I’d just graduated from college and was managing my family’s restaurant. While looking for entry-level management programs, I stumbled across Uniqlo — the Japanese fashion retailer that was then just coming to the U.S.
Having worked in hospitality, I was familiar with the service industry. I knew how to deal with customers and was willing to do the grunt work — scrub floors and clean up after people — which is what retail management is. So, what employer wouldn’t want me? I was convinced my future was Uniqlo and only Uniqlo. A trip to Japan; a secure future as a leader in their organization; I could learn everything before setting up my own business. It was perfect.
I sailed through the initial interviews. As a chatty person, I stood out. They invited me back, and Uniqlo flew the COO out with a translator. In the interview, I was being myself — loud and talkative. My personality is very hard to hide. I was cracking jokes, and the translator couldn’t stop laughing. I thought: “I’m killing it.” I was so sure, I’d already started learning Japanese.
But the COO wasn’t happy with me at all. In retail, they’re looking for order-takers. It’s very much a top-down organization, and women aren’t supposed to be aggressive or opinionated. This experience taught me that culture fit is important. You need to find the right career but also the right organization.
I realized that I don’t belong in an order-taking role. If you don’t want to take orders, you need to be in a customer-facing role — then your job is to win against external competition. That’s a good fit for someone who has a big personality, who doesn’t just want to do a job but wants to win and drive results. That personality type tends to do well in sales.
That’s why a recruiting agency decided I’d make a good recruiter. Recruiting is a sales job — you’re selling jobs to people and people to jobs. I shudder to think how different my life would be today if “plan A” had worked. Now, I’m the recruiter, and that’s a great fit.