Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

 Grot 6 wrote:
Come on. Seriously? What was the point of that little tidbit of nothing? People are cheeved because I want to post a little truth to a feelgood thread?

No. We're simply tired of you making an ass out of yourself at every opportunity. It's gotten old and now it's getting boring. You really need to go up to the thread with the forum rules and reread rule #1. Then, after you've read it, you need to start actually following rule #1.

 Grot 6 wrote:
This is a discussion forum here, chief. You wanted in, now your in... Step up.

Actually, this is a NEWS thread about job openings with Games Workshop, not a debate topic about the merits of GW as a company, a forum for your rants, or a venue to express your negative feelings towards GW. If you don't want to discuss specific positions posted or ask legitimate questions about those positions, you should head over to the Discussions forum and create a new thread there.

I just want to say I think the pay rate that is disclosed for these positions is commiserate with the responsibility level required to run a 1 man shop.

1) inventory management. I assume that the inv system used is managing stock levels. Items autos ship from Memphis warehouse on a weekly basis to restock skis that have sold during the week. Seasonal adjustments stock levels are also done systemically.
A relatively low degree of managerial effort on this end.
2) managing other FTE. none. For those that mange other employees you know this is a pain in the ass.
Interviewing skills, hiring, hr understanding, discipline practices and termination are major responsibilities that aren't required in this job.
3) sale. This is job one. Move plastic. I see that store sales and year over year increase in sales drives your total target compensation level. Good. It is what I'd want to measure success as well. I mean the name is recruitment center so maybe there is a weight to intro boxes sold or other spiffs
4) closed 2 days a week and only open for 1 shift. This is a great benefit. It means when you close the door as a manger you don't have to worry about the operation.

So net net, This is a good introductory retail opportunity IMO. Will it be your forever career? Probably not. believe it or not companies have an ideal employee for each position and factor in turn over for those positions. It doesn't mean GW is a bad company..just this position is demanding on sales side and rewards that. In other ways it is quite attractive.

Edited by AgeOfEgos

Again--and last warning;


This is a thread that was initiated by what appears to be a recruitment arm of Games Workshop. Legitimate questions concerning pay, benefits, hours and other employment related discussion is fine--even if a bit critical, provided that it is phrased in a conversational, polite manner.

This is not a thread to confront Games Workshop on pricing or design decisions. Thanks.

 jgemrich wrote:


So net net, This is a good introductory retail opportunity IMO. Will it be your forever career? Probably not. believe it or not companies have an ideal employee for each position and factor in turn over for those positions. It doesn't mean GW is a bad company..just this position is demanding on sales side and rewards that. In other ways it is quite attractive.

I know two store managers in this position currently and they have been pretty forthcoming with thier experiences... For them, they feel it has been 'successful' as they are willing to do the work to make the most of it. And they have built a good community who supports the manager. People pre-order with him and buy locally to support them.

I have known people who have worked at GW over the past 15 years, and it is always a mixed bag like every company, but for everyone who hated it, I know others who liked it and were highly successful. And every 'story of truth' is filled with one-sided lies, it is the nature of 'my job sucks' stories regardless of companies.

It's a fact of the Internet: negative critics always outnumber the positive.

Why would you go out of your way to post something positive? If it was positive then they did their job, people are not going to go out of their way to post stuff just because somebody met their expectations and did what they are supposed to do. It's when stuff is even slightly bad that people post, because angry people are vocal.

Maybe my job has jaded me to these kind of complaints as well. I do part-time work at quite a few different places so I get a lot of exposure to other employers. There is a vocal group of people at my full time job that always complains about how our job is the worst place ever and our bosses are the most useless bosses ever. I tried to tell them that I have worked at most other hospitals in the metro and we actually have it pretty dang good compared to them, but they just want to keep on complaining.

I don't know. The pay justn't seem to justify the stress in operationg a GW store. You get so little in return for so much you have to give up.

Also GW doesn't give you free minis, you have to buy them (at a cheap discount I think) but still. This is stuff GW should be doing for free, not the worker having to pay to make GW money.

One man stores? I swear this is starting to become like slave shops now.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

 Briancj wrote:

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Well I can not give you an official response for something I have no impact or input on. What I can tell you is there is a team of people who look for potential locations for Games Workshop that have to meet business requirements. We are currently on pace to open around 5 new stores a quarter. If you follow those locations on a map you will see a trend of GW spreading outward from memphis mostly seems east to west.

GW used to have a presence, here, and they retreated. The information I have gathered from former GW store managers in the region explains that this was due to very bad decisions from 'higher up' on choosing store locations, and wildly* unreasonable sales goals imposed from top, down. I'm not asking you to explain or justify this, I put it forth as part of the discussion for people who might be considering working for Games Workshop.

