Michaels has a wide variety of careers to choose from within its stores, distribution centers, and corporate offices. Like many retail stores, this company has its pros and cons and while it performs very well in certain aspects according to employees, it needs improvement in others.

Working at Michaels

Employees who have worked at Michaels give this retail chain high marks for providing a good work/life balance to its workers. However, when it comes to hourly pay, the opposite appears to be true.

Here are some of the pros and cons mentioned by Michaels employees:

Pros

• Team members don’t hesitate to help one another
• Customers are usually very pleasant
• Employees get a 30% discount
• Management is flexible with scheduling your work hours
• Entry-level workers are trained properly
• Associates have great opportunities to advance in the company
• The company shows they appreciate you
• The work environment is excellent and a lot of fun

Cons

• The starting hourly pay can be better
• Sometimes management doesn’t give you enough work hours during the week
• Some employees say many stores will only hire you part-time and it’s difficult to secure a full-time position 
• Your scheduled shifts can sometimes be unpredictable from week to week
• Many complaints about bad management

Michaels Store Careers

The common store jobs at Michaels are as follows:

• Sales associate 
• Cashier 
• Stocker 
• Framer 
• Framing manager 
• Support specialist 
• Customer experience manager 
• Assistant store manager 
• Store manager

Below you’ll find the descriptions as well as the requirements for each of these positions.

Michaels Sales Associate

Michaels hires sales associates to perform a wide variety of duties including working as a cashier and a stocker. In this position, you can expect to be a jack of all trades and you’ll learn your duties quickly from your training staff while on the job.

There are no minimum requirements for this position but having some type of customer service or retail experience is preferred.

Michaels Cashier

Some Michaels stores specifically hire associates for the cashier position. For this job, it’s preferable to have some experience working as a cashier but not necessary.

You will be constantly engaging with customers and helping them check out their merchandise. At times, you will be given the task of loading and unloading merchandise, and stocking these items on the shelves.

You can also expect to be cross-trained as a custom framer and you’ll have to be ready to accomplish any other unrelated task issued to you by your management team.

Michaels Stocker

Your primary goal here is to load and unload merchandise from arriving trucks and to properly stock the entire store with these products. You will be trained on visual merchandising so that your displays attract customers and help make sales.

You will also provide the absolute best customer service possible by helping them find the product you’re looking for and by giving them recommendations on which products to purchase.

This is an entry-level position but it’s preferable to have some type of retail experience in merchandising.

Michaels Framer

In this position, you’re going to be completing all the framing orders with the guidance of your framing manager. The supervisor will train you on the job so you can quickly learn all the technical aspects of this position and improve your skills with experience.

The minimum requirement for this position is that you are 18 years old with knowledge of basic computer skills. It is preferable to have some type of retail experience for this job as well.

Michaels Framing Manager

The framing manager at Michaels has the responsibility of leading and coaching his team to build customer relationships in the framing department. Even though this is an hourly position, you will be acting as a supervisor for your team members.

Therefore, you’ll assist your store manager in interviewing and hiring personnel for your department. Additionally, you will be the one responsible to coach and train your new team members.

There are many other responsibilities associated with this position, including leading your team members in loading and unloading delivery trucks.

For this job you have to be 18 years old, possess basic computer skills, and it is preferable if you have some type of custom framing experience.

Other store positions:

Support Specialist

The support specialist at every Michaels manages all office work which includes cash reconciliation. With this job, you will be supporting your management staff and accurately stocking products within the store.

You will also need to know how to work the cash register and perform other duties assigned to you at a moment’s notice by your management. This is a job where you will get to know all of your store’s team members, so it’s important to be personable and have a friendly attitude.

Customer Experience Manager

As a customer experience manager at Michaels, you will be at the front end of the store leading your cashiers and other team members to deliver excellence in customer service. Oftentimes, you’ll have to take one of your sales associates aside to coach them and help them improve their skills.

At the same time, you’ll have to shift gears and go into sales associate mode by helping customers find products they’re looking for as well as making recommendations on which products they can consider buying.

This is usually a job where you can get hired from within after working hard and proving you are talented and dependable to your management staff. You must be at least 18 years of age to get this position.

Michaels Assistant Store Manager

As an assistant store manager at Michaels, you’ll be directly supporting your store manager in delivering profitable results for your store. You’ll hit the ground running in this position by hiring, training, and evaluating store associates in order to achieve positive results.

You will also be in charge of evaluating your personnel and making recommendations for promotions. Also, you will be involved in coaching and training your team members whenever appropriate.

The store manager will call on you to help him or her schedule employee shifts and to directly supervise and assign the workloads for each employee. Oftentimes, you will assume the role of Manager on Duty.

You need to be 18 years old for this position and it’s preferable to have experience in retail management. Many sales associates and other entry-level workers progress rapidly through the system and they become excellent assistant managers.

