Employment at Kohl’s
Kohl’s is an American department store retail chain founded in the late 1920s. The first store ever opened under this name was a supermarket, and the first department store opened in 1962. Kohl’s is the second largest department store by retail sales in the United Sates, being surpassed only by Macy’s. Kohl’s has more than 1,100 department stores throughout the United States, located in 41 states. The company targets middle-class families who want to shop both for their families and their homes in one place. Kohl’s is capable of maintaining fairly low retail prices through a series of procedures, like low cost structure, a strictly limited number of personnel, and modern management information systems. This is what makes the “Kohl’s concept“, and it has proven successful in both small and large markets, as well as in strip shopping centers, regional malls, and freestanding locations. The first Kohl’s department store opened in Brookfield, Wisconsin, in 1962 and it was a continuation of the Kohl’s grocery chain, which had been founded in the late 1920s by Max Kohl. By 1972 there were five Kohl’s department stores, and the Kohl family sold the business in 1979. After several acquisitions, Kohl’s expanded throughout the country, and is now one of the biggest department store chains on the market. Kohl’s stores, although aimed at middle-income families, have the same layouts as discount stores do, called “racetrack aisle”, which might explain their success. The stores offer a simplified shopping experience alongside well known and trusted brands, from food to clothing.
In an attempt to remain relevant in today’s economy and to cater to the growing tastes of its customers, Kohl’s worked closely with some very well-known fashion designers in order to create exclusive clothing lines. One of the best known such designers is Vera Wang, who designed the “Simply Vera” line exclusively for Kohl’s. Other well-known artists sell too their brands in the store, like Jennifer Lopez, and Mark Anthony.
There are over 40,000 Kohl’s employees throughout the country, and their number is still growing, as is the number of Kohl’s department stores.
Official site: www.kohls.com
Official career site: Kohl’s Careers
Kohl’s Application Process
Those who are interested in Kohl’s careers can find all the available positions online, on the company’s official site, www.kohl.com. On the home page they will find a link which will take them to the Kohl’s careers page, //kohlscareers.com/. To begin the search for Kohl’s jobs, candidates need to click the “Search our jobs” button. They can either go through all the listed Kohl’s careers, or they can search for certain Kohl’s job by keyword, state, and field of activity.
Once they begin their search, candidates can browse all the available Kohl’s jobs in the state or in the field of activity they chose. After selecting the desired Kohl’s job, the candidate can read the job description and begin the Kohl’s online application process by clicking on the “Apply to Job” button. A new page will open, and the candidates will be required to provide the email address and password to login and go on with the rest of the steps needed to complete the Kohl’s application process.
After choosing a password, the candidates will also need to choose three security questions and provide their answers. This is for the protection of the account as a supplementary way of making sure no one else has access to it. After this step, candidates are required to choose one of the following options: uploading their resume, or copying it in the selected box. They also have the option of overriding the profile information with the one provided in the resume. It is easier to upload the resume, because the system can automatically fill the necessary information, and the Kohl’s application process will be shorter and easier to complete.
During this step, the candidate is required to write the personal information, such as the full legal name, the address, and the phone number. The next step in the Kohl’s application process is to provide information about any previous work experience and education. If the candidate has already uploaded the resume, he or she will only need to verify the information already filled by the system, and correct it where needed. The system does not support full capital writing, so candidates need to make sure nothing is written in all caps.
Next, candidates are required to answer a few questions, like:
- Date available to start work
- Have you previously applied for a position at Kohl’s?
- Have you ever been employed by Kohl’s before? If yes, please give dates and location.
- Have you ever worked for Kohl’s in the capacity of a temporary employee and/or contractor?
- Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?
- Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status?
- Are you 18 years of age or older? If no, state your age.
- Do you have any friends or relatives employed by Kohl’s?
- How did you hear about us?
- Kohl’s conducts pre-employment drug screening for some positions. Are you willing to submit to a drug test?
After answering these questions, candidates are required to answer some more, a few of them being quite sensible and to which candidates from certain states don’t have to answer. The rest of the questions are simple, such as:
- Have you ever been convicted of or plead guilty to a crime?
- Do you love delivering great customer service?
- All of our employees are required to solicit credit. If asked would you be willing to ask a customer?
- Do you prefer working on your own or working with others?
- Are you currently a Full-Time student?
- Are you available to work extended shifts or increase your availability during the peak business times of spring, back to school and holiday?
- All retail positions at Kohl’s require weekend availability. Out of 8 Saturdays and Sundays in a month, how many are you able to work?
The next step is to provide details about the work availability. Once this is complete, candidates need to read the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and agree to the statements which apply, like “I received supplement security income (SSI) benefits for any month ending during the past 60 days” or “I am a veteran and was unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least 6 months during the past year”.