While you have no 'influence or impact', you CAN ask *your* higher-ups when New England will see a return of GW storefronts. 2013? 2014? Never?

Thanks!

--Brian

*Wildly: In 2004, GW Management informed the store in the Holyoke Mall, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, that the median average household income for the area was $85,000. Holyoke was, and still is, a mill town with a depressed economy. The Median average income for Holyoke, Ma in 2004 was around $31,000. Even if you included 'more affluent' neighboring towns, the median average would have struggled to get to $50K. And these more affluent parents didn't take their children to a Mall. Nevertheless, sales quotas/goals were set based on the massively inflated $85K figure.

Your Mileage May Vary.

Davor wrote:
I don't know. The pay justn't seem to justify the stress in operationg a GW store. You get so little in return for so much you have to give up.

Also GW doesn't give you free minis, you have to buy them (at a cheap discount I think) but still. This is stuff GW should be doing for free, not the worker having to pay to make GW money.

One man stores? I swear this is starting to become like slave shops now.

Did you miss how dozens of other retail shops have a one-man store model? This is hardly unique to GW and doesn't result in all these fictional 'worrysome' situations people claim they do. You are not getting falsley accused of rape every day simply because you work alone.

And I guess being a teacher is 'less' stressful than selling toys to kids... What 'stress' are you talking about? It is a Store, not Thunderdome. All jobs have stress, and many more jobs have more stress and make way less.

I wonder what jobs all you guys do that double the minimum wage is seen as 'so little'? And comparing getting paid to work an 8 hour day where you runt he shop is now the same as slavery? I would hate to think what someone who makes less than double minimum wage who is asked to work overtime is compared to? Genocide? Care to Godwin the thread to make your hyperbole complete?

Briancj

You will know about a store in your area as soon as I do. Because I will post it here and on the Become Legendary North America. My Guess is that you will see a store in your area at some unknown point is it fits the current successful business model. That is your official response. What you need to understand is 2004 the company has had a different store store strategy in place than it has had over the last few years. Those things you bring up as facts are simply no true at this point in time.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Davor

That is fine if you feel it's not a fit for you, that is ok.. But what you get for working for Games Workshop is Pay, Benefits, 37.5 hours a week and a 50% discount on miniatures. Pretty standard for any retail position.

As a Manager you set your own goals for yourself, Expectations are roughly to achieve a 6% growth over last year. What that would look like is.... If your store did 150K last year you would be looking at around 9k in growth over a twelve month period. Which is 173.07 dollars more a week If you are recruiting then it should not be an issue as your store should be growing over time to reflect that. If that is stressful then it is not a position for you.

who wants to interview for a job that doesn't exist yet?

"We just want to get the interviews out of the way" ?????


SO tell me _____________, what experience do you have that would qualify you for this position?


You haven't told me what this position entails.


We will be in touch in the future, thanks for coming in.

 DIDM wrote:
who wants to interview for a job that doesn't exist yet?

Pretty common actually. Companies interview lots of people based upon speculation of positions which will exist and sometimes even tailor positions based upon what candidates can provide. If we find a particular candidate with a specific set of skills, we may choose to change the position and move work around on our end to better make use of the candidate.

And Job Fairs and recruitment often operate on this explicit premise. Here is a set of skills and all our needs at all levels. Interview so we can see your skills and decide where best you would fit in our organization and then when a position we feel you fit is available, we call you. Some companies are constantly advertising and interviewing for candidates with no real position existing because they have gauged you can often make a position for a excellent candidate or you know there is always organic growth which needs these positions and it cuts down on lag time of hiring issues.

If you go into an interview with an adversarial attitude, then you deserve to be ignored. A smart person should have done research what the company offers as a whole and simply be ready to highlight any skills that they are particularly great at. A lot of employment skills are universal and you don't need a specific job description to know those skills are needed and that you should highlight them.

nkelsch wrote:

 DIDM wrote:
who wants to interview for a job that doesn't exist yet?

Pretty common actually......

Damn I know this is true: I have interviewed and "landed" two jobs in the last year just for the project that I was to be employed for get put back while they await the work to land. My ability to find jobs just as we enter another dip to the recession remains unsurpassed!

@Brian: technically Conn is New England . I understand why they closed here and if they come back ok but personally i don't want them too as i think we have a pretty good local store community.

 Empchild wrote:
@Brian: technically Conn is New England . I understand why they closed here and if they come back ok but personally i don't want them too as i think we have a pretty good local store community.

