When attending college, students are given a variety of tips from their professors, parents, and peers that are intended to help him or her succeed. One of the most valuable tips to know is the importance of networking. The phrase “it’s all about who you know” is no joke. In some industries, knowing someone can be the difference between being declined for even an interview to being offered a position the next day. Manager of the Hy-vee bakery in Lincoln, Nebraska, Godfrey Lim has experienced the struggles of working one’s way up the ladder of one’s career path. Although his educational background had him set for a different course, Godfrey is satisfied with his job as manager, and has been with the company for …show more content…
Hy-vee is a well-known company that employs hundreds of thousands of employees across the Midwest. It has stores in large cities such as Lincoln, Nebraska, as well as stores in smaller cities like Kearney. The store has done well over the years, as it continues to open stores across the region. Hy-vee faces competition from other large-scale groceries stores such as Walmart and Target. It also competes against smaller, more locally-owned stores such as Family Fresh in Kearney. Stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s offer a more specialized selection, and also compete with Hy-vee for revenue. Hy-vee sets itself apart from its competitors with its organized and clean appearance, and staff that are trained to make the customer feel satisfied with their shopping experience. As a manager of the Hy-vee bakery, Godfrey spends a lot of time assisting bakers in producing the food that is to be packaged and sold in-store. He also spends time going over data sheets to determine what needs to be ordered and what products are the most profitable. He also writes the weekly schedule, and generally makes sure everything is running smoothly throughout the department. In a typical day, Godfrey comes to work at 5 AM to start working on what products are being made that day, though the actual bakery doesn’t open until 7 AM. Throughout most of the morning, Godfrey spends his …show more content…
One of the most important prerequisites to this is experience. Godfrey himself was with the company for six years before he was finally appointed to manager. During the years he proved himself as an employee, while learning everything there was to know about working in the bakery. Although a college degree isn’t a hard requirement toward obtaining this position, most of the managers at Hy-vee have a bachelor’s or associate’s degree of some kind. Those who are considering a career in management should take courses in business and management, along with courses that pertain to the industry of the company of which they are managing. Managers should also have good people skills, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. As with any career, a large part of the job is learning as you go along, which is important to remember when things aren’t going well. Godfrey’s path to management may have been different than others due to the nature of his education, but he has proved that a good work ethic and reliability can come a long way in your chosen career