Danielle Nagtalon 

5. Mistakes and How to View Them at Work! 

                                                           

Yousol: Okay, perfect. I guess that would be a great place to start here. How was it when you were starting to apply for jobs? Yes, if you want to elaborate?

 Danielle: Sure. So I graduated in May of 20. So, as you can imagine, March 2020, the pandemic started, and everything pivoted to online learning. And the job market was BAD, to be completely honest. It was bad. So I tried applying to places and honestly, I wouldn't hear anything, because even with the fashion industry, people were being laid off. People weren't buying fashion clothes anymore. So it took me about a year to find a job. But in between -

 Yousol: Oh my gosh. Wow.

 Danielle: Yeah, I know. But in between then, I picked up a hobby which was jewelry making. And I decided, with my degree, I'm going to make my own business. So shortly after graduating, I created my own jewelry business. And I used my business to make money for that year, before I wanted to start finding a job in the fashion industry. My first job, I was an assistant buyer for Tobi.com. I stayed with the company for about a year and a few months. And it was a great entry level experience for me to really understand the ropes behind what a buying team does. Which leads me to my position now. I am an assistant buyer for GUESS. I started this position around a month and a half ago.

 

 Yousol: Wow that’s amazing. Congratulations!

 Danielle: Thank you. Thank you so much. I definitely understand the struggle [of job hunting post graduation].

 Yousol: Thank you for that. That was really, I had no idea that it took I mean, I'm sure throughout COVID though, that's what a lot of students, not just like AMM majors, but a lot of majors were going through that. But good for you for persevering! Can you talk more about your jewelry business? That is so inspiring!

 

2. SunkissedJewels.La/Starting Her First Business 

Danielle: Yeah, of course. So, I first figured out about the material gold filled, which is so much better than plated jewelry. I knew that I wanted to create my products with some kind of material that would be able to withstand water and humidity. And I found that this material is also pretty low cost. So, after watching YouTube videos and searching on Google about what kind of materials I would need to make jewelry, I first started making jewelry for myself. I would buy chains by the yard, I would buy jump-rings, and clasps. My first designs were horoscope pendants which I made for myself. I posted it on my Instagram story and I was like- hey, I picked up a hobby! From there, I got a lot of feedback from my friends and my family. And they'd go- hey, I want to purchase one of these horoscope pendants from you. And I was like sure, why not? I mean if I'm doing nothing right now, I can do this. So I started buying materials in bulk, then I read and searched about how to create a business as a sole proprietor. I got my business license, I got the name Sunkissed jewels registered as a DBA. And yeah, I launched my website using Shopify and I would create collections on like a two month basis. I would release those collections online and I would do everything. I would do the photography, the designs, the marketing. And it's funny because I'm still doing jewelry making for some friends even though I closed my shop. I literally have a lot of cute little jewelry pieces hanging around my desk. Yeah, that's kind of how I started my business! So I am currently not running my business just because it's a little difficult for me to balance having my full-time job and this on the side, but it was fun for me while I was searching for a job. But I am open to custom orders! People still hit me up all the time. If you go on Instagram, it's at Sunkissedjewels.la.

 Yousol: Okay, perfect.

 Danielle: People can message me on there and then we can get something we can get something started.

 Yousol: Cool. Okay, so I'll definitely mention that when we post on sunkissedjewels.la. Okay~ Oh, I do see some modeling here.

 Danielle: Yes! I recruited some of my friends. I enjoy taking pictures. So I had three friends

    model the jewelry for me.

 Yousol: Looks so professional!

 Danielle: Oh, thank you. I tried. I got some of those skills from AMM. And I was like, you know what, let's see what I can do and I treated my business like a fun school project.

 Yousol: Did you say, you are in the retail major or the production side? Retail? Retail. Okay, so do you think that Apparel Scapes? You took the course? Correct?

 Danielle: Yes, I did. Like the senior class. Right?

 Yousol: Right. Right. Do you think that really helped you like start your business that you have, the skills that you learned from there?

 Danielle: Um, definitely, I remember being part of the pop-up shop team for one of the semesters and I've definitely learned how to sell products by selling at on campus events. And I think other skills I've strengthed was in marketing, because - are you on the marketing team right now?

 Yousol: Yes!

