Job advice needed by KingNoob

[kingnebwsu]

(Beware the long post...)

I come to my fellow FOFC'ers to seek advice on my job situation. First some background...I currently work for Blockbuster as a store manager. I have been with the company for 6 years total, 1 of those as a store manager. I recently got promoted from a low-volume store to a much busier store that's in need of a tune-up. I kicked ass at my last store and they thought I did well, so this is definitely a move up. I also got a 7% pay bump when I switched stores (I just started week #2 in the new store).

Anyway, my girlfriend (who works at a different Blockbuster) talked with a store manager from Gamestop tonight for like 30 minutes about the job prospects there. He said they were very good and that the company was looking for managers in this area. He's not able to hire for store managers, but he apparently has the ear of the district manager, and can influence hiring. I got his name and the store he runs. He said I should take a resume there ASAP. As soon as my girlfriend called and told me what happened, I was like "holy shit."

Then my brain kicked into overdrive. I've been thinking about it nonstop for the last 8 hours. It sounds really exciting to me, as I've always wanted to work in a game store. I know this is a secondhand conversation, but I think I'm a great manager and (if I really wanted to) I could get a job anywhere in retail. My favorite part of working at BB is working with the game section. I love talking about games because I'm such a game nerd (glasses). I think something like this would be right up my alley.

I've been weighing the pros and cons and I think this is something I might go for. I mean, I should at least put in my resume and see what happens. The weird thing is that I've never worked anywhere except Blockbuster. I've been promoted from a Cust. Service Rep. to an Asst. Mgr. to a Store Manager...and now to the SM of another store. I have zero experience in pursuing a job, and I don't know exactly how to play it (how often to follow-up call, how to negotiate the $ if it gets that far, etc.).

Some of the big cons against staying at BB are things like: I don't get paid as much as store managers hired externally, the frustration with starting over at another store (I know it was a move, but starting all over after I had the last store almost perfect is real tough).

The thing that bugs me the most is my boss (the district mgr.). He hasn't called or stopped by my new store since I took it over last week. No "how are things going out there?" or "is there anything I can do to help you?". Nothing. It pisses me off. This current behavior is a follow-up to what happened before to my car and then what subsequently happened at my job a week later.

When I told him about being threatened over the phone he just shrugged it off and said "we pay taxes, just call the police to watch you when you leave." I was thinking "no shit sherlock, what is Blockbuster/you gonna do about it?" I tried to bring it up again later that day and he just said "call the cops." It's like, my car was destroyed AND I was threatened because of where I work, and he didn't even FUCKING CARE!!! Maybe I'll beat up his car, call up and say "I got your car!" and see how he feels. Seriously. I know there's not much he could have done, except give a rat's ass and maybe let the Human Resources person know that I've been threatened. Like I wanna get fucking hurt because of Blockbuster Video...but I digress.

The anger there is one of the things making me seriously consider another job. Just looking for some feedback on how to play the whole resume thing. I'll probably turn it in this week or next week and just see what happens. Getting a new job is scary to me, since I've never worked anywhere else. I think I'd do fine in just about any retail environment. I honestly don't like movies that much, but I love games. (Shrug).

Longest. Post. Ever. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'll post my resume (wish I could accent the e) as soon as I get it done. Never made a resume before

[ice4277]

I don't think it would hurt to at least look into Gamestop. If games are your thing, why not go for it? I've never worked in a smaller retail store like Blockbuster or Gamestop, but I do have a decent amount of retail experience, and I would tend to think that your qualifications would give you a pretty decent shot if they had an opening. Good luck.

[Peregrine]

Sounds like you should give it a shot. I think since your resume shows a strong promotion path and experience as a store manager, that's really what they'll be looking for. You'll probably want to have some references ready though, in case they ask for them. I'm sure you can find a lot of resume advice online, there may be different ways to do them for retail jobs. Usually I try to keep mine short and to the point, but be sure to put some of your goals and what you would like to do as a manager (improve efficiency, educate the customer about games, etc) in there, it seems like that can't hurt.

[Blackadar]

Isn't Gamestop merging with EB? If so, I'd be *VERY* nervous about taking that job.

[Chas in Cinti]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

Isn't Gamestop merging with EB? If so, I'd be *VERY* nervous about taking that job.

That was my initial thought as well....

-Chas

[Flasch186]

get out of Blockbuster...everyone who is a lifer there ends up behind the salary curve big time. I would look into getting a managerial job anywhere else outside of the chains. JMO...i workd there for 5 years too, and made more money waiting tables in 2 years than i did in all of the 5 there. get your real estate license...it cant hurt.

[Samdari]

You are agonizing over a decision that you don't know you need to make. Should I stay - should I go, I don't know.

What you need to do now requires no decision whatsoever. Someone wants to talk, so you talk. It never hurts to talk (unless you are out with your buddies, she is really hot, and your wife/gf hears about it).

