school program staff

warehouse worker

retail sales associate

remodel associate

recruiter

Goodwill Southern California

If you told me this company was organized by all the decision being made by drawing random ideas drawn out of a hat, i would say "hmm, things are starting to make more sense," and suddenly this place wouldn't be so bad.  Unfortunately considering the CEO makes over 400k yet most of the cuts seem to come at the cost of the low-wage workers and the contributors/costumers, i can't hlep but expect more.

Here is a typical day at Goodwill:

Production - Donations
On average, and by average i do mean every single day, you will come into work with a manager (or a whole team of managers - including keyholders and assistance - even the DM occasionally) who seemingly has no real grasp about what to do on that day.  Primarily when it comes to organizing incoming donations, which, when it is plentiful (which is a great thing as donations are the store's only inventory) can build up very fast, especially at a store like mine where you average anywhere from eighty to a hundred-and-twenty donations that take up a lot of space.  If you're working this department, the manager usually has you pile boxes and bags somewhere on a truck or in the production area, and by the end of the night you all live with the place being more of a safety hazard than a work space. Imagine boxes and bags piled so high that the slightest aftershock can send them tumbling over, potentially killing an employee.  It became common to pile and even block exits just to get all the product inside the store.  If you question a manager regarding the process, you usually get told to just do as your told or the manager is no where to be found to begin with.  Often there is no one to cover your break/lunch, so donations is left unattended for things to get stolen or disorganized if you managed to organized them.  Of all my time in donations, and i spent over a year working by myself in the department, i've never had a manager know how to properly organize the product so that it doesn't turn into a safety hazard or a complete mess.  The best ideas/practices for organizing things have come from regular workers who managers typically don't want to hear from. The typical Goodwill manager is not very good at managing things (time, people, resources), at least from my own experience.

Production - Key6

The company has changed up the system of pricing a couple times now.  One system they invested in actually cost them a lot of money as they decided to abandon it (scanning all items as opposed to manual pricing by hand of each item).  This should really be the easiest part of the job, but once again, managers make it difficult.  When someone is put into Key6, two prerequisites should be considered: common sense and patience.  Common sense is that you don't price a dirty pair of shoes that one wouldn't want for free, let alone the six to ten dollars your manager may have you price it as. Or, if you have something you aren't sure of its value, ask co-workers opinion, as they may have knowledge of that product that you do not and that could lead to being worth more.  Instead, both managers and associates typically just rush everything through the door.  Patience becomes an issue when management feels like the product isn't coming out fast enough, but refusing to consider that firstly, you may be working alone and sometimes doing the job of two people because the store cut hours, and now tasks that previously took two people is expected to be done by one, for the same wage, in the same manner, within the same time limits.  Patience is also a factor when a product that could sell for fifteen to twenty dollars is priced to sell for five dollars simply because the associate or management didn't want to take an extra minute two clean the product; wipe it down or at the very least dust it off.  


Sales Floor/Cashier

Like Key6, this is another department that really should run smoother than it does, but either the company's cutbacks or the managers organization skills make the sales floor a sporadic environment, often with one associate (not a manager of any kind) left to deal with dozens of customers and try to organize five different sections of the store at once. While this is a another flaw of management, because no lower wage worker should be expected to do what most managers get paid to do (who has a staff of associates to delegate task to), this has made me better at multi-tasking, but even my own abilities are stressed because anything a manager thinks they can delegate to you, they will.  On the average day as a cashier i can expect to answer the same question a couple dozen times, and not always due to the costumers, but things like price tags not being updated, checkout lines not being organized, or even not being able to locate a manager for assistance. 