 Danielle: Exactly so learning different aspects of marketing and how really successful business runs. There are pillars that make successful businesses act like a well-oiled machine. From marketing, merchandising, production and design, all these teams work cohesively in order to run their business.

 Yousol: Right, exactly, you do need all those compartments.

 Danielle: Exactly. I definitely learned a lot from ApparelScapes.

 

3. What Skills to Develop to Stand out With Recruiters

Yousol: Okay, and before we move back to your position, your current position, and like what you have learned at Tobi, could you maybe share some skills you think that we can maybe develop right now that will really help us like stand out? Or will take us to other places when we're applying to jobs? Or even in the job?

 Danielle: Yeah, of course. So I think skills wise, I think that what recruiters and hiring managers are looking for is somebody that's really detail oriented, especially when it comes to your work. So making sure that everything looks nice. No typos, professional and makes sense. But also, checking and double checking your work and making sure the work that you put forth is presentable. In addition to that, I would say that in buying, specifically on being analytical. So being able to read numbers. I know that Apparel Scapes works on a small scale but when you're working in business, you're selling your product which creates sales. So really, being able to look at your numbers, whatever it may be - how many units you've sold, how much sales you had this week and being able to understand and comprehend those numbers and get some kind of conclusion out of it to relay it to your team. And I think a big big big thing is communication, especially when you start working for any type of business. Commmunicate. Being an excellent communicator, verbally and written is extremely important. Especially when in buying, there's delays. Somebody didn't change the color for a certain season and it didn't relate to production. So it's really, really important to be communicative in all aspects of business.

 Yousol: Okay, thank you. Those are really great. We definitely hear about those skills all the time. And it's always at the top, but it's good to hear it again. And have it applied to exactly what we're doing. Yeah, I was gonna ask one thing, I lost it for a second… Yes.

 

4. Communication Between

Co-Workers and Vendors

Yousol: How many times would you say you're emailing your co-workers or, you know, with vendors on your phone calls, checking on communicating meetings, etc, etc.

 Danielle: It's on a daily basis. So, with Tobi, it is a little bit different, because we're purchasing private label. So there, I had direct communication with a vendor. And each week, we have orders coming in. So on a weekly basis, I'll reach out to them over email. And I'll be like, hey, just checking up on this order. Will this be delivered this week? If not, please let me know, just so that I can update my system and let my team know. It was almost a daily thing, then. And then for right now, my current position, it's a day-to-day thing, I feel that every day, I have a different task or different responsibility to complete. But I am in constant communication with our design and production team. GUESS works a little bit different because we're not solely purchasing private label. We are vertically integrated. So we have an in-house design team, an in-house production team, and we're building our assortment already nine months before it drops. So, we have all these meetings, such as a pre-buy meeting, a prototype meeting, our buyer review meeting, and open to buy meetings. And during these meetings, there are changes. So sometimes our head Merchandise Manager will say something like, hey, I actually don't like this design. Let's not go with it. Let's drop it. And then that means on me as an assistant, I have to go into our line sheets and update that. I have to go into our inventory system, and I have to delete that from our buy plan. And that goes really closely with being detail oriented and analytical. You have to be very alert. The tasks that I do sometimes are quite detail oriented and if you make a mistake, it can show up at the meeting. No, yeah, it's funny because I actually made a mistake like that one day. We had our final buying meeting for next August and September. And I printed the buy plans and the senior buyer that I assist for has 10 categories. So, I'm talking about knits, wovens, sweater dresses, and tops like knits, wovens, sweater tops, pants, blazers, all of that. And I printed 10 copies of the buy plan for our meeting. I’m passing them out during our meeting, we're going row by row and I forgot to include an entire class.

 

5. Mistakes and How to View Them at Work! 

Yousol: yikesss. Oh no.

 Danielle: I know. So, I was like oh no, oh no. But they caught it like two categories before we were going to go over that class. So, I ran out, opened the system on my laptop, went ahead and printed 10 copies as fast as I could. Grabbed my stapler and went back in the meeting and handed it out to probably the highest people that approve all of this. And I was like, this is SO embarrassing. So, I think the moral of that story is that mistakes do happen and it's okay. Like, even me, as much as I try to be detail oriented in my work, you know. Just sometimes, it happens, and you learn from it at most.

