Gaining a variety of work experience

Has your family ever ordered groceries online from Walmart? They may have dealt with Amanda Johnston who has been working as an online grocery shopper for nearly five months. “The premise of the job is you go and shop for people’s groceries, put it in a location for the customer to, and then go and get their groceries later at a certain destined time,” she said.

The position can be challenging because Johnston is continually learning where everything goes. “It’s hard trying to shop for someone in a timely manner when you don’t know where anything is,” she said. “There’s a certain time limit for things when you are shopping for people, the other slightly difficult part is when it gets super busy and everyone wants to go a certain place but there isn’t enough room for everyone in the slightly small spot we work in.”

While this is a relatively new job for Johnston, it is not her first job. In the past, she has volunteered at the library, working with kids and teens, but gaining a variety of experiences can only be beneficial for this future video game producer.

Currently Johnston works to help her balance her stress load and to provide a different viewpoint than her own. Working also lets her see from a different perspective than her own.

“The people I work with are very kind and respectful,” she said. “They also help me in the job that we all collectively do.” She likes that her coworkers are understanding and respectful. “When I ask them a genuine question, they answer it to the best ability they can, and do not hold back information that could help me,” said Johnston.

It is not just her coworkers who help make her life at Walmart easier. Her boss is actually very helpful. “He can be sarcastic at times which is what some people might need, but in a place of urgency, he is there to help and aid people the best he can.”

With the help of her boss and her coworkers, Johnston does well helping customers and dispensing a person’s groceries. “I think I am a good employee because I follow the directions given to me as best as I can, and ask questions when needed,” she said. Johnston would like to encourage others who are considering working at Walmart or anywhere else. “Your digital footprint is a thing, so watch what you put out on the internet because it can be used against you when jobs do background checks,” she said. “Getting a new job can be scary but there are millions of people who have had a new job just like you, so you aren’t alone in the feeling of being anxious at a place you haven’t been to for a while.”

Johnston earns $17 an hour and works between 9 and 15 hours a week. When she’s not working she’s in the theater program at school, working on the behind-the-scenes demands of theatre crew.