What You Learned

What i've learned from working at Goodwill Southern California for almost four years is that anyone that sticks with this company (at least the retail level) develops a careless attitude and usually is just trying to get by.  I see this attitude from DMs, store managers, and associates.  Not only at my store, but every other Goodwill i've been to seems to deal with the same issues as i have, and it saddens me that a company founded on charity can take so much life out of people simply because nothing is organized.  Workers are either overworked and underpaid, or you don't do much work at all and end up with a promotion.  Since i've worked for the company, within the stores i've worked at (i've worked at multiple locations) i have seldom seen the best workest get the promotion to management.  That is the only way i can explain why management is so terrible across the board, and its that whoever is doing the promotion is not paying any attention.  Or some worse cases, i've seen managers promote an associate knowing that their DM seeks to move those new assistants/key holders to other stores, except the manager doesn't want to lose the employees that make their store run well, so they promote the least qualified person and the DM has no idea what their getting because they don't visit stores for more than five minutes a week and don't really know any of the employees outside of the manager.  This happens because the DM changes somewhat often.  I've been here three years and i've had three four DMs.  When first employed by Goodwill i was very eager to show my worth so that i could move up within the company.  But i've seen odd hiring practices (people of only one race or gender being targeted for employment), and experienced too many managers incapable of managing others, that its almost impossible to even be trained.  People just get promoted and the rest is up to them seemingly, which leads to each group of new managers knowing less and less about how manage a store, particularly one such as Goodwill. Goodwill is the type of organization that has made me feel like hard work doesn't get you anywhere unless you can manage to do so independently, for yourself, apart from joining an organization.  I know i shouldn't feel this way, but when i was hired by this company i was pretty happy and even now i present myself with a positive attitude.  Every single day customers tell me how much they appreciate my service and so i return that sentiment by giving them my best costumer service, because while not all, many do appreciate those that put forth the effort on their behalf, i only wish i could find the greater effort to move to a place where more often my effort is appreciated.  

Co-Workers

This unfortunately, is another aspect of the job directly related to management.  Despite this, more often than not, i work with people willing to work, but as soon as they encounter the great level of disorganization within the store, they start to care less and perform less and become slightly more difficult to work with if you're an associate who they don't feel the need to listen to.  Despite this, i have very rarely had an issue with a co-worker that couldn't be solved with patience.  I can say that at my store most if not all of my co-workers often look to me for direction.  I take it as a compliment but it also adds stress when i'm also just an associate, yet my co-workers never feel comfortable getting help from their managers, as they are seldom helpful.  Sadly i've seen good associates become managers and watch their work ethic and organizational skills drop off almost immediately.  I can't explain it.


The Hardest Part of the Job

The hardest part is finding ways to smile while at work.  Or rather, not wanting to walk off the edge of the earth before, during, and after your shift.  I can be feeling just fine before getting to work, yet as soon as i walk through the door, its as if i want to die right there, any way possible.  I know i should be appreciative of the job and income opportunity, but there is no life in working to be poor, especially if working while depressed because of your job.

The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job

The wide range of donations and people you interact with. Goodwill is combination of history museum, antique store, and with its variety of contributors/customers, its as if you are traveling the world without leaving the store.  There are so many personalities between the contributors and co-workers that you can't help but feel some sort of emotion when you know things can be much better.  Because you see people working hard and trying their best to make sense of things that the company itself does not care to care about, or so it seems.

GWSOCAL provided an awesome opportunity to work with individuals with disabilities or barriers to employment however, the caseload amount was unreasonable at times. Additionally, enormous pressure was placed on placements even if it was not in the best interest of the individual. While the person-centered approach was encouraged it truly was not respected. The experience itself was enriching as it allowed for creativity as well as, the joining of committees and projects however, there was never a raise or room for true advancement with a couple of years working for the company. Instead, more work was taken on creating huge amounts of stress. The stress at times was unbearable and management proved to be passive-aggressive. Additionally, work/family balance was non-existent and often there was guilty of taking the sick time or a day off.  The workplace culture was toxic from immediate management to among co-workers as at times it could be described as a hostile work environment. There was a sense of favoritism in the workplace and hardworking and true employees never got the recognition truly deserved this caused a majority of authentic individuals to leave the company. Additionally, there was discrimination by management and culturally there was distinction felt in the atmosphere. The hardest part of the job was meeting the constant demands of numbers - and the most enjoyable part of the job was building meaningful relationships with participants and their families. Goodwill provided the opportunity to learn however, there is a high turnover rate for a reason. Unrealistic work expectations without reasonable compensation. Definitely, a learning experience I am grateful for however, I would not return to work for the company.