 Yousol: You're so positive. You're like, everything is good.

 Danielle: Girl, I was crying!

 Yousol: Oh, you were crying ☹

 Danielle: Literally my supervisor goes, well… I have some feedback. Because that wasn't the only mistake that I had during the meeting. I did not hook the overalls and jumpsuits in my arm when I was showing the prototypes, so I tripped.

 Yousol: Oh, my God.

 Danielle: I know. And then what else did I do? I didn't place the prototypes in order of the buy plan because I didn't know that. My supervisor never told me and I’m still a new employee. I was literally thinking to myself… You know, when you like, you're just disappointed in yourself. But when somebody tells you your mistakes again, you're like, crap.

 Yousol: This really hits you, right?

 Danielle: Yeah, it was hard. So, after she told me, my eyes were watering. It was the end of the day already. So when everyone left, and I was just sitting at my desk like, damn, I could have done better. But I think at the end of that whole experience, even being upset about it for a little while. I had to think of the positives. I spent the whole night trying to be upset over it. But after talking to my mom, she goes, well, they chose you for that position for a reason. You are capable. You're doing a great job. So you are, you're going to learn from this, and you're going to be better next time. And I thought, you're right. Positive queens.

 Yousol: Exactly. And you only been there for like a month, right?

  Danielle: Yeah, like a month and a half. I'm going on to my seventh week on Monday.

 Yousol: Okay, so you're new and mistakes happen. You have to learn. I mean, if you didn't make it before, then how would you know, you know, in the future?

 Danielle: Exactly. Exactly.

 Yousol: Okay. Did you feel like your supervisor was a little bit hard on you or she was a little more gracious about it?

 Danielle: Oh she was super nice, super gracious about it. Even when she approached me. She was gentle and said okay, I have some feedback for you. And I was thinking, well, I already know. And she gave me all the feedback. And she told me as she knew my eyes are watering. She's says, seriously, don't be too hard on yourself. Mistakes happen. My other assistant actually did the same things that you did. And it's funny because she went to her desk and cried about it afterwards. And we laugh about it now because she's a superstar. She moved up within seven months to a buyer position. So, this doesn't mean anything. I was like, wow, you're just so supportive right now.

 Yousol: That's awesome. Okay. It's really good to have good mentors, colleagues, you know, supporting you.

 Danielle: Definitely.

 Yousol: All right. So, I have a few more questions. Just checking on time here. Okay, so when you were when you started your job before you started your job at GUESS, were you recruited by a recruiter about the job position, or how did that work? And how was like the interview process for that?

 

6. Interview Process and How to Prep Like a Pro! 

Danielle: Yeah. Okay. So I decided that at Tobi, I was like, okay, I am starting to feel stagnant in my career growth. I feel like I'm doing the same things week to week, I was just ready for a change. Therefore, I just started applying to jobs mostly on LinkedIn. I knew I wanted to stay in buying, because that's what I'm very passionate about. And that's what I think that I'm really good at. So I hopped on LinkedIn, and looked at the jobs. All of the jobs that I liked, I applied for. Even if I felt unqualified, I just put my resume out there. I was literally handing over resumes to any buying position I was interested in. And from there, I heard back from five companies, and I interviewed with each of them, just because I don't ever want to close a door for any potential opportunity. I want to hear what all these companies have to offer. I feel like the interview process is such a trade. So some of them didn't work out. There was one which I was surprised I even got an interview with because I thought it was way out of my league. It would be a dream to work there. But I don't even know if I couldn't get this position. So I interviewed anyway and it was a tough interview. They reached out to me and said, hey, like we're going forward with another person. And I thought, at least I tried. For GUESS, I applied through LinkedIn, and then a recruiter reached out to me over email. Previously, in my junior year of college at Cal Poly, I spent my summer as a retail buying intern at GUESS. And how I got that position was I went to the career fair. And I was putting myself out there. I told her, here's my resume, please take it. I chatted it up with a recruiter and she was like, hey, let's just let's have an interview. So it was the same recruiter that I talked to back as an intern, she reached out to me about this buying position. And she's like, Hey, like, I think you're going to be a really great fit. Because this team was the exact same team you interned for. Like, oh, my goodness, this is crazy.