After giving the required answers, the Kohl’s application process allows candidates to attach any relevant documents to the job application, such as letters of intent or other diplomas. After this step, candidates are required to complete an online assessment, which will take up to 30 minutes. Each assessment is specially designed for each type of jobs, and it contains relevant information. During this assessment, candidates are required to choose from a set of predefined answers or to simply answer with yes or no. After completing and submitting the assessment, the Kohl’s application process is complete.
Minimum Age for Employment at Kohl’s
The minimum age at which a person can start working at Kohl’s is 16. Of course, some Kohl’s jobs require employees to be at least 18 years of age, either because of various state regulations or because the job requires some prior work experience, but entry level sales jobs can be obtained by younger candidates, usually on a part-time level.
Kohl’s Hours of Operations
Kohl’s hours of operations are the same in all the stores, and there are no differences throughout the country. Typically, a Kohl’s store opens at 8 in the morning and closes at 10 in the evening during the workweek; Saturdays and Sundays, the stores have a different schedule. On Saturday, it opens at 8 in the morning and closes at 11 at night, while on Sundays the store opens at 9 in the morning and closes at 9 in the evening.
Entry Level Kohl’s Careers and Income
Kohl’s careers cover a lot of fields of activity, from Legal, to Marketing, to Production, to Accounting, to Sales. People with different backgrounds and education can easily find a lot of Kohl’s jobs to pursue.
Some of the most frequent Kohl’s jobs are Sales Associate, Home Collection Sales Associate, Cashier, Housekeeping Associate, Customer Service Associate, Children’s Sales Associate, Administrative Assistant, Assistant Store Manager, Area Supervisor, and Store Manager. Entry level Kohl’s careers are a frequent choice among teenagers and many youngsters, and are fairly simple to begin. They offer flexible schedules for all part-time employees.
Kohl’s Sales Associate Job Description and Duties
This is one of the entry level Kohl’s jobs. Kohl’s Sales Associates work in the store and are the ones who interact with customers. They offer assistance to all customers on the sales floor, and do their best to meet all the customers’ needs. They are responsible with building and stocking the merchandize displays, and they make the price changes whenever necessary.
They also keep the fitting rooms clean, and bring any unwanted items left in them back to the sales floor. They must have good communication and people skills, and their attitude needs to be friendly and positive at all times. Sometimes, sales associates also work as backup cashiers.
Kohl’s Sales Associate Salary and Compensation
This entry level Kohl’s job has an hourly based pay. The minimum hourly pay for a Kohl’s Sales Associate begins at $8, and can reach $10, depending on location, shift, and work experience. Of course, the weekly pay is different from one case to another, according to the actual number of hours worked. Sales associates can supplement their income by taking extra sifts whenever possible, especially in the busiest times of the year.
Kohl’s Careers in Management
Aside from entry-level employees, Kohl’s needs qualified people to run the stores, so those who have some sales work experience will find a lot of Kohl’s employment options in higher positions. Management Kohl’s careers include Assistant Manager and Store Manager.
Usually, the company prefers to place into these important positions its own employees, who already know all the details of the company’s business. This means that all employees can have a substantial professional growth within the company.
Kohl’s Assistant Store Manager Job Description and Duties
An Assistant Manager supports the Store Manager in all the daily activities. Kohl’s Assistant Managers are responsible for all the employees, mainly for their selection and training. The assistant manager, alongside the store manager, is also the one in charge of the annual performance reviews. They also make sure that all the required standards are met and that the activity of the store and the merchandise comply with the company’s practices and procedures.
They also have to make sure that all the sanitation rules and regulations are met, and that the store offers a safe environment to the customers and the employees. They usually work regular day hours, and take the entire responsibilities of the Store Manager when he or she is not present.
Assistant Managers also deal with an important load of paperwork, and anyone who wants to work in this position needs to have at least a few years of experience in retail, preferably within the company.
Kohl’s Assistant Manager Salary and Compensation
The yearly salary of a Kohl’s Assistant Store Manager begins at $41,000, and can reach $77,000. The yearly pay usually varies from one location to another and according to the working experience. Management positions in retail also offer other compensations which are added to the base salary, such as cash bonuses, stock bonuses and commission sharing. This makes the total compensation to reach such high levels. The medium yearly pay for a Kohl’s assistant manager is around $54,000.
Basic Tips for Applying at Kohl’s
Those interested in Kohl’s careers need to consider that the easiest way to apply for all Kohl’s jobs is to do it online. Of course, candidates can also go at the store they are interested in, leave a resume, and complete the jobs and employment form, but to apply online for Kohl’s careers is the simplest and less time consuming way.
