Eddie Bauer is a sportswear company that sells clothing and other outdoors gear. They service their customers through retail stores, an online store, and telephone order fulfillment. They also partner with organizations such as the American Mountaineering Museum.
The founder, Eddie Bauer, originally started out repairing tennis rackets in 1920. After suffering hypothermia, Bauer invented a down jacket that worked so well that the US military ordered them for their high-altitude pilots. In 1945, the first Bauer mail-order catalogs went out.
There are more than 350 stores located across North America. They support ecological efforts such as Global ReLeaf by American Forests, and the “Leave No Trace” initiative. Their Neoteric Shell won “Gear of the Year” from Outside Magazine in 2014.
Full-time employees start accruing paid time off after 30 days, and are eligible for health insurance and 401K. All employees get perks such as employee discounts, which can be as much as 50%.
Once you’re hired in the retail store, they offer further training to help you advance. Hours are very flexible, although like all retail stores, you’ll have to work some holidays. Employees say they also like the spirit of teamwork there.
How Old Do You Have to be to Work At Eddie Bauer?
The Eddie Bauer stores require you to be at least 16 years old to apply. They do usually give preference to applicants with some experience, so not many of their employees are under 18.
Eddie Bauer Careers
There are many different types of careers available, such as in the retail stores, in their IT department, in the distribution center, at the call center, and in their international locations. Not all positions are available in each city.
Sales Associate: The Sales Guide/Associate engages the customer throughout the buying process; the sales floor, the fitting room, and ringing up the purchase at the cash wrap (register). They provide excellent customer service while achieving their sales goals.
Key Holder: The Key Holder literally holds the keys to the store. They are responsible for opening or closing the store, depending on their shift. They also ensure that proper policies are followed when the manager or supervisor is unavailable.
Assistant Store Manager: The Assistant Store Manager works in partnership with the Store Manager in developing an excellent sales team, providing ‘legendary’ customer service. Through training and incentives, they help the team reach their individual and the store sales goals.
Data Entry Clerk: This is an office job where you will be working on a computer most of the time. You must be both fast and accurate. You’ll be working with company information that must remain confidential. If so, you may be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Merchandise Processor: The merchandise processor works in the distribution warehouse. Their duties include, but are not limited to, picking items from the shelves, packing & shipping orders, product returns, backstock, and quality assurance (QA).
Merchandiser: Merchandisers work at the corporate level. They are responsible for setting prices, and planning promotions and markdowns (sales) as required. They also supervise delivery and distribution; and negotiate with and order from suppliers.
Equipment Operator: The Equipment Operator position requires a driver’s license, because you will be trained on operating a forklift. Other duties include loading/unloading the conveyor belt, loading cartons into backstock, and tracking individual orders for the stores.
Custodian: The custodian (janitor) is not only in charge of cleaning the building, but will also perform tasks such as reconfiguring a room (furniture, cubicles, etc), setting up for events, and shoveling snow in the locations where that is needed.
Operations Manager: The Operations Manager is employed in the distribution warehouses. They are responsible for product flow, employee safety, productivity, shipment accuracy, quality, and inventory/ stock control. They also make daily staff adjustments depending on need.
Web Designer: The Web Designer creates various media for all different device/web types; desktop, mobile, apps, email, and print marketing materials. They collaborate with marketing, engineering and UX design for the smoothest customer experience possible.
Eddie Bauer Application
You can create your online profile/resume on the website several ways; you can connect with your LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+ account to auto-fill some info, if you have one of those accounts. If not, the website gives you the option to enter all the information yourself.
All applications are completed online. From the Career page, you enter your search parameters for the keywords, positions and locations that you are interested in working at.
If you’ve never applied to Eddie Bauer before, you’ll create a profile, and then you can start applying to jobs. Make sure when you start that you have plenty of time to concentrate on the process without distractions.
If you already have all of your resume information entered on your LinkedIn profile, then creating your application profile should be a breeze. Then, you can search through the listings and start sending it to hiring managers.
The most frequently asked interview question is “Why do you want to work at Eddie Bauer?” Some managers will ask about specific instances where you went above and beyond for a customer. Check out their website to see what the company is all about, and pick some things that you like about it.
Facts About Eddie Bauer
Eddie Bauer is all about “Live Your Adventure”, and they bring that into the store environment as well. As a company they’re dedicated to making sure the outdoors stays as beautiful and pristine for future generations to enjoy as well.
Eddie Bauer clothing has been an important part of many mountain ascents and scientific expeditions, including the climb where Jim Whittaker became the first American to reach the top of Mount Everest.
The company is known for its great products and fun atmosphere. Starting in the early 2000’s some of the corporate executives formed the First Ascent team to test out some of their newer products themselves.
In addition to serving the local communities, Eddie Bauer volunteers and sponsors travel associations, documentary film festivals, the Vail Valley Foundation non-profit, and the GoPro Mountain Games.