 Yousol: That's so aligned.

 Danielle: Yeah, it's crazy. Because even back then, three years prior, when I was an intern, all of those people on that team moved up. And it was great to see that my old supervisor was now the head of merchandise for our department. And I was like, wow, this is crazy. Everyone moved up, there's new people on our team. So, the interview process, it was a phone call with a recruiter to make sure that you're qualified for the position. It's really talking about yourself and your experience and probably why you want to work for the company and that's how most phone screens go for me. And then after that, I got an email saying they want to go forward and they want me to meet the people that hire, the hiring manager and the people on the team. So I went in for an in person interview and I met with the senior buyer that would be managing me and her boss. In person interviews are very terrifying. Sometimes it's easier when it's virtual because you know you can have some notes on the side to refer to but when you go in person it's like - good luck.

 Yousol: Yes, they can see everything, your hands

 Danielle: Exactly they see everything, and I just made sure that I was well, well prepared going into the interview. So, I literally would make a document of all potential questions that I think that they would ask me and at first. Instead of speaking it, I would type them out. I would type out the entire response word for word. Then, I would read it. If it sounds good, then I would start bullet pointing. So, I would take that paragraph and I would bullet point, and have four or five words to refer to, and then I would start practicing. And I would have somebody say that question to me. And I will look at the bullet points if I need to, and I would speak to them. And I know that some people are really, really good at interviewing without preparing. But personally, I'm not. I need a plan and like I need to be prepared with behavioral questions. And I find that I perform better when I'm confident and when I know what to say to a question. Because sometimes when, you're not prepared, like, it will catch you off guard. So, I tried to minimize that as much as possible by by doing a lot of interview prep. But after that interview, it went really well. And then I got a job offer. I think some of the important questions that I got, while being interviewed was: Have you worked in a fast-paced environment? Are you able to meet strict deadlines? Tell me about a problem or a challenge you face and how you resolved it. In addition, why do you want to work for the company? Sometimes I even get like, if I'm applying for a buying position, Do you know what a buyer does? What does a buyer do? Or what are the most important responsibilities? And what skills do you need to be a good buyer? So, I think those are the most frequent questions that I get when I'm interviewing.

 Yousol: Thank you. Wow, that is that is such good advice. I feel like a lot of people should do that more. Especially with myself, sometimes I get nervous. And then you can kind of forget. And that's really helpful. Because, you know, sometimes you don't want to memorize things word for word, you want to have different options so that it can feel more like a conversation, you know?

 Danielle: Exactly, exactly. When I was a student there, I would try to memorize things word for word. And then when I would practice, I was like, you know, this doesn’t sound real. It sounds so robotic. You can have a bullet pointed list now, to answer that, to refer to, in order to answer that question. Just speak to them. You can be more confident when you know that bullet point list is there. And you're like, oh, I know that word I can refer to. When they ask you what skills do you have? Or what skills can you offer to the table and in my head, I'm like, I am detail oriented, I am analytical, and I'm a great communicator. And that's the exact skills that people are searching for and buying. I think what also helps me a lot is I would literally take the job description or the job listing, I would highlight words that they use, analyze this selling report, analyze selling reports, I would highlight that. In charge of receiving samples, I would highlight that, and then it when I'm answering questions, I would really try my best to refer to anything that's on that job description as best I could. I think that that's what also helps you stand out from the other candidates when you're interviewing.

  Yousol: Thank you, I can already tell that you are all of those qualities that you mentioned. You're very detail oriented and explaining all the little details for us. So that we can refer to it. You're very positive. You're also very good at communicating.

  Danielle: You’re so sweet because I, I actually get really nervous when it comes to interviewing. It'll be 15, 30 minutes before and I feel like, I literally can't. Yeah, I'd get super nervous. And then I would talk to my boyfriend. I'd say, you gotta hype me up here. And he goes, you got you got it. And I feel better just by taking a deep breath. It's normal for me to make mistakes too. I was interviewing on a phone call with a company. And I was stressing out because they use RingCentral which I am not familiar with. And I have Zoom on my Mac and I did not activate the video or sound, so they were all on there at my meeting time. And I was like, oh my gosh, stressful. Because this is the way I was starting my interview, right? I go, hello, hello. But they were casual and so friendly. That interview went really well, surprisingly, even though it was a rough start. I feel like another piece of advice I would have to give is, even though it's scary, be confident in yourself and your capabilities. Even with having little to no work experience. Your education from AMM is enough. Because with most entry level experiences or entry level positions, you will learn the ropes along the way.

