A relationship thread with a difference

Does life not seem a bit empty? Personally I'd much rather spend time with my fiancée rather than work. Maybe you just haven't met the right girl yet :)
 
Hey mate,

Glad your enjoying work. And tbh I think most realised you wouldn't have any trouble on the lady front :p

KaHn
 
Jotun said:
:eek: That would be a cracking position to be in, best of luck with that :)

Mind if I ask what career route you took? I'm hoping to graduate from uni just as I turn 23 or 24, and would be looking at a job starting around £20k-25k or so, and to be honest I couldn't see myself being on that much in my chosen career (engineering).
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For me it was a bit of luck combined with a lot of hard work. I spent one year working at Debenhams as a Sales Manager, from there i jumped ship to Tesco straight into a senior management position as a Non-Food trading manager. Within three months the Store deputy had a baby and I got given her position while she was away. I did such a good job that I was kept on and they moved her to another store when she returned.

Graduate starting pay in a management role is around 22-25k. Within a year you can jump to senior team level starting at around 35k now. Deputies earn another 10k on top of that. Then when you get to store manager level is when the big money comes in to play. Starting at between 70-80k basic pay with the opportunity to literally double that in bonuses. My mother who is a Tesco store manager took home 160k last year if you include her bonuses. She was the one who alerted me to the vacancy in the first place. Though obviously she had nothing to do with me getting the job, she just made me aware that they were looking for external candidates.

Of course if you're extremely ruthless company hopping is the fastest way to the top. One of our SD's (only 34) just jumped from Tesco to Asda as an OD and is now on half a million a year :o

My direct boss is only 27 and is currently out of my store running this guys region while they find his replacement. That kind of shows you how quickly things change and you can progress. It's given me a nice change to show what I can do as a store manager though. :)

The reverse happens frequently also. Last year we took on an SD (regional director) from Asda, he nearly doubled his already ridiculous salary in the process.
 
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The thing is for you it's easy to gain lots of women :p

However good on you for living the life you want and not getting lost on maybe less important details. :) Sometimes you have to make decisions, and you're obviously happier so it was the right thing to do. Just because you're with someone for 5 years doesn't mean it's right. It's always a shame, but at least you're looking at it with positivity.
 
Freefaller said:
The thing is for you it's easy to gain lots of women :p

However good on you for living the life you want and not getting lost on maybe less important details. :) Sometimes you have to make decisions, and you're obviously happier so it was the right thing to do. Just because you're with someone for 5 years doesn't mean it's right. It's always a shame, but at least you're looking at it with positivity.
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Thanks mate. I mean, of course I am disapointed that it didn't work out with Lisa. I loved her, I truly did. But it just wasn't right. We probably should have ended it after 4 years. That last year just showed me that we both wanted very different things in life. Well different things at different times.

She wanted marriage and children... like now. I wanted to build up my career first and look at children when I'm in my early 30's.

Regardless, I know it was the right decision for me. It also gives me the freedom to move over to California and join Tesco's international operations should I wish. It's a route I am seriously considering once I have made Store manager. :)
 
jamief said:
Maybe you just haven't met the right girl yet :)
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Nail...hit...head.

However, had she been the right girl she would have not tried to change me and hamper my ambition. I would hope that the "right" girl would be able to accept me for who I am. Lord knows I made enough major life changing compromises for her over the 5 years we were together. My ambition however was not something I was willing to drop.
 
GordyR said:
Nail...hit...head.

However, had she been the right girl she would have not tried to change me and hamper my ambition. I would hope that the "right" girl would be able to accept me for who I am. Lord knows I made enough major life changing compromises for her over the 5 years we were together. My ambition however was not something I was willing to drop.
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Good lad - I almost left Liverpool last summer in relation to my career and ended up splitting up with somebody. Hate it at the time but with the gift of hindsight it was probably the best for me. New starts and all that.

Don't need to say this to the OP by the sounds of it but to to extend what you said in your original post it's all about keeping ya chin up etc etc etc etc.....
 
cleanbluesky said:
So it's true that a career at Tesco is the promised land. Is lunch for wimps, or do you grab some Tesco sandwiches?
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Lol cbs... Well it's certainly not the promised land. :p

It's extremely pressured and competitive beyond belief. It's a marmite career. People either absolutely adore it and the stress/pressure that comes with it. Or despise it beyond belief.

To get on you have to be prepared to make it your number one priority in life. It's a ruthless business. But also very rewarding for the willing.

I'm on holiday this week but to give you an example of last week... I worked 80 hours. I did six days last week with the shortest day being 12 hours. I had a visit on Friday from David Potts, he was coming to sign off one of the trials we are on for company wide rollout. Making sure we were in the right place required going above and beyond.

Though I felt very proud when I was walking around with him and three operations Directors. We had achieved an incredible standard.
 
Ambition is all well and good, just be careful what you dismiss for the sake of a career.

When you look back on your life do you really think working 12 hour days for the sake of money is better than quality time with people you love?

I'm very similar to you in that I want to achieve, but I do wonder sometimes if the level to which some people become obsessed is really worth it.
 
Wardie said:
Ambition is all well and good, just be careful what you dismiss for the sake of a career.

When you look back on your life do you really think working 12 hour days for the sake of money is better than quality time with people you love?

I'm very similar to you in that I want to achieve, but I do wonder sometimes if the level to which some people become obsessed is really worth it.
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Have you seen Click ?
 
GordyR said:
Lol cbs... Well it's certainly not the promised land. :p

It's extremely pressured and competitive beyond belief. It's a marmite career. People either absolutely adore it and the stress/pressure that comes with it. Or despise it beyond belief.

To get on you have to be prepared to make it your number one priority in life. It's a ruthless business. But also very rewarding for the willing.

I'm on holiday this week but to give you an example of last week... I worked 80 hours. I did six days last week with the shortest day being 12 hours. I had a visit on Friday from David Potts, he was coming to sign off one of the trials we are on for company wide rollout. Making sure we were in the right place required going above and beyond.

Though I felt very proud when I was walking around with him and three operations Directors. We had achieved an incredible standard.
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Wow, you've really drunk the company kool-aid haven't you? ;) Fair enough if you're enjoying it though. They don't expect 80 hours per week all the way to the top do they?
 
bam0 said:
They don't expect 80 hours per week all the way to the top do they?
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Certainly not... and believe me an 80 hour week is not the norm. There was a lot riding on this particular visit and a lot in it for me if it went well. It was a career changing moment and I knew it. I'm in charge of the store at the moment so I needed to show what I could do. And I did what it took.
 
80hrs/week is mind-boggling, but a good friend of mine used to be a Duty Manager for Sainsburys and he quit as he said it just wasnt worth the hassle and stress.

I just didnt realise that Tesco store managers make 6-figure sums.

I remember, when I used to work for Sainsburys in my University days, the store manager used to get around £60kpa, while the duty managers were on about £35kpa. I'm not sure how much they made in bonuses though.

One thing Ive also realised is that the way Sainsburys treat their employees is terrible. They treat them like kids, only they try and get as much out of them as possible. There is no duty of care shown, eg. if you are ill and can barely make it out of bed, they might tell you to take some painkillers and come in to work or else you wont get paid. There is a serious lack of respect and this comes down right from the top. I'm not sure if Tesco operate in the same way.

I admire your dedication GordyR, though I'm not saying what you are doing is good/bad as each person has to decide for themselves.
 
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