Luke first met a Nordstrom recruiter at a CCC event during Spring Quarter of his junior year. He followed up with the recruiter, sent a cover letter and résumé, and within days was contacted by a manager in the men’s department to set up an interview.
“I knew the position was competitive,” he says. “But I felt I possessed strong interpersonal communication skills — and I could converse with anyone.”
On the basis of a 30-minute interview, Luke was offered the job the next day over the phone.
“Every day was different,” he says about his time working at Nordstrom. “I was able to take my competitive nature and use it to make sure I was selling enough. I was able to have friendly competition against co-workers to see who could have the best day selling and who could exemplify the best customer service.”
He also put into practice the skills he had learned in the CCC’s 2-credit “Internship and Career Strategies” class.
“I delivered several orders to on-the-go business people while interacting with multiple clients — and still remembered what I needed to grab for them in the stock rooms.”
After graduation, Luke hopes to work for a multinational corporation overseas. He’ll use the same quote that first encouraged him to step out of his comfort zone at CCC recruiting events. “Safe makes you good,” he says, “but chances make you great.”