Michaels Store Manager

The store manager at Michaels is completely responsible for everything associated with the store including:

• Adherence to standard operating procedures
• Maximizing profit for the store
• Communicating goals to team members
• Hiring and training personnel
• Recommending associates for advancement and promotions
• Ensuring associates are cross-trained throughout the store

The only requirement for this position is that you are 18 years of age and it is preferable to have retail management experience in a leadership capacity.

The ideal store manager candidate is an employee who has worked at Michaels and knows the operations inside and out. This is why many entry-level associates have progressed through the ranks within their stores and are eventually hired as store managers.

Hobby Lobby is a great alternative to working at Michaels and you can find more information here.

Distribution Center Positions

Michaels has several distribution centers located throughout the United States. Examples of Distribution and Manufacturing jobs available are:

• Warehouse clerk
• Material handler
• Facilities technician 
• Production operator 
• Clerical 
• Loss prevention associate 
• Production team member 
• Warehouse supervisor 
• Maintenance mechanic

How to Apply at Michaels

Michaels is one of those rare companies that accept applications in person. Therefore, it’s best to try this method before applying online for several reasons which include:

• Store personnel can see who you are in person instead of relying on information provided on the Internet
• You get a chance to personally introduce yourself to management
• You’re in a position to leave your contact information with a personnel member in the Hiring Department

You can fill out this Michaels PDF application to get the ball rolling.

If you prefer applying online, follow the steps:

1. Visit the official Michaels Careers website.
2. Read the main page to get yourself acquainted with the company, then click the “Search Jobs” button.
3. Enter your preference in the Job Category, Job Families, Location Country, Distance, and any other entries to help you find jobs in your area.
4. Scroll through the “Available Jobs” results, click on your desired position, and read the job description.
5. Once you are interested in a position, click the “Apply” button and you will be redirected to a page where you can create a free account and begin filling out your Michaels job application.

Michaels Hiring Process

The hiring process is usually done quickly. On average, it takes about one week to get hired from the moment you submit your Michaels application.

The interview process is said to be very simple and they will usually ask you questions having to do with:

• Why do you want to work at Michaels?
• What type of experience do you have?
• Which hours are you available to work?

Some employees say they were hired within the first 3 days after applying!

Michaels Hiring Age

The minimum age to get hired at Michaels is 16. However, there are many positions in the store that require you to be 18 years of age.

16 and 17-year-olds at this company normally work a part-time cashier or sales associate position.

Does Michaels drug test?

Employees overwhelmingly state there is absolutely no drug test as a condition of employment at Michaels.

However, this does not mean the company doesn’t reserve the right to conduct a drug test on you before you are hired. Indeed, a small number of employees say they were drug tested before they were hired.

History

The first Michaels was founded in 1973 in Dallas, TX.

Founder Michael J. Dupey, a businessman from Dallas, joined forces with Sam Wyly and the company was eventually bought out by The Michaels Companies, Inc.

In 1984 this company began expanding and by 1996, Michaels had over 450 locations and sales had topped $1.24 billion a year.

It now has well over 1,250 locations in the US and Canada and more than 44,000 employees.

Michaels Benefits

Michaels offers full-time and part-time workers certain benefits based on their work status.

Part-time employees are entitled to health and life benefits. The health benefits include medical reimbursement, a dental plan, and a vision reimbursement plan.

These are limited benefits that can at the very least, help any employee who does not have a health plan. Part-timers are also entitled to a 401(k) if they are 21 years of age or older and have completed at least 1,000 hours of work during one year.

For a part-time worker, you can qualify for the 401(k) plan if you work at least 20 hours every week within a one year period.

Michaels will match you dollar for dollar on your 401(k) plan up to 3% of your contributions.

Full-time workers are entitled to benefits which include:

• Medical/prescription drugs
• Dental
• Vision
• Life insurance
• Accidental death and dismemberment
• Long term disability
• Critical illness

Final Thoughts

As a whole, an entry-level job at Michaels is a good choice if you are looking to advance within the company. If you’re looking for a job that just pays the bills, an entry-level job here is not going to cut it for you.

The starting pay is typically $.25 to $1.50 above the state minimum wage. So, if you’re living in Florida where the current state minimum wage is $8.56 an hour, you may be paid $9 to $9.50 an hour to start.

After taxes, you’ll be lucky if you have enough to buy a sandwich every two weeks after you’ve paid your bills!

However, if you are either in a personal relationship with someone else and both of you are employed or if you still live at home, this job offers an amazing opportunity to gain retail sales experience. Many sales associates have gone on to bigger and better things, including store management as well as working in the distribution center and corporate fields.

Finally, the company seems to care about its personnel and the work culture and atmosphere is above average, according to past and present employees. This is important for someone hoping to work in the least stressful environment possible.

Featured image courtesy of Stu pendousmat at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.