Nordstrom Internship
This summer, I was chosen to participate in the Nordstrom Retail Internship at the Southcenter store in the Women’s Active department. This internship offered me the chance to gain experience on the sales floor, working directly with customers and learning about the day to day tasks involved in retail. My department manager, Katy Larsen, helped to mentor me and give me insight into what it takes to be a manager for Nordstrom. Also, each week the interns would meet at the Downtown Seattle Flagship store where we would hear from a number of employees who have taken various career paths through the company. This gave me insight into the numerous opportunities there are for positions within the company and helped me to figure out what career I might like to end up with one day.
Along with working on the sales floor and hearing from employees, the interns were given a behind-the-scenes look at many aspects of Nordstrom. We took a trip to the NQC (Nordstrom Quality Center) where items that are returned to the store are sent and refurbished. The location we toured in Tukwila is the only facility of its kind for Nordstrom (lucky us!). We also were given a “Day at the Rack”, where we spoke with managers from all sectors of the store who gave us insight into how it is a completely different work experience than that at the full line store. The interns assisted them in their daily duties and therefore could get an idea of what it would be like to work there.
Perhaps the most unique experience of my internship was working at the Designer Preview Fashion show that took place at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. The interns assisted in various ways with the show, but my personal responsibility was as a dresser for one of the models in the show. Having this insider’s look into a fashion show of this magnitude was truly an experience to remember. It was fascinating seeing all the work and chaos that goes into a thirty minute show, not to mention being surrounded by gorgeous clothes by top designers including Chanel, Marc Jacobs, and Gucci.
