How I got that job: Sales representative at Midwest Mountaineering

Last update: August 29, 2009 - 4:52 PM

JANET JOHNSON, 53, MINNEAPOLIS

Pay: $8 to $10 per hour

Job: Sales representative at Midwest Mountaineering

Do you participate in outdoor sports? Yeah, I am into cross-country skiing, canoeing, hiking. I generally like to be outdoors. I'm a year-round bicycle commuter.

Is Minneapolis a good location for an outdoor sporting goods store? It's excellent. You can go to so many states and in the middle of the day and you won't see anybody outside. But in Minnesota you see people outside all the time. We've got cross-country skiing right here in town. People say "Well, we don't have mountains and we don't have oceans." But you can learn anything here; you can learn windsurfing, white-water canoeing, ice climbing. You can learn it here, then you can go somewhere else and do more of it.

Any suggestions for people looking to squeeze in one last weekend trip this summer? Oooh ... the North Shore. Hiking and camping in the Boundary Waters, hiking in Jay Cooke State Park, or paddling the St. Croix River.

What is the best part of your job? I like the customers and my co-workers. In this store, people come in because they're excited about getting outside. They come in here to get help to do the things they want to do. So people come in with a really positive attitude. It's really fun to meet them and hear about what they're doing.

What is your favorite outdoor trip? It's hard to pick one, but I love the Boundary Waters. There's just this incredible national forest that's only five hours from the cities. You could paddle for a month and be on a different lake every day. I get up there in the summer and winter. There's lots of ski trails along the North Shore. I just got back from a five-day trip in the Boundary Waters.

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into outdoor sports? I'd say just start talking to your friends and find out what you're interested in. Then definitely come into our store. Our store and a number of other outdoor stores around here offer classes, and we've got really good beginning classes and we've got great instructors.

How did you get this job? It was years ago. I've worked here for about 15 years [part time]. I started doing winter camping with the American Lung Association. Through there I met people who worked here. Midwest Mountaineering has two big expos, one in the spring and one in the fall, and I came in and worked as a temp for that. And then, through that, they hired me.

ALEX ROBINSON

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