Pros
H&M is a fast-paced trendy environment. It allows you to be who you are. The dress code is pretty lenient so you can really be comfortable at work. The discount is 25%. You get exposed to a wide variety of people since there is a concept for practically everybody. So you never know who you're going to meet while on the sales floor, whether it's a networking opportunity or a celebrity. (My store had quite a few celebrities stop by). I even got to meet the CEO of the company, Karl-Johan Persson, when he did a walkthrough of our store. They keep their employees informed with daily and seasonal staff meetings. There's food during meetings, gifts and parties during holidays, it's overall a feel-good company. As far as retail goes, they're one of the better paying companies. Upper management really makes good money. A great variety of music plays while you're working. On some special occasions they'd even get a DJ. Oh and obviously, the clothes! Especially when there's a designer collaboration.
Cons
The hours are long and busy. This can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Part-timers work a max of 32 hours. I worked there the entire I was in college and most of the time I would work 32 hours a week. You will be busy. Especially on weekends. Especially on holidays. ESPECIALLY on holiday weekends. The biggest con is that advancement in the company is HEAVILY based on FAVORITSM. It's all politics when it comes to promotions. The very high management tends to be people they sent from their stores in Sweden rather than training employees in the US from the bottom to the upper ranks. If you plan to dedicate your career to retail then go ahead and politic. If you do not plan to stay in retail it is not worth it. A lot of higher management does not understand employees who do not put H&M as their top priority. It feels as though in order to advance you must eat, sleep and breathe H&M.
