Pros
The people are a major part of why I chose to work for Nordstrom. I always loved shopping there, mainly because of the excellent customer service I always received at each Nordstrom store. There are many opportunities to grow within the company; the Nordstrom brothers believe strongly in promoting from within, meaning that, whenever possible, they will promote their own people before bringing in an outside candidate for a job. Senior management, no matter how high up they are within the company, treats all employees with respect and courtesy, no matter how new they are to the company. I feel like this is incredibly important; this doesn't happen within many companies. I especially appreciate that the Nordstrom brothers make a point to visit the stores on a frequent basis and talk with the salespeople to find out how things are going in the departments.
Cons
While the health insurance is relatively inexpensive, the copays are obscene, both for prescriptions and office visits. When one is in management, one doesn't get paid very well for the amount of work one does. I work 10-12 hours a day, and I don't get paid nearly enough to compensate for all of the work that I do. Also, Nordstrom believes fully in hiring people who haven't had any education, and while that can be good, it's also very frustrating, because I work with some pretty idiotic people and I know that I could do their jobs about eight million times better than they do.