Workplace reviews and discussion: (台北內湖店) 運動部門經理 Sport Department Manager (Taipei)

【Having worked in a store for around two years; shared from the perspective of a department manager with firsthand experience. The following applies to the store departments of any branch.】

From an applicant’s perspective, it is definitely not a good system, because the company completely delegates interview authority and decision-making power to the heads of each department rather than having a single team handle the allocation centrally. So, for example, if you email the Neihu store and they have no vacancies at that time, they basically will not post an opening on 104 at all. There is no standardized interview process, no unified channel, and no designated person responsible for managing 104. Basically, it is chaotic.

But as for whether the job itself is good, I can only say that you can learn every kind of skill within a year. While everyone is now criticizing the department managers in those recruitment videos, saying things like, “It looks just like direct selling,” “Can you really become a manager right after graduation? Do they just hand out manager positions?” and “The whole store is full of managers,” I can guarantee this: if you can stay in the position of department manager for a full year and leave with a smile, that person will be you. That is because you are not afraid of hard work, criticism, or unreasonable situations, and at the same time you gain experience managing “people, operations, resources, and finances” (what other job lets you handle all four?) while being allowed to make mistakes, make decisions with full authority, and take responsibility for them.

As long as you do not leave because you cannot stand it anymore or because you were fired, but leave after giving it careful thought, you will basically have the abilities a manager should have. All you will be missing are time and experience in different industries.

I can’t say whether it is suitable for staying for a lifetime, but it is worth having worked there. After all, success belongs to those who have endured hardship, and the hardship and exhaustion at Decathlon teach you things—they are not just pretending to be busy or keeping busy with pointless tasks (and you get overtime pay too XD).

Salary:

Department manager: base salary of NT$37,000 + unlimited monthly bonuses (because there are monthly bonuses, there is no year-end bonus, so please stop criticizing the lack of one). Receiving over NT$40,000 per month is standard, and there have also been months with over NT$50,000.

Assistant: base salary of around NT$27,000 + unlimited bonuses