AIM Magazine 2016 | Page 37

The assistant manager program is one of many training programs at the company. Walmart invests in training, said Michael Lindsey, Walmart Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations. The company just introduced Training Academies, a dedicated facility for hands-on training of front-line hourly supervisors, department managers and assistant managers. The academies combine classroom and sales floor training for associates, Walmart’ s term for employees, to gain both core retail skills and the skills and knowledge to run their specific department.
Swenson also took advantage of the paths for advancement at Walmart.
His first experience as a supervisor at Walmart was running a bakery in a Sam’ s Club in Texas. Swenson later came to work in the corporate office in Bentonville. He decided he liked working in a store better and moved to store manager.
“ I feel fortunate,” Swenson said.“ I’ ve earned a good living and will be able to retire at 58. I couldn’ t have done it without Walmart.”
If you are interested in working at Walmart, you can apply online at careers. walmart. com. How quickly you advance depends on the quality of your work.
“ Your career can be unlimited,” Lindsey said.
The company looks for energetic people who want to be around the public, Stouder said.
“ It’ s important to have multitasking as part of your skill set,” Stouder said.“ You need to be willing to learn and not afraid to ask questions.”
Prospective employees should have computer skills. Those skills become more important as responsibility increases, Stouder said.
Helpful programs to learn include Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Stouder added.
A good attitude is very important, Swenson added.
“ Too many people only hear the negative,” Swenson said.
Walmart has many roads you can travel to reach your career goals and they are opening more roads all the time,” he said.
“ It’ s the largest company in the world, and they have the resources to eliminate any barriers.”
35