I help organize merchandise samples with every season for Gap and I am a liaison between many different functions including - marketing, online and visual merchandising. It's really interesting to see the product from its conception to when it is placed in the stores. I also research trends for the market and our target customers.

EDUCATION | I have Bachelors of Arts from University of Wisconsin, Madison. I majored in International Studies.

HOW TO GET STARTED | My advice to anyone wanting to get into merchandising is to read "Women's Wear Daily" in order to keep abreast of trends in the market. Also read about what companies are doing well and why. It's important to understand competitors and it's extremely important to have your own, unique sense of style.

MUST HAVE TRAITS | To work in merchandising you have to be passionate, analytical, understanding of style and trends, creative, and someone who can work well in a fast paced environment.

how I got started | I decided to make a career switch from education because I realized that fashion and clothing were my passions. I talked to people in the retail business and realized it was something I wanted to pursue. I found out about an open position at GAP through a friend of mine, applied and got the job.

why this job?| Fashion is one of the only ways that you can express yourself. It allows you to show who you are in a creative and unique way and can make you stand out among others. Working in retail allows you to be behind the scenes, which I love. I get to see the creative minds who design the clothes and the analytical side where we decide what clothes will do well in stores, so it's both creative and analytical.

why I love this job!| I love the passionate, vibrant, fun, and inspiring people who I work with. I look up to them as leaders and mentors. I also really enjoy getting to see what's behind the scenes and the decision making that goes into creating a line and picking clothes that will be successful. One of the things I love the most is the creativity of working with designers and fabrics and getting to be hands on with the clothes.

my typical day| My job is extremely dynamic, so it changes weekly according to where we are in the product life cycle. Certain days we have to input promotions and that takes up a lot of my time. I order sampling with every season from vendors abroad and help to input promotional material and markdowns into the computer system. On a day to day, I learn about merchandising functions and the ins and outs of a retail business. Every day, I have to send out a daily report, which analyzes the companies' profitability. I have to rank products with weekly best sellers. I'm also always helping my merchants out with various tasks, which ranges from organizing, finding samples, to analyzing data and creating reports.

what they are | The work is very challenging and you have to learn how to handle stress well. It's a very fast paced and dynamic environment and I have to be able to keep strict deadlines, as everything is time sensitive.

all about growth | GAP inc. is a great place to work and there is a lot of opportunity for growth. It's possible to move throughout the company because it is so large. If someone decides to switch functions they have that opportunity. Or if they want to continue in the same function, they have myriad opportunities to shadow mentors in the company, and meet with them internally, in order to grow.

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