Hey, even OFFICIALLY, Connecticut is part of New England. However, according to their website, there are no GW stores in Connecticut:

My bad i saw Greenwich and thought Conn.

Do they managers have to pay for the display armies or are these provided for?

I believe they are supposed to be painted by the people working there.

Yeah I now they get painted in house, I was just wondering if they are brought and paid for?

Eldercaveman wrote:
Do they managers have to pay for the display armies or are these provided for?

In the case of our local GW, they do not need to pay for them, but are to paint them in their "free time" as well. The goblin town set was painted by customers

Yeah I think the goblin town set being painted by customers was quite a common thing, as they did it here in Auckland as well. Quite a good way of getting people interest in it.

Eldercaveman wrote:
Do they managers have to pay for the display armies or are these provided for?

That is a complicated question. Here in the US we have a team that prepares sets of miniatures/tables for new stores as they are opened ahead of time. For existing stores they have the ability to know loss a certain amount product each month for projects. If it is above this limit then they have to ask for permission. As for customers helping paint projects in the store, Some managers do have customers assist, some don't. I never did in my store because I felt it was my job to do it and we are not allowed to give product away as a form of payment. That choice for me also had to do with setting a standard in my store.

If it is a store project and not a personal project then you can work on it during your shifts. What can be confusing is that line can be easily blurred. For example I'm painting my personal army for the display case of the store because it is empty. While the intent is good you are still working on your personal army.

 Become Legendary NA wrote:
Well I have no control with what the UK recruiting department does. But I know they Interact well with there Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/becomelegendary.gw . So you can ask them questions through there or follow what they are doing through the page.

Thank you for the reply and sorry I got to it so late! I'll maybe drop by their page and ask. Keep up the good work!

 Briancj wrote:

 Become Legendary NA wrote:

 Briancj wrote:

I would be highly interested in the "Official" reason as to why there is no GW presence here.

Well I can not give you an official response for something I have no impact or input on. What I can tell you is there is a team of people who look for potential locations for Games Workshop that have to meet business requirements. We are currently on pace to open around 5 new stores a quarter. If you follow those locations on a map you will see a trend of GW spreading outward from memphis mostly seems east to west.

GW used to have a presence, here, and they retreated. The information I have gathered from former GW store managers in the region explains that this was due to very bad decisions from 'higher up' on choosing store locations, and wildly* unreasonable sales goals imposed from top, down. I'm not asking you to explain or justify this, I put it forth as part of the discussion for people who might be considering working for Games Workshop.

While you have no 'influence or impact', you CAN ask *your* higher-ups when New England will see a return of GW storefronts. 2013? 2014? Never?

Thanks!

--Brian

*Wildly: In 2004, GW Management informed the store in the Holyoke Mall, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, that the median average household income for the area was $85,000. Holyoke was, and still is, a mill town with a depressed economy. The Median average income for Holyoke, Ma in 2004 was around $31,000. Even if you included 'more affluent' neighboring towns, the median average would have struggled to get to $50K. And these more affluent parents didn't take their children to a Mall. Nevertheless, sales quotas/goals were set based on the massively inflated $85K figure.

Your Mileage May Vary.

Oh they still have insane sales quotas. Here is some fun stories:

Local GW here is in a strip mall with no foot traffic, it was entirely mantained and operated on its regulars with maybe 2 or 3 demos a week( where as when I worked for GW I was going 7+ a day) the manager there got written up by the north american trainer for not doing enough demos.

Hell when I was with the company I went on vacation for 2 weeks and came back to being written up for not hitting my monthly quota. "Should have thought about that before you left" was what I was told.

The best I saw was the email that went out to all GW employees about a manager in alabama that was told his store would be shut down if he didnt get his sales up past a certain mark, this man went above and beyond and actually raised the sales well past the expected mark, he was then fired and his store was shut down. Before his email was shut down he sent his story to every single GW employee in north america, we were actually told that if we opened that email we would be fired.

Here's another good one. A friend of mine worked at a mall store that was shut down and was told to drive 2 hours out of his way a day to get to a brand new store location, he did so being the loyal and devoted employee he was. During this stores open himself and the other employee broke all sales records for a new store in the history of the company, they were both replaced without notice.

Or just recently, they hired a manager for a store they shut down a month later, without telling him.