 Yousol: So good to know.

 Danielle: Yeah. The buying courses at AMM were a little difficult for me. It was hard for me to memorize formulas. But working in the real world, even in all the Excel sheets, the formulas are already integrated and built in those sheets. So, you really just have to be able to understand the concepts and everything else you can learn along the way.

 Yousol: Yes, you will learn. Thank you. So relieving.

 Danielle: Yeah, because I'm pretty sure I got like a B minus in my buying courses. But I don't think that really defines what a buyer does in the real world.

 Yousol: Okay, that's so good to know. Because I was stressing the other day like looking at the the six-month plan and the assortment plan. I need to look at the book for the formula. I don't know all of them at top of my head.

 Danielle: Yeah, see, me too. It’s really about understanding the concepts and terminology. With planners, they are very good at understanding numbers and making it tell a story. For buyers, we need to understand basic concepts. We have initial markup goals. Being able to understand what just a markup is. With costing, understanding the differences between a total material cost and FOB. But when you are working in the fashion industry you will learn along the way.

 Yousol: Okay, thank you that is very relieving. I feel like a lot of people are going to feel a little bit of weight off their shoulders from that. Yeah.

 

7. Danielle's Favorite Classes from AMM

Danielle: I think that one of my favorite classes was the Career Development, where you make a resume and thank you letter, because that class really shows you the proper etiquette in job searching. And I also liked the Apparel Brand Development. I had Professor Erdmann. I feel like that class, everything connected for me, and I found out, oh, so this is all the pillars of a business. And this is how they run. And that's really important because I feel like working in the fashion industry, you're working cohesively with a lot of cross functional teams. And you have to be able to understand what they do in order to do your job. So, I really liked that class. The professor, she's a great speaker. I enjoy hearing her stories, too, about her previously working at Red Bull.

 Yousol: Yeah, I remember she brought her presentation. And I was like, Oh, my God, it looks so professional. Like, I don't know how we're going to do that. But did you ever feel like that? And do you feel like, yeah, because our professors have so much experience. Do you feel like, you can kind of see yourself going down that path in a way where you're actually getting better every single year and with your jobs right now, you're learning a lot to get to that point of expertise?

 Danielle: Yeah, I think that it's really intimidating at first. Especially because I remember being a senior and in that position, and I feel like, at the time, like, I felt that I lacked confidence. It was scary. There's probably other people out there who are well more capable of applying to this job than me. I'd think, I have no experience, like literally, what do I have? What can I bring to the table? My resume was empty. Now, all I've got is personality (laughs). And honestly, I feel like I did learn a lot from AMM, and a lot of those skills I did take with me and to my positions post college. And what I learned the most was really just understanding the concepts, especially with apparel construction. Even though you're sewing, and it may be really difficult for some people, as it was for me at times, you now understand how a garment is made. You can understand the difference between a well-made garment and a mediocre garment. And now you can take that with you. For me, I'm working closely with production and design. This is so different for me. But I feel kind of in that position where we make adjustments on prototypes and have to understand apparel construction. And I think that you will get there with time. And as you learn day by day. And even with seven weeks of me being in this position, I'm like, wow, I've learned so much.

8. Interactive Interviews 

Yousol: Yes, absolutely, it does. Okay, I do want to go back to the interview process a little bit. I have heard that for some interviews, they make you do kind of like an interactive interview where you look at spreadsheets, did you encounter any of that?

 Danielle: So, for me specifically, no. Even when I was applying and searching for a new position before I started at GUESS, they did not have any interactive tests or spreadsheets for you to analyze. It was really just like, what I knew from my head of what a buyer does and what I'm able to bring to the table in terms of skills. But I have heard, I have a friend that works at [company]. They had her do a SWOT analysis while she was interviewing for her entry level position. And she had to present that SWOT analysis to the people that were going to hire her. And I do have another friend, who is a planner for [company]. And she had to do a test. So they send her a test, and she has to complete it within 30 minutes as fast as she could, and she has to send it back. So there are definitely interactive interviews, I think it depends on what position that you apply for to. But in my own experience, I actually didn't have to do any of that. It was just really face to face talking to somebody about my skills.

