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When she was a student, Anne Voller took a retail job to pay for college and “fell in love with the industry, with the pace, with the people,” she says, and “felt like that was maybe a place I could build my career.” As Group Vice President at Macy’s Inc., Voller is now in charge of finding the best people and honing them for a career in retail. Starting with university students, Voller focuses on education as a tool to promote the industry’s potential for starting and building a fulfilling long-term career.
While attending NRF’s Retail’s Academic Symposium in Chicago, Voller joined the co-hosts of Retail Gets Real to share Macy’s approach to talent acquisition and how she contributes to elevating the retail industry as a career choice.
College students majoring in fields like computer science, data analytics, accounting and journalism may not instinctively think of retail when planning for life after school, and Voller has seen how helpful it can be for current students to speak with graduates from five or 10 years ago who have successful careers in retail. As a board member of the NRF Foundation, she joins forces with other retail luminaries to educate students about the opportunities awaiting them in the industry. “There’s wonderful careers there for you,” she says.
Anne Voller (right) records a podcast episode with host Shaquayla Mims (left).
Recruiting methods have drastically changed in the last decade with the advancement of technology and creation of “so many jobs that didn’t exist before,” Voller says. College students can now peruse job boards to find out what’s available and network with like-minded individuals online. Many companies now employ social media to initiate conversations with interested parties to “cast a broad net.”
“We want to be available, and the best way to do that is through virtual means,” Voller says. Macy’s holds virtual events like “Twitter Tuesdays” when recruiters chat directly with students and others interested in working at the mega-retailer.
“The world of training people to be managers isn’t in the classroom,” Voller says; listen to the episode to hear how Macy’s trains entry-level employees for management positions. Make sure to catch up on all our past episodes and subscribe to Retail Gets Real.
Shaquayla Mims is one of NRF’s co-hosts on Retail Gets Real. Meet all the co-hosts and learn more about the show.