Name: Sonia Cleary
University: Manchester University
Degree: B.A (Double Honours) French and Spanish
Result: 2:1
Age: 24
Start Date: 2005
'I applied for several Graduate Schemes throughout my final year at University. With such extensive Graduate Websites and Recruitment Fairs on offer I found I had many options in terms of good Graduate Schemes. However, after boiling my interests down to three key words: French, Management and Retail, one company kept cropping up in my searches: Decathlon, the French Sports Megastore.
After attending two interviews in London, the atmosphere, friendliness and honest approach really appealed to me. The fact that the average age of a Decathlon employee was 28 and all employees shared my passion for sport was also a bonus, as I knew I would be surrounded my likeminded young people on a daily basis.
I started my job as Department Manager of the Running Department at the Store in London, Surrey Quays in November last year after graduating in July. As each department is classed as a separate business in its own right as a Department Manager you are manage a team of sales assistants who solely work in your department. You also manage the stock, the profit and loss accounts, the layout and merchandising of your products, payroll, staff schedules, whilst making decisions on range choices, recruiting and training your own team and of course making sure your department is as profitable as possible. With training and support from your store manager and co- workers you are effectively running your own business within a business from day one. The instant responsibility is immense but incredibly satisfying.
After six months as Running Manager I was promoted to the Sportswear department, where I manage a much larger team and a greater volume of stock. Once a week I am also Duty Manager where essentially I am the Store Manager for 24 hours and responsible for the Store as a whole, where my patience and problem solving skills are tested to the limit!
I have to say that my job is not easy but I am loving every minute of it, overall my whole year at Decathlon has been a steep learning curve, although I did not study business and maths was not my favourite subject, I have found that Decathlon had built upon my strengths and developed my weaknesses. I am supported and coached by my Store Manager who is as busy as me, but always has enough time to listen and give valuable feedback.
Decathlon UK is expanding quickly; new stores are being opened so there is no better time to join. If you want to work in an excellent shop floor environment in a company that oozes with the buzz of retail, providing great rewards and great job satisfaction, where you are not punished for your mistakes but encouraged to learn from them, if you are a hands-on, hard working active person then Decathlon really is for you.'
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A good degree in any subject.