Goodwill socal, seems to lean more towards the corporate side. Corporate Management have high expectations, while only allowing a strict amount of hours to schedule staff. The budget of hours given on a weekly basis is unrealistic, and causes staff to burnout, and overwork. The high-demand high-paced environment results in a high turnover rate. On top of that, uniformity across stores is sloppy. Each store operates differently at the discretion of the General managers, causing inconsistency in shopping and work experiences. Corporate management, is not involved enough, and make swift decisions, not realizing how big of it impact it has in work culture and work performance. For example, to cut expenses at much as possible, store hours budget (staffing hours) was reduced, hours given to disabled workers were taken away, while all at the same time increases store quotas. How do they expect employees to meet store quotas, while keeping the store clean when the amount of budget hours given to staffing only accounts for 8 staff throughout the whole day? Keep in mind, the store is open for 13 hours, so that’s 2 whole separate shifts (Opening and closing crews). The disconnection between retail and corporate management is absurd. No expressions of gratitude, appreciation, or incentives of hard work is ever shown by corporate management. Their expectations are unreasonable, and unhealthy for employees. I even feel bad for the district managers. They no longer operate by the mission in transforming lives through the power of work. How sad. Sad to say a organization that started with a great cause is now running with a terrible one. 

No working AC in the warehouse constant bug bites. Nasty smells from the rotting rat traps they dont care to clean. Manager positions start at entry level so it makes the job more stressfull than it has to be. The asian tattoed guy who runs this place is racist and does not know what hes doing. Also the rules dont apply to him since he can answer personal calls and has his gf working there.  This job isnt long term either because they're ecom department does really bad in making money. If you get interviewed please be sure to ask what exactly you will be doing. I was told i was going to take pictures but they had me doing everything but that! The leads are total pains and pretty much have that job because they have family in the company. They will try and take advantage of you if they see you hustling hard. This job pretty much has a report card that comes with it. You will also be working with in 6 feet of each other but expected to take different lunches due to the 6 ft rule. Honestly worst job i ever had! Poor management we took supplies from donations since good will did not provide us with anything. Also the HR Department is not any help and would not recommend going to them unless u have an audio or visual recording of u being harassed. They're useless. This job title comes with a report card too so anything little thing u do gets noted and blown out of proportion. 

Goodwill is fine for entry level retail positions. As a regular ambassador you have the opportunity to be cross trained in the different departments that make up each retail location, which are donations, sales floor (cashier), and production. The pay is just above minimum wage and it is pretty strictly part time for associates, so don't expect a lot of hours.

The corporate level is fairly difficult to work with. Senior and regional managers do not care what you have to say, and will more often than not ignore or diminish you. They expect infinite growth with finite and sometimes dwindling resources. It is near impossible to get fired for being a bad employee, which means if you make a bad hiring decision you are probably going to be stuck with that person for a long time.

For a company whose slogan is, "Changing lives through the power of work," they did very little to change the lives of those actively working for them.

That all being said, it is a super easy job with a lot of leeway in the way you can accomplish things. The company as a whole is somewhere between a big box retailer and a mom-and-pop vintage store, so the vibe was generally less restricting than other places.

Apply here if you're looking for a short-term stepping stone and some flexibility. Avoid applying here if you have long-term career goals in the field.