 

9. What a Buyer's Position Encompasses

Yousol: Okay, and what did you tell them about what a buyer's position encompasses?

 Danielle: Yeah, so really, what a buyer do does is that they're in charge of planning, selecting and purchasing certain quantities of goods for a specific company. In order to do their job well, they really have to know their target market and what products that customer wants to buy. They have to be analytical, especially when it comes to numbers. Buyers are analyzing spreadsheets, they have to understand how their products are moving, and they take those numbers to see where they can improve. In addition to this, they have to be an excellent communicator, because they are working cross-functionally with a lot of teams. So I'd say that's mostly the answer that I would give people when they'd asked about what a buyer does.

 

10. Confidence during the Interview and

How to Speak About Your Experiences

to Align Them With the Position

 Yousol: You speak so eloquently, I'm like, yes, yes.

 Danielle: Oh, you're so sweet. I try, it’s practice. And I feel like even once I get land the interview, I'm like, oh my god, this is so scary. And what makes me feel more confident is like, really knowing what position you're applying for. It's very much knowing what the job entails and thinking, okay, they do these tasks. And I know job descriptions can be long at times. But analyze it and write down key words that they expect out of you. And you can just do your best to relate whatever skills you have to those bullet points. I like simplifying things. I do not like things being difficult for no reason. So even when it comes to interviewing for skills, I have a top three. I do not want to think about four or five, or six. Same for weaknesses. I have my top three weaknesses. And that's it. Sometimes if I think about the questions too much, my mind gets jumbled, like, I can say this, but I can also say this. So actually having a set answer for everything helps me be more confident.

 Yousol: Okay, yes, exactly. Because it's so hard when you're trying to think of everything at once. You just kind of get lost there, you can go, okay, it almost feels like you're not saying enough at that point. And you can kind of knock yourself off and it's not helpful.

 Danielle: Exactly. And I also feel like interviewers don't like lengthy responses. They like it when you can see things confidently and to the tee. And if they need you to elaborate, they will ask follow up questions. So even with the simplest question, tell me about yourself. Keep that simple. And yes, if they want more from you, they will ask follow up questions. So usually the tell me about yourself question. For me, I tell them about my current job and my current responsibilities, and then I talk potential experiences that relate to the position I’m applying for. And then my final sentence is the reason why I want to work for this company. And I think just even having a great first answer to the first question, you know that would make you stand out. So no over complicating, keep it simple.

 Yousol: Yes, that's awesome. Because it's so dreadful. And they ask you that and you're like, where do I begin? And where do I end? I don't want to like ramble on, you know, so this is great. Thank you.

 Danielle: I remember even when I was applying for that intern position, I had no experience. I only worked in food service, no fashion experience, I was a Korean barbecue server. I’d been working as a server mostly. And they said, Tell me about yourself. And I said I moved down here from the Bay Area. I'm trying to find a job in in fashion, because that's what I am passionate about, I want to be a buyer someday. Here's are my experiences like as Korean Barbeque server, here are the skills that I had in order to do that position, and how I think it can relate to the position I'm applying for. And yes, I really want this job. Because I think that this will be a learning experience for me to help act as a catalyst for my career. As long as you're passionate about what position you're applying for, I think that translates. And hiring managers can see that. As long as you're passionate and you want to learn, and you want to be a part of the company. They can feel that energy and they will run with it.

 Yousol: Yes, okay. They can probably naturally feel it too. There's an instinct and the way that you respond. Unless you're very nervous. 

 Danielle: Oh, I know. But you know, as long as you're prepared, prepare, prepare, prepare, you should have a list of questions that you think they would ask you. If you put yourself in their position, you'd go, I'm hiring for an assistant buyer or assistant planner, right? What qualities do I want out of them? And that's usually on the job description. You’d want to get to know more about them. So you're going to ask questions like, tell me about yourself. Tell me about your experience. What skills can you bring to the table like what are your strengths? I don't really get asked like what are your weaknesses. Then, there are some behavioral like, how do you solve a challenge?

