“I Did It, So You Can Too!”

From cashier to corporate in less than 3 years

It has been an exhausting three years, but oh so worth it. I had no easy days but it was well worth the sweat and the tears.

I am celebrating my 3rd year anniversary with Walmart and it is time to reflect on the journey. I hope that by sharing my story it inspires you to seek “success” from a higher perspective.

May 2016 - I had just begun doing my Masters in Intercultural and Urban Studies at the Moody Theological Seminary (Moody Bible Institute) of Chicago, Illinois, one of the top 10 Evangelical schools in the U.S. Getting into Moody was hard enough because they do rigorous background investigations on your character to ensure you are a good fit for their Ministry programs. 

While living with my grandmother (because I couldn’t pay rent) I was looking for an hourly job nearby to cover the basics. I applied to Walmart in Lake Zurich, IL. (store 01404) and got a call the next day. I got the job right after the interview and signed the papers.

“A CASHIER?”- My grandmother yelled at me. She was mad!  

She added: “You went to college, you studied abroad, you have got this huge student loan, just to end up as a Cashier at Walmart?”.  

I felt I had let her down.  

Fast-forward a few months. Our Assistant Store Manager noticed that I LOVE people and I have a ton of energy, so she put me at the service desk.

The Customer Service Desk is the most stressful spot in the store. You have to face a lot of negativity, complains and conflicts. You have to know the policies to protect the company from fraud, yet keep the customers happy. I did my best and was offered the PickUpToday Department Manager role. I also filled in for our Support Manager during the holidays. Next, our Store Manager connected me with the Market Manager HR and I was interviewed for the Assistant Manager Trainee position. In my interview, our Market Manager HR asked me if I would consider moving to Bentonville, Arkansas since I have a college degree? I said, “Yes” but I did not know what I said yes to. 

I thought to myself: “I am trying to get my Masters to excel, but I am already excelling at the World’s largest company”. Part of me felt guilty because I have always wanted to be in the Ministry. I love Church. So I reached out to our pastors and elders and asked for guidance and discernment. Our pastor said: “Maybe God wants you to serve in another place. You can always come back and do your degree in Ministry later in life”

July 2017 - Our Market Manager HR and Assistant Store Manager guided me to find positions that matched my qualifications and we made introductions as an internal talent with other leaders. I applied to many jobs, was interviewed numerous times, and was offered a position at the Home Office. I signed and packed two weeks worth of clothes and drove 11.5 hours (650 miles) from Barrington, IL to Bentonville, AR. Once I got to the Corporate Home Office, the real challenge hit me. All that I had learned in store operations was to be put into 20% of the pie and I had to learn the new 80% which was the corporate culture, corporate operations, new job, new teams, different state, new faces and all. But lo and behold I stayed focused and used the same principle: Learn, Do, Teach. (Rinse & Repeat!) 

This is proof that Walmart does have a process in place to recognize internal talent and to promote from within.  

Here are a few tips that worked for me:

1. It is not about the connections, it is about the competencies: Stop expecting your connections to find you a job. STOP now. It is good to have coffee with people, networking never hurts, but managers hire those who are competent for the job. The hiring process at Walmart is getting more and more advanced to abide by Equal Opportunity compliance. 
2. Get Certified: Find what you like to do and get as many certificates as you can in that area. Walmart offers a ton of free educational courses.
3. Performance: You may end up in a spot that is not quite the right fit or not your favorite activity. Stay accountable regardless. Make sure you have all your evaluation categories covered. In the stores you must stay a minimum of 6 months in your position and in the corporate you must stay in for 18 months, so the milestone isn’t that long! 
4. Find a mentor: We see a lot of silver & golden badges at Walmart because they are golden people! Reach out and ask for their wisdom. Be a humble and teachable mentee. 
5. Mind-shift: Don’t look into Pay-Bands. I know the corporate world is structured in a way that goes by “Pay Band = paycheck + bigger bonus”. Please shift your mindset to think: “This Experience = Knowledge + Job Security”. You step up and down for the sake of learning and then watch yourself getting plucked-out by the leaders for the higher responsibilities. 
6. Branch Out: Moving laterally and seeking future growth is a great strategy. I did that twice in my career and it definitely paid off.
7. Rejections & Feedback: Ask for and be receptive to constructive feedback. Ask: “Do you have any feedback for me?”, “What can I do differently?”, “What went wrong? What worked out great?”. Be open and candid to change.
8. That One Bad Manager!: We have all had that One Bad Manager that wasn’t a good Walmartian. (1) Do not allow one person who doesn’t live by the Walmart culture to clutter your perspective about the whole organization. (2) The Open Door Policy is there to protect you; utilize it. We have many Ethics and Legal processes in place to hold individuals accountable. We have a “Zero Retaliation Policy”, we have the greatest “Global Statement of Ethics” and a whole army of people internally to resolve conflicts. We call it “Courageous Conversations” at the Walmart Academy. Have a conversation and hold them accountable. You will help with their development too. 
9. Don’t Rush: Do not expect to go from the store to an executive overnight. It won't happen unless you grow. We all have a different learning pace. Take your time and make sure you are comfortable and confident to take a bigger challenge.
10. Attitude: Is everything! Don’t be fake! Be genuine. It doesn’t matter how many degrees you have, if you don’t treat people right, you won’t last at Walmart. Walmart is the People’s business. You must be good with people and know how to collaborate with different personalities. Utilize your emotional intelligence and display empathy. Remember Red, Yellow, Green and Blue personalities? That helped me.
11. Teach the next in line: You must go the full circle; it is just how Walmart works. I got trained by X > so I learned the job > then I trained the next > so I got promoted. It is easy, it is easy, it is EASY! 

April 2019 - “I Did It, So You Can Too!” - Lily

Thanks to Sam and Helen Walton and the Walton family for creating this all for us to have the best professional life.