Candidates who want to take advantage of the online Kohl’s application process should know that it is very important to go through it entirely and complete all the required steps. It is a rather long application process and candidates need to answer a few dozens of questions, including the personal assessment regarding their work abilities and behavior at the end of it. Everyone looking to start any of the Kohl’s careers available has to answer all the required questions, no matter how long it takes.
Another thing that Kohl’s candidates need to do is to upload a resume, as well as other documents, like other degrees or courses, which will help their Kohl’s online application. There are some basic rules of applying online for Kohl’s jobs and they are simple. Also, many online application processes are similar, and the following rules apply to all:
- Candidates have to follow all the steps of the Kohl’s application process and give all the information the Kohl’s jobs and employment form requires.
- Candidates need to make sure that all the information they write is correct before moving to the next step, especially their email address and phone number.
- Candidates should answer all the questions as honest as they can.
- If the candidates are unable to complete the entire Kohl’s job application process at once, they can save the steps already completed and continue with them later.
- Candidates need to make sure they completed the entire Kohl’s online application process.
- Candidates need to also complete the personal assessments in order to be considered for a Kohl’s job.
The Kohl’s online application process is not very complicated, but it is a bit long and takes a fair amount of time to complete it, around an hour, assessments included. If the candidates answer all the questions and they provide all the information, the application will be successful.
When they write their shift availability, they need to be flexible enough, which will surely increase their chances of getting the wanted Kohl’s job, since hiring managers in this line of work always prefer flexible employees on which they can rely to properly staff the stores.
Benefits at Kohl’s
The benefit many retail employees talk about, especially those working at Kohl’s, are the store discounts for all Kohl’s employees. The company offers discounts of 15% for Kohl’s products, and employees can match those discounts with the ongoing promotions, which can significantly lower the price of items. Another sought after benefit of part-time Kohl’s employee is the flexible schedule he or she can tailor to fit their specific needs, whether they are high-school teenagers or college students.
The company offers the classic benefits too, like paid time off for all its employees, which usually varies according to position and the years working for the company. Full-time employees, as well as management employees and in Kohl’s corporate careers have other benefits besides these, such as 401k matching, medical and life insurance, and stock purchase plans. Also, full-time sales employees can benefit from various cash bonuses which can increase the total compensation.
Kohl’s Interview Tips & Hiring Process Information
Kohl’s job interviews resemble most of the interviews of other fashion retailers. The Kohl’s application will be reviewed by a hiring manager, both if the candidates submitted the Kohl’s application online or they left a resume and completed the Kohl’s jobs and employment form at the store. If the candidate is considered to be a good choice for the position, they will call to verify if the candidate is still interested in the Kohl’s job, will ask a few short questions, and, if everything is all right, schedule an in person interview.
Kohl’s job interviews can take between 15 minutes to an hour, and this usually depends on the position they applied for. For management or corporate Kohl’s jobs, additional interviews might be required. During the interview, the candidates will be asked to give more details about themselves, their prior working experience, and about their education. The hiring manager will inform the candidates about the responsibilities and duties of the job and will give details about the schedule. During the interview, the candidates can ask questions too, which need to be related to the job and the company.
Sales Kohl’s jobs are focused on the employee interaction with the customers, so the candidate needs to have a pleasant and friendly attitude during the interview.
Here are some Kohl’s interview tips candidates should consider:
- Choose business casual attire, both when it comes to men and women. Women should be careful not to wear anything too short or too revealing.
- Candidates should always have a smile on their face. In the world of department stores, a friendly attitude is very important.
- Candidates should at least try to appear calm and to stand still. Constant fidgeting should be avoided at all times.
- Candidates should speak with a calm voice.
- Candidates should try to make eye contact from time to time. This is a very important thing that most candidates ignore.
- Don’t interrupt the Kohl’s hiring manager when speaking.
- Unless having been asked a Yes or No question, candidates should give answers using complete sentences.
Frequently Asked Kohl’s Interview Questions
Kohl’s job interviews are not difficult, but candidates need to think about what they want to say beforehand, not just to be prepared, but also to make sure they are relaxed during it. Most of the questions asked are about the previous work experience and how the candidate thinks he or she would behave in some specific work situations. Some of the most common questions during a Kohl’s interview are:
- Why do you want to work at Kohl’s?
- What do you do when you have a lot of work?
- What would you do if multiple customers wanted your help at once?
- What would you do if you saw a customer stealing?
- If you saw an employee doing something unethical, how would you handle it?
- Did you ever had a disagreement with a manager and what did you do about it?
When it comes to Kohl’s interview answers, candidates should know that they do need to give their own, not some clichés everyone uses. Candidates should answer them with honesty and should also give relevant details. They need to also give specific answers, especially about their previous accomplishments and work experience.
Official site: www.kohls.com
Official career site: Kohl’s Careers
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