[Ragone]

I'm pretty sure Gamestop bought out eb games.. not a merge persay..

I know we have like 6 gamestop/eb's.. and every eb i've went to has said they are closed and inventory is being split out to the gamestops..

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Ragone

I'm pretty sure Gamestop bought out eb games.. not a merge persay..

I know we have like 6 gamestop/eb's.. and every eb i've went to has said they are closed and inventory is being split out to the gamestops..

True, but I would EXTREMELY cautious about accepting a job where you may have a "musical chairs" scenario in the short term future of the organization. You never know how those things are decided - who has "connections", tenure, performance, which side of the house you're on, so on and so forth.

[Ragone]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

True, but I would EXTREMELY cautious about accepting a job where you may have a "musical chairs" scenario in the short term future of the organization. You never know how those things are decided - who has "connections", tenure, performance, which side of the house you're on, so on and so forth.

Oh i agree totally.. I'd be alot more leary if they were going to assign him to a eb games right away..

[kingnebwsu]

Nothing is happening with the merger until '06. Apparently (from what he said) the Gamestop guys' jobs are more protected than the EB guys. He also said that when Gstop took over Funcoland, that 80% of employees quit. Not fired, but quit. Dunno how much I believe that number, but it's interesting nonetheless.

I'm in a tough spot, because I'm moving this weekend, but I really wanna put together my resume. I guess I'll try and make it out there next week. I'll keep you guys posted

[dawgfan]

There's no harm in investigating the other job. If and when that leads to an offer, that's the point at which you are faced with a decision. If you do get to that point, keep this in mind - while staying 6 years with Blockbuster is an admirable quality in terms of showing your job stability and loyalty, in some ways it could also end up hurting you in the long run. It's OK to switch companies periodically, and it's the best way to increase your pay.

[hollmt]

my two cents since i manage a GameStop store.

GameStop bought EB, but for professional reasons it was called a merger. im sorry, but GameStop spent 1.4 billion of their money...we bought them.

heres the thing though. EB employees from what ive heard dont like the idea of the "merger" because they fear for their jobs which in reality is bullshit. Stores that compete for the same market will be looked at on an individual basis and the staffs of both stores will be looked at in a combined effort from upper management. nothing is set in stone for ANY employee of either company however, store management will most likely be "safe" or have the ability to relocate if they can. overall id have to say that GameStop employees and management have the upper hand but again, nothing is set in stone.

king: i left a big box retail store to go work for GameStop and have been a store manager now for 16 months and i love it. there are many opportunities for growth and in fact i have an interview for area management at the end of this summer when the promotion rounds come up. BUT, with all the stuff going on with the combining of the 2 companies it could be hard to step into management at this given time, because honestly, like ive said before, nothing is set in stone. in my market, they were opening up 4 more stores before the merger happened in mid april. 2 of those stores were cancelled, one is pushed back until end of july and the other is opening up next week, but was planned to open 2 weeks ago. at the new year EB will be chaning their name to GameStop and the company will have around 4000 stores or more. The companies will be combining business practices, employees, etc. etc.

i do think, from rumors that Gamestop does pay much better than BB does. i run the 2nd highest volume store in my District of 17 stores ( and am only 6k behind #1 YTD) and am paid accordingly.

if youd like to know a few more details id be happy to share if you want to know them.

bottom line, the company is growing and making money. we have branced off now and are opening MovieStops across the country and those are taking off well. the MovieStops are more into competing with SunCoast not rental stores. i met the DM in your area...actually played foosball with him last september at our managers conference. good luck.

[kingnebwsu]

Thanks for the info hollmt. I sent you a PM with some further questions

[kingnebwsu]

Or not, apparently you've disabled PM's. Oh well (shrug), let me know if you open that option back up cuz I have some follow-up questions

[hollmt]

i pmd you king. in my options page i have the enable pm box checked. dont know what the problem is.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by kingnebwsu

My favorite part of working at BB is working with the game section. I love talking about games because I'm such a game nerd (glasses). I think something like this would be right up my alley.

I don't think you really need an answer to this. You've already figured it out for yourself.

Don't be scared, just do it as long as the money is right. When you go for the interview, be enthusiastic (without coming across as being weird). They'll eat it up, and you'll get the job.

Follow up on your resume. Get the DM's number if you can. Don't wait for them to call you, call them.

You have nothing to lose. You can accept or decline the job, it's your decision. Even if they don't hire you, you can always go back to the job that you currently hate.

[kingnebwsu]

PM'd ya back dude

It's weird to think that I currently hate my job, because I don't think I do. But maybe I'm just in denial (shrug). After hearing about this other opportunity, I didn't wanna work my other job on Tuesday&Wednesday. Wild stuff.

We'll see what shakes down. But for now, I gotta get to moving!!!