So for anyone that is looking to work for GW here is my warnings, advice and a litte of what to expect:

-You'll get flown out to memphis for training every 3 months, all well in good except its mostly just word play that will make you want to pull out your hair.
-You'll sign alot of non-disclosure agreements.
-Its a fun job if you go into it being a good level headed person, not a drone, you see your bosses once a month, your regulars will appreciate it that you dont treat them like bags of money and they in turn will support you more.
-Upper management will kill your love for the game
-When your bosses are in store they are there for the whole day usually (or days if you're unlucky) you'll want to quit every five minutes because they will pick you apart and not leave you alone.
-Dont spend your money on warhammer, seriously, its like GW paying you $4/hr, and you'll not want to look at the things after you get home.
-If you dont like kids, and loud places then I have bad news for you.
-There is no "up" in the company, Im sure buddy here will say otherwise but there isnt.
-You are extremely expendable, Ive seen dozens of people get let go or pushed out for extremely unfair reasons. Ive seen people hired, trained and let go all in the same month because they didnt tell them they closed the store they were going to work at.
-Very few people leave on good terms with happy feelings towards the company

All in all, its a fun job, but for the hassle you'll go through, it isnt worth the money

 Ravenous D wrote:


-Very few people leave on good terms with happy feelings towards the company

I know lots of people who used to work for GW. Most were fired, but some quit. Quit surprisingly many of them are on good terms with GW. This is not to say that they think the company is managed well, but that they do not have ill will towards GW.

Ravenous D When did you work for the company what position and store?

We do do Hobby Skill Camps every three months but they are not always in Memphis, These sessions are for the managers to get together with their peers to train and network with other managers/ upper management. I personally looked forward to them because they were refreshing.

Managers set there own goals and we look at three different key product indicators. You should plan things like vacation into the goals you set like any successful business.

You will sign non-disclosure agreements in instances such as receiving training on new product before launch. Pretty normally in the business world.

Upper management will visit from time to time but I guess it depends on how your store is doing, customer complaints and such again like any good business with remote employees.

The rest isn't something I can comment on.

Here are some corporate level positions that are made available to all internal candidates. I updated the first post with them. All these positions are new positions within the company.


Corporate Memphis roles.

Games Workshop: Staff Accountant ---> http://workfor.us/2d8r5
Games Workshop: Trade Account Manager ---> http://workfor.us/a28qg
Games Workshop: New Trade Account Manager ---> http://workfor.us/1h77yi
Games Workshop: People Pipeline Coordinating - http://workfor.us/7ik9
Games Workshop: Recruiter - http://workfor.us/2e4d4
Games Workshop: Property Manager - http://workfor.us/1k47uh
Games Workshop: Property Specialist - http://workfor.us/b7d31g37
Games Workshop: Warehouse Manager - http://workfor.us/1l5i6i

see previous warnings
Reds8n

And the hell is a "People Pipeline Coordinator"? Sounds like human trafficking.

You should hire someone that has a better grasp on writing job postings. The wording in several areas is bad and doesn't even make sense in other areas. One example is; "Play at fitting". What does that even mean?

Also, it's not a good idea to say things like this; "However, it is only fair to say that people who don’t fit with our culture, or who play at fitting, will be unhappy and consequently unsuccessful. "

It basically translates into a couple things; "Tow the line or we'll get rid of you." and "If we don't like you, we'll get rid of you."

Now that may be the truth, but you shouldn't post that in a Job Listing asking people to apply.

The "About the job" section, should not be the shortest section of the postings. Blow less smoke about who GW is and what they do. Chances are people that want to work for you, already know what you do and who you are.

I'd love to know what "People Pipeline Coordinating" actually is. However, there are no actual job duties listed, pay scale, background/education requirements, or benefits information.

Who is the person that you want or expect to apply for this job; a High School kid, Retail Manager, Retiree?

I'm confused.

 Aerethan wrote:
And the hell is a "People Pipeline Coordinator"? Sounds like human trafficking.

Sounds like some kind of HR job for managing the throughput of people through training into jobs, or people waiting in the pool to be put into stores.

TalonZahn wrote:
You should hire someone that has a better grasp on writing job postings. The wording in several areas is bad and doesn't even make sense in other areas. One example is; "Play at fitting". What does that even mean?

While GW's job postings leave many things to be desired, I have seen worse.

TalonZahn wrote:

Also, it's not a good idea to say things like this; "However, it is only fair to say that people who don’t fit with our culture, or who play at fitting, will be unhappy and consequently unsuccessful. "

It basically translates into a couple things; "Tow the line or we'll get rid of you." and "If we don't like you, we'll get rid of you."

Now that may be the truth, but you shouldn't post that in a Job Listing asking people to apply.

I would not rank on them for this. At least they are being open and honest.

TalonZahn wrote:

I'd love to know what "People Pipeline Coordinating" actually is.

Only GW would think up with a pipeline made of human beings.