Her Story
About Margit
I came to the United States from Germany 18 years ago with a background as an accountant, but I knew I wanted something different. I started my American retail career as a sales associate at the Gap because I loved working with people and found accounting boring. I worked my way up through the industry, becoming an assistant manager in jewelry where I had a store manager leading the team and I would jump in when needed. Now I'm a department manager at Dillard's, which is like running my own little store. I lead a team of 5 people and handle everything a store manager would do. It's a whole different ballpark from where I started. I've been in management for over 10 years now, and I'm still learning something new every single day. I've had really good mentors throughout my career, at Carters and here at Dillard's, and they've been instrumental in my growth. You have to understand that managing people requires understanding sociology and recognizing that everybody is different. You're dealing with your team going in different directions and customers on top of it. What keeps me going is the contact with people and the opportunity to make someone's day a little bit better, to give them a smile even if they didn't come in with one. That's what I strive for every day.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Margit
01What do you attribute your success to?
What pushes me is actually the contact with people. When I came over from Germany 18 years ago, I knew nothing, really. I had learned to be an accountant, and I started here as a normal sales associate at the Gap because I didn't want to be an accountant anymore - it was boring. I started as a normal sales associate and I loved to be with people, work with people. What drives me is actually the contact with people and making the life of people on that day a little bit better, giving them a smile. Maybe if they come in not with a smile, I give them a smile back and make their day better, maybe their life better, just for that day. That's what I'm striving for.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The best advice is that younger women should not be in management right away. They should do the career ladder and start from the beginning. I don't think a young person should be in management, honestly. They should learn from their managers, they should be coached the right way, and they should really go up the career ladder and learn step by step by step by step. They should not expect, if they came out of college, that they get a job as a manager. You cannot be thrown into it because you don't have the experience. You cannot lead people with just a degree. You cannot do that. The best advice is for people like that: go into management training, read books about management - there are a lot of books out there you can buy over Amazon. Shadow your manager. That is the best advice. That is what I did. I had a good mentor at Carters, he was a really good mentor. I have really good mentors here at Dillard's, and every day I learn something new. Every day. I'm in my forties, so I have to learn every day something new.
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