Professional Development
Rich career brewing for former baristaFor most people, working at a coffee shop isn't a stepping stone to a more lucrative career in the coffee industry. SHARON ASCHAIEK |
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 [ 2006-08-02 ] |
Nicole Vandenberg says because of the easy dialogue and training programs at Starbucks, it was easy for her to grow with the company.
But Nicole Vandenberg isn't like most people, and Starbucks certainly isn't like most coffee shops.
In 1996, Vandenberg, then 19, left Toronto for Vancouver on the quintessential quest of youth -- to find herself. She found just that in her new job as a Starbucks barista. The store's supportive, progressive environment allowed her to swiftly climb the corporate ladder. After three months behind the counter, she was promoted to shift supervisor, then assistant store manager, and finally, manager.
After two years, Vandenberg returned home and was welcomed by the coffee giant to transfer to a new north Toronto store, which she helped to open. Over the next six and a half years she moved from store to store in the city and continued to hone her managing skills and expertise.
"At the store level there is always a dialogue happening about what you want to do in the company in the future. You go through full training programs that help you make the next step in your career, which makes it easy to grow with the company," she says.
By 2003, however, Vandenberg was looking for a new professional challenge, and decided marketing might be a good fit. She demoted herself back to shift supervisor and continued to work evenings and weekends while she pursued full-time marketing studies at George Brown College.
When she graduated two years later, she couldn't find a marketing position with Starbucks, so she left the company and began job hunting. Three months later, however, Starbucks came calling with an unexpected offer.
"They remembered who I was and the impact I made, and that I was looking for marketing work. They called me in for an interview," she says. "When I got that call, I was floored. I was one of so many people who had worked there."
Impressed with her drive and her excellent track record at 12 different stores, the company hired Vandenberg to work as a marketing specialist at its head office in North Toronto.
Her job involves everything from special event planning to helping develop national and local print and radio campaigns, to helping store managers plan and launch in-store promotions and other marketing initiatives.
She regularly liaises with store employees and managers, as well as businesses and organizations seeking to enter marketing partnerships with Starbucks.
Vandenberg says the job continually poses new challenges and presents unexpected opportunities. One marketing initiative she recently helped organize was Make Your Mark, a tree-planting event in Toronto.
"We were trying to raise money for tree advocacy. We had partners [the company's name for employees] serving coffee and planting trees," she says. "It's great to make a difference out in the community."
That Vandenberg has been able to grow with Starbucks and develop her career is a reflection of the company's well-known worker-friendly policies. Full-time and part-time retail employees enjoy such perks as competitive pay, comprehensive health-care plans, stock options, tuition reimbursement and financial support during emergencies.
Extensive training is another hallmark of the company's business philosophy, with employees' receiving more and more hours of instruction as they rise through the ranks.
For Vandenberg, the ongoing corporate support of her professional development has been as surprising as it is pleasing. She plans to continue growing with the company and is working toward one day becoming a marketing manager.
"When I started with Starbucks, I had no idea what I wanted to do," Vandenberg says. "It began as a part-time job, and now here I am and it's my career. It blows my mind."
How many hours a week do you work?