 

11. A Bit About GUESS? And Danielle's Goals

Yousol: Okay, awesome. I do have another question for you. We're currently, I know earlier, you had mentioned that, you know, the team that you're currently working with, you've seen that they've moved up. Do you see yourself with GUESS for a long time? And where would you want to be, about three years from now?

 Danielle: Yeah, so there was an article posted recently by business of fashion. And they ranked all fashion companies, where employees do not want to leave. And in the top 20 of the list GUESS was on there, and I thought, wow, when I was doing my research before, even before even interviewing with GUESS, I was like, I'm going to keep that in my head. I want to work for a company that has great employee retention. And I do see myself sticking with GUESS for a long time. Right now I'm on this learning curve. And things are a little bit difficult. But that’s because I don't know everything yet. But once I get into the flow of things, then I think that I'll be great and be able to climb up that ladder to eventually be, hopefully in three years, just a buyer. Be in a buyer position and be able to handle classes on my own and present my assortment to merchandise managers, and be able to be confident enough to do all of that. And especially like many entry level positions, everything is so scary. And even when it comes to presenting, like, I dislike presenting. Even in college, I would rather have a teammate do it. For instance, if you're in a group, and there's only one person that needs to go up. I'd go, not me. Not me. Yeah, but I've been put in the position at GUESS where I have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. And I think that's the same thing for the interview process. It's like, even though it's so uncomfortable, just try your best to be feel confident in your capabilities. And be confident in yourself and you will skyrocket. And yeah, I feel like I had a train of thought, and I totally lost that. So I know exactly what you're talking about. I was going to elaborate, but like

 Yousol: It will come back to you; it will come back to you just let me know. But I definitely can see you being a buyer, maybe even like, I don't know, I feel like it'll be very soon for you. Because the way that you're explaining about your career and, it's a good time.

 

12. Spontaneous Challenges at Work! 

 Danielle: Yeah, exactly. And I feel like I'm just very passionate about buying. I know what the position entails and what you have to do to be good at that position. And buying combines two things that I really like; it's being creative and being analytical, I would say I'm pretty good at math. I'm pretty good at understanding numbers. And but I also like dressing up, I like to you know, buy a lot of clothes, I like shopping. And it really sounds like this is the perfect position for me. And I'm finding that to be true as I get more experience in the fashion industry. And I'm working alongside people who are very passionate and very good at what they do. I think at the end of the day, even though I feel a little nervous and scared, I remember the thought, being comfortable with the uncomfortable. And my manager, yesterday, I had to present a post by recap to our production team with all of our changes from our final buy. And she had told me that I was presenting only a minute before the meeting. We're all hopping on and I was totally thinking she's going to present I'm good.

 Yousol: I'm relaxed. I'll just listen.

 Danielle: I know. I mean, that's what I was anticipating. I was thinking, this is easy peasy. I log on in this meeting, my supervisor will talk and then she pings me and she's goes, Hey, can you present this and I was thinking, you want me to present with no preparation? I am the preparation girl. So the same comment as earlier, is being uncomfortable with the uncomfortable and just saying yes, even though you're uncomfortable, because at the end of the day, at least you tried. If you make mistakes, at least you'll know for next time. And if you don't try, you will stay in the passenger seat. So in order to really move up, you have to be able to put yourself out there. So yeah, I presented. Even though it made me very, very nervous to present, just being able to take the ball and run with it, and run with those nerves, no matter how scary it may be, was rewarding. Because that's where you'll get places at the end of the day.

 Yousol: Yes, that's very true. You have to go through tough moments. And that builds you into the character, and the expertise that you want. In order for those skills to be built, you have to make mistakes and try new things. And you have to persevere.

 Danielle: Exactly, girl. Exactly. You know.

 

13. Negotiating Terms after Job Offers 

Yousol: Okay, I could talk to you forever, honestly. But we've been talking for quite some time. So I just have a few last questions for you. So for entry level positions, I know that you've had one prior to this position. But were you because currently, I feel like on LinkedIn, they talk a lot about like salary negotiation, paid time off, vacation time, were you able to kind of explore in the negotiation process for this position?

