Her Story
About Lorraine
Lorraine Smith serves as a human resources content expert and store manager for TJX Companies. In her HR role, she assists store managers and leadership with training, legal compliance, policies, and procedures to support smooth operations. As a store manager, she oversees all aspects of store operations, including hiring, training, terminations, budgets, and sales. Smith began her retail career 16 years ago as a seasonal part-time associate with a big box retailer and quickly advanced to store manager in about 16 months. Over her 16-year tenure, she has promoted numerous part-time associates into leadership positions and mentored lower-level managers who have advanced to store management and beyond. She holds no formal college education, having graduated high school early and started a family young, but emphasizes that retail success comes from skill, learning capacity, networking, and daily performance. Smith volunteers with the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Tarrant County Food Bank, and she enjoys creating crafts for children in her local community.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lorraine
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
There is no glass ceiling in retail, so you can go as high and as far as you'd like to. You are the only one who determines where you go and what you're going to do. I always ask what are you passionate about? What are you skilled in? Especially when we come to young mothers, those are a lot of who I have promoted. Being a mom and being a woman, we're kind of natural multitaskers. Really teaching people how to market yourself, and how to monetize the things that you're naturally gifted at.
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