Photography & Stuff

I decided that this blog doesn’t even have to be primarily about photography although I suspect that Photography will consume a good part of the entries.  Lately I have been really debating my future with Whole Foods.  Earlier this year I applied for several positions as a buyer in an effort to move into a management position (called a Team Leader position).  I am almost positive I have the capacity to be a very good team leader as it stands, however like most workplace environments there is a lot of politics involved in any high level job offering.  Over a year ago I put in my name for an assistant team leader position with the grocery department.  I actually knew that I would not get the job, several highly qualified candidates were applying but I wanted to have the experience of a management interview under my belt.

I was told that I would not be allowed to even interview for the position.  I of course agreed but not without challenging the logic behind the decision.  Since then I have talked with the Store leadership about the possibilities for moving onto a “retail team” (I work in the admin team doing IT stuff).

One of the buyer positions I went up for was the Grocery Buyer position.  I did not get the position even though I was highly qualified.  I believe that despite the fact that I consider myself on good terms with the Grocery Team Leader I was not hired for pretty much the same reason I believe that the best candidate for the Assistant Team Leader position (the one I was asked to withdraw from) was not hired.

In both cases the lesser qualified candidate that got the job was what I call “sports buddies” with the Team Leader (person making the hiring decision).  I don’t want anyone who reads this to think I am calling it a scandal, but I do believe that it was a significant factor.  I believe that it is the kind of mild nepotism that happens all the time in work places.  After all isn’t it that tired old stereotype of the old boys club or golf buddies doing favors for each other.

I am not even saying that this kind of thing happens in all hiring decisions.  Far from it.  In fact I believe that I was out qualified for the Whole Body Buyer position.  The fact remains that I believe that I have the knowledge and ability to be a team leader, it is not (in my opinion) a hard job.  It involves a lot of paperwork, an ability to handle situations with discretion and diplomacy and a willingness to pick up the slack when its needed.

So recently the Assistant Team Leader position opened in the specialty department (Cheese Coffee and Housewares) and I am considering applying for the position.  It would involve a lot of “political” maneuvering I think.  You know meeting with this and that person discussing the move…  I think that I have a lot to offer the Specialty department in terms of enthusiasm for Cheese in general and a ton of marketing ideas to drive sales.  I  am more skilled than any other candidate that they would have with the spreadsheets and numbers aspect of being an Assistant Team Leader.  None the less I will be going up against people that have worked in that department.  The value that a Team Leader puts in having worked in the department can’t be underestimated.  It would be a hard sell, I may be able to do it but it would take a lot of time and effort that could be devoted to other things.

Then there is the question of whether I really want the ATL position.  There is no doubt that I desperately need to earn more money, especially if Steph and I have a kid!  But it would require having an ever changing weekly schedule, which I would only be partially in control of.  A benefit of my current position is that I have a great degree of flexibility with my schedule and basically for the most part work 7-3 Monday-Friday.  It’s a hard decision!