About two months ago I got a promotion at Whole Foods and am now “Sales Driver” for the Specialty Department (Beer, Wine, Cheese, Olives, Coffee & Juice). I wanted to wait to write about the position until I felt really comfortable in it…and I finally do…although I am definitely still learning.

The most basic description of my job is to increase sales through in-store sampling and demonstrations. A day at work could be as simple as giving away cheese samples. But there’s a lot of variables that can make even that task complicated: how do I know which cheese to sample (cost/inventory/taste/price/specials), where do I set up (placement of product/day of the week/time/store-wide events/foot-traffic/weather), and I have to balance the direction I get from a variety of specialists and those in leadership.

Basically, I work for everyone in the entire store…juggling their expectations and the needs of every department. That’s the hard part.

The fun part is in the freedom I have to be a creative problem solver. I’m given a huge number of variables and expectations and have to find my own way through them. It takes a lot of confidence and a lot of coffee to do the research, outline the goal, decide on a course of action, plan for every step, actually implement the event/solution, and then reflect on how everything went, communicate my successes and failures to the team, and think about how I can do it better next time.

I have a healthy balance of time in the store, interacting with customers, and time in the office, planning and learning operations. I’m really enjoying learning everything I can about how the company works and meeting everyone that’s in it. My favorite part of my job is still the people I work with. I feel lucky to be able to say that. And I feel supported by them.

Tomorrow I’m beginning my first day of some more in-depth training that will prepare me to move into a leadership role. I’m also working with the Marketing team and am expressing my desire to incorporate graphic design into my role with the company. So much has changed already and I’ve only been with the company for eight months! I feel very optimistic about the track I’m on and I’m still glad everyday that I work for Whole Foods…you just can’t beat this group of people.

AND I’m learning so much about cheese! I’ve got beer and wine in my sights too and hope to become quite the snob…

In the meantime, I’m already eating healthier and cooking more at home. My recipes are becoming more complex and are including the “specialty” ingredients I work with everyday. How can you taste a freshly-cut, amazing cheese and not bring some home with you?