Ian Scadden

I started my time at Billabong as a sales associate but through hard work and overachieving I was promoted to a supervisor and then the assistant manager. I had to switch my mindset from being the salesperson and doing operations to making sure the team is on top of sales and directing operations. I learned many skills during my time here such as how to conduct inventory and transfers, how to run interviews, how to create a fun workspace, how to have tough conversations with employees, knowing the numbers of the business, and much more! It was a fairly small store, so there were many days where I had to work by myself which taught me how to always stay on task even when others weren't there.

While working at Staples, I learned the basics of sales and customer service. One valuable sales tactic that I learned while working at Staples was "add-ons." For example, seeing if they needed some pencils with the notebooks they were purchasing, or making them aware of the warranties they could purchase with the chair they wanted. Some other retail skills I learned there are restocking, online orders, using a register, and engaging with customers.