I have had a total of 33 jobs in 17 years. I am a professional singer and actor. Did I plan on having 33 jobs in 17 years? Of course not, but life has been a crazy wild ride. There were no drugs, very little alcohol, but WORK has been my drug of choice!
I have worked at least 3 jobs or more simultaneously in addition to performing over the years. Each week, I will discuss one of my former or current jobs. My nineteenth job was Crew Member at Trader Joe’s at 72nd Street in Manhattan and later Court Street in Brooklyn.
Getting the Job
I went to Traders Joe’s on 72nd Street, filled out a paper application and did a short preliminary interview. Since I was going to AMDA at the time, it made more sense to apply to the 72nd Street location. The 72nd Street Trader Joe’s was massive in size and was extremely busy most of the time. I could just walk there from AMDA after classes were finished. Once I had a formal interview and was hired, I gave two weeks notice to the Disney Store in Times Square.
TJs Experience
I began working at Trader Joe’s in February 2017. In TJs training, I was still using my Disney Store energy. My Trader Joe’s trainer told me that I could tone it down a little bit, lol. Working at Trader Joe’s was a pleasant experience for the most part. I loved my co-workers and most of my mates (Trader Joe’s Managers). There were different assignments every hour or every couple of hours throughout your shift. The shift went by so much faster when you were not doing the same thing the entire shift.
Transfer Decision
The commute from 72nd street was wearing me out. It was convenient to get to work from AMDA, but once I stopped going to AMDA that commute was too long. My shifts were either 4pm until midnight or 5pm until 1am. I would not get home until 2 or 3 in the morning. NYC trains run 24/7. It is challenging to take the trains after 11pm on weeknights and on weekends.
Some trains are not running at all and most trains are running every 20 minutes instead of every 5-7 minutes. I transferred to Court Street in Brooklyn in December 2017 and it was an adjustment. There were times when I wished I had stayed at 72nd Street because other than the commute, I was more content at 72nd Street.
72nd vs. Court Street
The break room and the locker room was much larger at Court Street and the employees had a separate bathroom, which was nice. The 72nd Street sales floor was much larger in size so it did not feel as crowded as Court Street. The elevators at 72nd Street were used for guests because there were multiple floors for guests.
However, at Court Street the elevators were in the back for the crew members to use to stock the products. The products were stored in the basement, which was cumbersome. Everytime I needed to stock product or if a guest needed a product that was not on the shelf, I had to go the basement. When I closed the store at Court Street, I had to help break the pallets of product.
During closing at 72nd Street, I stocked the shelves with product, but I never had to break the pallets before. The pallets were already broken by the time I got to stock the shelves at 72nd Street. Also, I thought the management was a bit more clear with instructions and organization at 72nd Street.
Quitting
I worked at Trader Joe’s for two and a half years. I thought I would enjoy writing an order for the store, so I began writing the order for the cookies and candy section. My first Court Street Captain (general manager) was amazing, but he was transferred to the 14th Street location. The mate (manager) that took over as captain was subpar at best. He was not as strong of a leader. Lastly, I was burntout from working at Trader Joe’s by this point, so I quit in July of 2019.
https://www.traderjoes.com/home
https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-obtain-33-jobs-in-17-years-17/