 Danielle: For this position, it was a little bit of a different experience for me. Because I was interviewing with other companies, I knew what other companies were offering and could compare. What GUESS had offered was the best package for me. In terms of salary, paid time off, vacation sick, and like all the benefits that they had to offer. So I didn't really negotiate in that aspect. But I would have if I went with another company because I knew what GUESS had to offer. But a tip that I got from my family member who works in the Paralegal side of [company], told me, always try to negotiate because that just shows that you are willing to fight for what you want. So whether that means you want more work from home days, whether you want a little bit higher salary, whether you want a little bit more vacation hours, you have the skills necessary in order to get that position. Especially, if they want you, you should negotiate for a little bit more, because that shows that you will be able to ask for something when you want something. It shows initiative.

 Yousol: Yeah. Thank you. That's good to know. Because I do remember in our professional development class, our professor kind of was leaning towards the side of it's your entry level position. So don't negotiate. And then on the other side, I'm constantly being bombarded with the you should absolutely negotiate. So I was I wanted to clearly verify that for our students as well, because we might be confused of which route to take.

 Danielle: Yeah, exactly. And I think I definitely do agree with what my aunt had to say. Because it shows your personality that you're willing to at least fight for something that you want. Unless you feel like whatever they offer is, excels your basic expectations for the role. In my head, I had a desired salary that I wanted. I had a desired package that I wanted. And just in comparison from the other offers that I was juggling. It really exceeded that for me. And I was like, at this point, like for that position, I did not need to negotiate. So I chose not to but if you feel like a company is low balling you, negotiate, negotiate.

 

14. Ending Conversation 

Yousol: Okay, perfect. Thank you so much. Is there anything else you would like to share with us? Or if you have any questions for me?

 Danielle: Hmm. No, I think I'm good. I do have a question. Questions for you. Like, what are you interested in? And, what positions are you interested in post graduation?

 Yousol: I am personally interested in buying in the fashion industry too. Yes, so everything you talked about today was so applicable to me. So thank you. Thank you a lot. I'm currently an assistant buyer at tomato wedding. It's a little bit different. Because the industry buys in a different way. Yeah, it's a family business. So I've been working with my mom for about like four plus years now. So I do have a bit of experience in that arena. 

 Danielle: Gosh, yeah, I got you. Okay. So, literally just reach out to me because I, I have a lot of connections in the buying field. And I guess for students out there, maintain close relationships with your colleagues, because you never know where that connection may lead you. Like somebody in a year might hit you up and be like, oh, I remember this girl from college, she was interested in this. I think she'd be great for this position. So I'm going to refer her. So definitely, I think connections in the industry can benefit you. So just let me know and I have connections I can refer you to. I'd be happy to send your information anywhere. So it was great talking with you today. I'm happy that you’re interested in buying. If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know.

 Yousol: Thank you so much. Thanks for your offer. And like I really enjoyed this interview with you. So thank you.

 Danielle: Of course and good luck. I know it's your senior year, it was tough for me my senior year. I put 21 units on my last semester, because I did gosh, it's because I didn't want to have anything leftover for summer. And I I know that if you're taking more than 20 You have to like get it signed by like Dr. Sen. and I went up to him and I said I'm not I'm not staying during the summer so I need to stack on units. I need to be taking 21 units so please approve this and he did. So it was kind of a blessing in disguise that the pandemic happened for me because I was stressed. I think the program is great though. I learned a lot. So good luck to you. You will do great. But yeah, just shoot me a message on LinkedIn. Add me on Instagram. I always try to refer people when I can. So yes, let me know, girl.

 Yousol: Thank you. I'm looking for some New York positions. So if you ever have anyone reaching out to you about that, please.

 Danielle: Definitely oh my gosh, New York is the place to be especially in terms of luxury. I have a friend as a planner at [company] in New York. So awesome. Yeah, so I will keep you in mind.

 Yousol: Thank you. I really appreciate it.

 Danielle: Yeah, good luck with your senior year you will do great. I know it's so nerve racking. I was just in your position a few years ago. So, you will get there. Being confident is a key preparation. And you got to have a smile on your face when you're interviewing!

 Yousol: Thank you and I wish you- I already know you're going to be buyer very very soon. So, but good luck to you. Thank you.

 Danielle: I really appreciate it. It was a pleasure talking with you.

 Yousol: Yes, likewise. Stop Recording