What's It's Like Working at Lilly Pulitzer
I have worked at Lilly Pulitzer in Short Pump for over a year now and it has been a blast! I get so many questions, especially on live streams, about working at the store and what my experience has been. Because I still work there, I want to protect the integrity of the store and some of the things we keep private but I will share as much as I can with everyone today. It's such an exciting job working with the company. Although I am just a sales associate, we do have a lot of fun in the store. I will take you through my application process and how I got the job to some of the great parts of working there along with some exciting perks!
Applying to Lilly Pulitzer
I got the job list like any other person would apply and get a job. The local news announced that the mall would be adding stores and Lilly would be one of them. I don't know why I was watching the news that night because I never watch the local news, but clearly there was a reason to! I immediately went online and applied to the dream jobs page of the website. If you want to apply to any job at Lilly Pulitzer, it will start there. I submitted my online application and prayed I would hear back soon. I was studying at Panera one night and received an email that the company would like a phone interview. I was so excited to hear this news because at the current time, I was unemployed and desperately searching for a job.
A week later I had my phone interview with the manager at the Bethesda store in Maryland. It was about 10 minutes long and she asked my basic interview questions. She did ask one however, that I thought was pretty unique. She asked "Recall your first experience with Lilly Pulitzer, what was it like?". It then clicked that although the company loves the employees to have knowledge of the brand they want for you to be a long time fan of the brand and wear it in everyday life.
A few weeks after the phone interview, I got another email saying I made it to another round of interviews -- an in person interview. I met with the manager of the new Short Pump store, which again was full of normal interview questions. Pro tip: if you are applying to a job at Lill Pulitzer, make sure that you wear the brand when you interview and also know the history of the company. Know what Lilly was like and understand how the brand was born.
Working with the Brand
Working with the brand and with the company as a whole is probably my favorite part of the job. It's fun to be able to dress up everyday for work and really be a model for the brand in store. Each day at work is very similar to the last one but then again, our main goal is to sell! I really enjoy helping our customers find the perfect addition to their closet, that white dress for a rehearsal dinner, or that 16th birthday outfit. You can tell someone has found "the one" when they come out of the fitting room beaming.
Each day we will sell on the floor, work in the fitting room, pull replenishment clothing for the floor, organize new shipment, steam clothes, put clothing away, and work the cash register. There is always something to do in the store and it's rare that we stand around!
One of the most fun things to do at the store is work days that we have in store events. They're always the busiest but by far the most exciting. Sometimes we have life entertainments and almost always have gifts with purchase as well. Sometimes we even match as a store on event days, and you know how I love matching with other people -- I basically live for matching outfits with someone.
The Perks
There are some incredible perks the come with the job. I'll get the elephant in the room out of the way; yes, we do get a discount for working there. I do not and will not share the discount with people. It's a nice amount off but no we do not get free clothing from the company.
Another great perk, and maybe my favorite perk at the store, is that we get to see collections before they are released. Although the first installment of Fall is already out, we saw it three weeks ago. Hopefully, before I go back to school Resort will be out and I can get a peek at that but I doubt it. ALSO, can we talk about how weird it is that fall is already out?! Another great perk that we have is that we get to hear about fun promotions and events before the public does. Finally, we hear about the sales a couple of days before you all do too. However, it's best not to ask the employees when the sales are because we only find out a few days in advance and we aren't supposed to say anything before they announce it on social media!
All in all, it's such a blast working at Lilly Pulitzer. Every single employee that I have had the pleasure of working with is an incredible human being and truly a blast to be around. I have made so many friends through the company and so enjoy working with them. If anything, we strive to offer great customer service to keep our clients happy and help them find something to make their closet that much happier as well as uphold the pristine reputation that the brand has. If you are thinking about applying for jobs, take a look at the Lilly stores close to you! You won't be sorry that you did!
Stay Preppy,
Lucy