I have worked for this company a month and the management has been nothing but rude and disrespectful to me and others. Manager staff seems to do what they want and if you question things they go after you and create a toxic and hostile work environment. There is nothing but drama there and many of the employees have quit due to the behavior of the management.  I have gotten injured by the label gun due to the management pushing me to go faster and faster. But they need to learn it takes practice and if they had actual management training they would know this. They find reasons and make up reasons just to talk down to you. They do not update the employees if they change their new work status of going out to the customers cars and etc. Also they are so unorganized and run the place poorly. They are not safety minded there at all you see stuff all over the floor and the managers don't even pick stuff up. They need a way better training program there. Each manager tells you to the job differently and they all yell at you if you don't do it their way. I will no longer support Goodwill or buy from its store. Stay away and do yourself a favor by getting a different job. 

I clock in made sure that the textile staff had cloths to sort. Count the donations which was about 13 and 2 empties. Moved the empties and labled them either hardgoods, electrical, or shoe/bag/luggaged. Talk to my supervisers or manger to see which station they wanted us to be assigned. It was either the donation center, sorting donation bins, or price. What I really admired about my job is that we all worked as a team. But you know that if one of us is weak then the rest of the team is weak. We are only as strong as our weakest link. We worked hard to keep each other in check. What ever need to be done we did without no questions asked I just did what I was told. I found that a good relationship with staff members and mangers makes us better in working because we built that chemistry that want us to work. The leadership was there and we were incuraged to develope the skills need to assert ourselves in to becoming a superviser. My job was great but I felt that the company was changing and shifting to a different direction and my time with them was done. So as much as I liked my job was looking more for a challenge and became bored of the same routines.

I enjoyed looking at the music records we had received from donations on my break i'll go look at them. 
I learned about the massive impact goodwill has on veterans and individuals who lack education or job experience the face employment challenges. 
hardest part job would be sometimes loading donations when limited on space cleaning the whole store for next day when the store is looking rough. 
Typical day clocked in 9 am morning open doors greeting customers getting settle in around 10 am second associate will clock in by this time Im on the register ringing out guest come 12 break 15 minutes after that store starts getting packed business is booming around 1:30 lunch come back keep the process moving helping guest at a time come 3pm getting ready to leave manager come flout me out 3:30 i'm out the door. 
I love my managers they always treated well and I respect them a lot for that.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The camaraderie and cooperation with my coworkers. We all worked together to get things done. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Dealing with an unapproachable management. You had no idea what you were going to get. Especially upper store management. You'd get a smile one day and the next, they aren't answering you or your questions. The lack of coordination and training. However, if they need something, it's a smile and gratitude. I found it very stressful and I realize this is an opinion. I felt like my job was in danger every day. That's stressful.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment between workers was great! The customers were fun and  interesting. I actually enjoyed what I did and I was good at it. The culture of the company is stressful because you have so many 'goals' to meet and they aren't necessarily reasonable. It's a lot of work and you don't feel appreciated for putting in the time and even if you hit their numbers, there's no good feeling from it because it's not appreciated. You get told what's wrong and not what's good.

Do not work at Goodwill San Diego as a Full time position if you're an ambitious student seeking higher education. Work part time only even if you're not a student because management/supervisors dump their responsibilities to regular employees and expect them to not only do their own duties, but also their higher ups and still get payed minimum wage. Workplace is fun and coworkers are extremely kind but I wouldn't trust supervisors because if you tell them something they will literally run to their managers and spill the conversation to make themselves look good even if they don't get nothing out of it but a "good job". Management does not want you to have conversations even if it's about work or school. Don't even laugh or they'll be passive aggressive and ask why you're laughing just so you can be quiet. Even told us not to speak any other language other than English and the company claims they value diversity. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
School program staff 2 salaries reported	$19.25 per hour
Warehouse worker 1 salary reported	$32,638 per year
Retail sales associate 1 salary reported	$17.75 per hour
Remodel associate 1 salary reported	$17.75 per hour
Recruiter 1 salary reported	$64,250 per year

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