Pros
See below for my full thoughts
Cons
I applied to Macy's Herald Square (34th St, NYC) one day and had an interview the next. As I was unemployed for months and I needed money, I accepted the seasonal position they offered. The interview process was pretty short, and I was offered $10.25 an hour for a full-time job. As I needed money, I accepted it knowing that I could look for work in my free time. The questions were really basic, things that would be asked at any retail job, but I don't remember the specifics. The training process takes two days, and it's unspeakably boring. You watch a bunch of videos on the internet about exciting things such as "Asbestos Awareness Training." During that time, you're treated like a grade school student who needs to be supervised. Use your phone discreetly under your desk and just get through it. When I started working, I was given a schedule from 8-5, five days a week. If this sounds like a good deal, you have to remember that it's a labor job at a nine-story Macy's that takes up half its block. If I had this job at say, a mall in Jersey (where I grew up) it'd be different. As far as Herald Square goes, do NOT accept the contract job. For one, you do not get flexible hours. You get eight hours pay (one for break), and the taxes are bigger than average for retail ($63 out of my $336 paycheck; the more hours you work, the more taxes you pay). But worst of all, the job just wasn't attainable for full-time. I couldn't make it in at 8AM because of how sore my body was; it became harder to sleep and get up early as a result. More than that, the backrooms, employee lounges et al. are very dirty and poorly kept in general. Mine is by a Just Salad backroom, which smells like rotten food on a daily basis. There's a quiet lounge on the ninth floor, but there are no lights or heating. Also, my bag was stolen from the locker room because it didn't have a lock on it. When I filed a police report, they told me that there are a lot of theft reports at that Macy's. They hire without background checks, so don't trust your belongings to be safe at any time.
