I’m a marketing major at The Ohio State University pursuing a minor in professional writing — I have limited experience with large amounts of data or retail data, because I’m so used to writing and designing things.

However, that’s one of the reasons I took this job; I wanted to learn more of what I didn’t already know. So, I asked my coach a ton of questions, because that’s what we were encouraged to do during the internship — learn! I think one of the best things I did was ask for real examples of report prompts to pull. She forwarded emails from vendors asking for reports, and I practiced pulling data and formatting it the same way. By the end of the week, I was certainly no professional, but I felt much better about working on tasks.

Truthfully, one of the scariest things I had to get used to was using Google Calendar. I know how crazy that sounds, but it was entirely my responsibility to make sure I scheduled job shadows, touch bases, and attended all the necessary events or meetings. I couldn’t help but worry that I’d delete something on accident or read the calendar wrong, but then I reminded myself that having a job is literally all about responsibility. I even had checklists and other calendars in my binder to make sure I didn’t mess anything up. I GOT THIS.

At the end of the week, I felt empowered by the knowledge I gained and the obstacles I faced. I felt inspired to keep asking questions, keep learning about the business, and to apply this knowledge to new ideas for Kohl’s. I felt ready to make a difference, one spreadsheet at a time.

INTERNal Jounral

An intern's professional journal that highlights her lessons learned in Corporate America

Rachel Lynne

Written by

INTERNal Jounral

An intern's professional journal that highlights her lessons learned in Corporate America

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