Her Story
About Alysson
Alysson Merritt serves as Children's Department Manager at Dillard's department store in North Charleston, South Carolina. She has been with the company since 2022, initially working as executive visual manager responsible for mannequins, setting displays, eventing, and signage to ensure strong store presentation. In her current role, which she has held for just about a year, she manages the children's department and leads a team while executing her ideas effectively. Merritt earned a bachelor's degree in theater and secondary education from the College of William and Mary in 2000. She attributes her professional success to hard work, noting that she stays active and finds tasks even during quiet periods. She values kindness and listening, especially in customer service, to communicate well with customers and associates. Merritt advises young women entering the field to work hard, be assertive, build confidence, and trust their initial ideas, as encouraged by her store manager.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alysson
01What do you attribute your success to?
Hard work. I know I'm a hard worker. I do not sit still. If we are quiet and we have nothing to do in the store, I will find something to do. There is always something to get done. So hard work, 100%.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received is to just be confident in my initial ideas. My store manager at the time really encouraged me to trust my instinct and be confident in that, and not worry about the later reaction, because my ideas in general were well executed. So yeah, I think confidence is definitely key and to just believe in my own ideas.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If this is a field you want to pursue and a career path that you want to pursue, just really work hard at it, and just to be assertive. It's not something you'll be successful at if you're timid because you won't be able to engage with people. So just to really build your confidence and step into the role as best as you can and just keep going and working hard at it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Biggest challenges are that we are a hands-on store and we like our customers to come in, but we have a modern society that likes to shop online. It can be a challenge balancing having your customers come in and building that clientele. But opportunities are constant in a field like this. You can always find new people to come in and have an experience in your store by reaching out to the community and finding different ways to bring people in.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My values would be kindness and to listen. I think it's very important especially in customer service because you're working with so many people, not just your customers but also associates, to really listen to what the issues at hand so that you can best communicate with the other members of the team.
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