Pros
Coming right out of college the pay was excellent; it was a lot for someone of my age. The bonus was very good too. I received benefits the day I started. Walmart is looking a lot to people from outside the company to get different views on how to run the business. Depending on your manager you get a lot of leeway in running the business provided you deliver on the P&L. It is a very people oriented business and you get to meet and work with all kinds of people. The satisfaction from effectively merchandising new items, making sales goals and helping customers is immense. Often you perform community outreach programs or the stores are given a chance to donate money/merchandise to a charity that the associates get to vote on. There are a lot of policies but for the most part they are very transparent as is the process for getting a raise, promotion, etc. Store Managers for the most part are a good group but there will always be ones who are difficult to work with. Even though the company is looking for outsiders to come into the company and provide a fresh perspective, roughly half of all the new managers come from the hourly associates. Its a great opportunity if you did not or cannot go to college. There are Market Managers and people all throughout corporate that never went to college and made it into management in only 4 or 5 years.
Cons
The biggest con would have to be this: if you have a college degree continue looking somewhere else. At first the salary was good but when I started to see my peers get jobs at a similar or higher pay level, with better hours, I started to feel I could do better. Its generally understood that hours in retail are not good and this job is no exception. I used to work 4 days in a row, have a day off, then work another 3 days in a row. Often I found myself working 70 hours a week. Currently Assistant Managers work 12.5 or 12 hours a day (depending on size of the store), in either a 3 on 3 off format or a 4 on 4 off format for 3rd shift managers. The new system is much improved but it will still burn you out quick. It all goes out the window from November 1st to about January 10th. In addition sometimes you'll have your store manager call you on your day off to come in because someone else is sick. It is hit and miss with your Store Manager: even the best performing associates have problems because they are not good at "office politics". Some managers will have your back, others wont. While the process for promotion is clear cut, it often times falls prey to favoritism and politics. A manager I knew had 12 years with the company but was passed over for a promotion several times by younger guys, most of whom are already now Store Managers. It was mostly an issue of the Market Manager picking his favorites. As a manager there is also an "unwritten rule" that while some rules aren't as strict (attendance for example), there are others in which your fate is in the hands of the manager. There are managers who have stayed on third shift 3 or 4 months longer than is required because the Store manager either didn't want to move them or took their time completing the paperwork. Finally as a Manager there are several things you do in a day that can get you terminated. When it comes to Hazmat/Hazwaste handling, if you mess up the paperwork you can be immediately terminated. If you incorrectly perform an interview, or HR feels you have "preselected" someone you can be immediately terminated. This creates a situation where many managers simply wait or don't even perform a task for fear of getting the attention of AP or HR.
