By George Anderson
Books-A-Million Inc. credits its rise to become the nation's third largest bookseller to its workforce of overqualified employees.
While many retailers are hiring so-called unskilled labor to fill job openings, Books-A-Million attracts and hires workers with degrees and business experience often held by executives at other concerns.
Tom Sherk, director of personnel for Books-A-Million Inc., said the company is able to attract applicants with better skill sets because of their love for books. While many come thinking of the job as temporary, many stay when they discover they love the work and that the company's rapid growth offers opportunities to move up.
"We hear consistently from our employees that they enjoy working with the excellent product, they love giving great customer service, but it's the atmosphere - the ability to spend every minute of every working day surrounded by books - that brought them in the door," he told the Birmingham Business Journal.
According to Mr. Sherk, Books-A-Million routinely hires people others pass up for being overqualified.
Moderator's Comment: Is Books-A-Million unique in retail for its ability to attract "overqualified" job applicants? Are there lessons for other retailers from Books-A-Million's experience?
When I researched Trader Joe's from the inside a couple of years ago as a part-time crew member, the store's manager and assistant manager (captain and first mate in Trader Joe's jargon) knew my professional experience and immediately began giving me in-store assignments to take advantage of my strengths. They also, almost immediately, began talking to me about a full-time career with the retailer and a career plan to get to a store manager or a corporate position in as short a time as possible.
When they hired me, they knew what I really did for a living but took the chance that I would love it enough to stay. They weren't far from being right. - George Anderson - Moderator