BUSINESS LIFE FOR GIRLS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 89, 8 January 1908, Page 3

BUSINESS LIFE FOR GIRLS.

■ FROM THE GIRL'S POINT OE VIEW. , Almost I am persuaded not only, to urge all tho young'womeivX.kiioiy. to becomd snop assistants'; but ,to go!. in for/ that -profession myself. '.'Poildoring the fact .that a great many girls liavo with -tho end -of -the year reached tho end of their school days, I began ta . wonder what they ..would 'do with their freedom, into what walk of lifo thoy would find theiriway.; They cannot all be. clerks, though that often,seems ,to bo tho aim of the average' girl! Would-.it - liot' bo botter - for many of them to .'beepmo' shop-assistants? Surely 'there niust .'be;' nioro opening in'that direction than,in any other.! ! But would it bo a plpasaht lifo for a girl? Take a girl of average intelligence from the highor standards of the public schools, and would .she'.'be 'more-likely.'to do well in.an office than in ,a, shop?.' \-- >;■] . . -I'-put;the; question! .to various shop ,assistants of my ' acquaintance. •• I consulted women who had Jiad between twenty and 'thirty' years' experience'of business life, and the result is; as .1 said,' that almost I am persuaded to recommend every girl to enter a life of business. ;

■ I think somo.'of those .I'consulted had an k idea : that I was interested in a girl who.was h hovering between business life in a shop or cl an office, and they, gave mo thoir best advicc., w A great deal depends, .they said, upon the d girl herself, her constitution, and her tern- o perament. Some girls .are physically unable ■. to enduro the long hours and the long stand- 1-ing,-and for them .offico-life ,is best, On, the o other hand, it.'is-a thing 'that many girls I 1 become quickly inured toy '-It is the first f? months that try them. After that they he- " como used'to it, and do. not,-as ■ a rule, find V it so very fatiguing. Then, though the hours 0 arc longer than v in an offico, they are regular, s and thero is very seldom any overtime work. J The'pay'is good. Time was .wfyen a girl '• entering a shop, had to servo for a term be- j foro being paid at all, and. after quito a ' good term she might not bo earning moro j than half-a-crown a ; week. In those days it j paid to engage, girls for ono or two years, j and dischargo thorn as soon as they became ' entitled to wages. Tlftt is now changed, 1 and every girl entering a shop as an appron- ! tico must receive five shillings a week, with regular yearly advances of. threo shillings a week. If she is capable, and satisfactory, : she will be earning m three, or-four years ' thirty shillings a week, and in six or seven ( she may bo earning tjrp. pounds ten or more. ; Thero is hot,usually much difficulty in getting into a. shop, hut it is. just as well to ! mako full inquiries about a place of business and, its reputation-for treatment, of its employees before applying. For instance,, there, are some shops, that hqv'o. not' tho,'..largest. business, which, nevertheless', ; ■ hold- a higli reputation for kindness, and. ..consideration shown, towards their"; employees, and tlifero are others where tho'as'sistants live in such a whirl and rush that they chango as soon as , possible. .■ , . ' It-is well for a girl to begin in a large'establishment if _ possible,- becauso. when' sho leaves sho carries with lior the recommendation of an influential shop, which is,, of' course, of much greater valuo in -securing a position .elsewhere than ono. from.-a thirdrato shop could be.-! Then, .again, .in thoso. -large,: shops the ; girls aro. taught ''tho best business methods by ■■.smart,, capable men. Takei for instance, .-the'.care of-'stock/ • In a small shop, or a muddled shop, ribbons and laces, hats,, etc.,- are tossed about carelessly. There is no time or spaco to arrange every-thing-carefully once it-has been displayed. In tho hig shops tho case is very different, and. thoro everything-is folded away carefully with the least possible amount of wear [ and. tear'. ... ; .. . Lifo in a showroom is pleasantor than behind, a counter, and a-girl. has there ,moro opportunity of developing her.artistic senso. ' Ono. drawback that may po mentioned is tho [ temptation to a husinoss girl to, spond a' very largo proportion of her wages on clothes. Sho is living among pretty things, sho must learn to sot a high valuo on them, and sho learns to discriminate between things of good " arid inferior quality, and the result is that a business girl cannot bear to wear cheap or j tawdry .materials. Sho likes to have the host, and ono told mo it was a positivo pain to buy J for h'orself .tho articles that women, of larger r means on tho othor sido of. the counter wore quite content to wear. Shop assistants get i all the statutory holidays, and, in'several shops, thoy nro allowed a yearly holiday on o P^' WHAT THE BUSINESS MEN SAID. "■ Tho next thing to do was to find out what ' chanco there was for a girl to obtain a * situation in one of thoso largo estnblishmonts which arc ro&ommonded, and to that end I intorviowed several managers: Tho " answer was practically the samo in all cases. '' Wellington affords any amount of opportunity for girls wishing to go into business, and thoy have every chance of rising to good positions if they give satisfaction. Speaking generally, thoro is a steady demand for girls, Is though this is not tho best time of year to )f apply for a position. Somo of tho shops aro j. looking out for assistants for tho. sales, and s, from tiiem thoy will probably select permanih cnt employees, but as a rule new assistants In are engaged at the beginning of the summer or' winter seasons-

' Of course, a great many of the girls who applp, and somo of those who got positions, are not fitted for : business ' life, so miicmas for domestic service, and thoir. experiences recorded would'not afford much cncouragemont to others. .But a girl only requires to havo an. ordinary amount of intelligence to learn tho business', and this, coupled with an interest in her work, a disposition to take it seriously, and a desire to progress, will ensuro her making a siiccess-of her life from tho business point-of view. It is of no. use for a girl' to take up any work halfrheartedl.y, and if. when sho : is, serving, a customer she is in'attentivb .and indyfer6nt,'if she has a "toko it or leave it" mariner,' she need 'not look forward-to a-rapid riso in salary/ - But'if she does hor best to pleaso, : if sho takes an intelligent interest, in the customer and her wants, and ;is . ready.; with helpful suggestions;' if, .whilo ; shp ( is'sailing one article, she is already wo'ndbring what she, can sell' next, she is certain to; get. on and. he advanced very quickly. Even the apprentices may expect improved l wagos if. they .deserve them,- for-'it was carefully ittipres3ed ; lipoii- mo- that the work of all assistants: is carefully watched,that good. work receives 'good pay, and that tho legal rato of wago is; by no-moans to. if the apprentice shows that sho is . worth moro! In most/of the shops commission on the saloslis allowed, and it, is hero'that'tho smart "girl will-mako.a.substantial addition to her salary. "We pay as much as-seveiy and six a week in commissions on sales to somo. of our girls,". one manager told mo, and others, quoted large salaries made by ' sovoral of their employees,' partly by aid of commission: In short, it was evident that except for ■'he most highly paid clerks, business pays better than office work, and from all I hoard it was also clear that tho value of a girl's services'.is generally recognised. If sho is not receiving sufficiently high pay in one : shop sho can without difficulty get a better position in another shop, and often the Offer of a situation in a; second business house will lead to her,receiving, a highfer wage from her employer to retain her. ' One employer spoko of the valuo to a girl of a business training, and he said ho thought it would bo of -advantage to overy girl, no mattor what, sho intended-to bo later on, to have ono year behind the counter, coming intq contact with all sorts of people, loarning mothod, and learning also a great deal about human nature.