On the Job with Kathy DeYoung

After 36 years as a middle-school teacher, Kathy DeYoung still loved her interaction with students in the classroom. She no longer loved the long commute and the increasingly demanding testing and administrative duties. As a result, she took early retirement at the end of the 2007-08 school year.

"I was very concerned about leaving the intense structure of teaching for nothing," she said. But she got heavily involved in the 2008 presidential campaign, started volunteering at PYC Arts and Technology High School in Minneapolis, and enjoyed a period of freedom. "I cleaned, and I slept," she said.

In the fall of 2011, she began thinking that it was "time for structure." She applied for a few jobs, but nothing clicked. Then one day she stopped by the Coach store in Southdale to share a compliment she'd received about her handbag. One of the salespeople said, "You should work here." DeYoung was a Coach employee a week later.

DeYoung says Coach is open to hiring people her age. "They welcome my flexibility," she said. "Other people might be doing this as a second job, and they can't vary their schedule if something comes up." DeYoung is happy to work anywhere from four to 30 hours a week, according to store requirements.

According to store manager Kim Shanks, DeYoung has the number one quality required for success in retail sales: "Kathy is a naturally positive engager. You can't teach engagement. She got the students engaged, and she does the same with the customers. If you watch Kathy on the sales floor for more than two seconds, she's got the customer's life story."

Shanks says DeYoung is also goal-driven, the second important quality for success. And, Shanks added, "She was a shopper, too -- she knows the product."

Why did you decide to go back to work, rather than adding more volunteer work, for example?

The money is nice. I'm also doing it for the social interaction and structure. It's more engaging than volunteer work. I've found that as a volunteer I was often given tasks that weren't very challenging. There's a value attached to a paycheck.

Is there any way that your teaching experience translates to your new job?

They wanted to know whether I could handle multiple customers. I had 32 8th-graders in a room at one time, so that wasn't a steep learning curve. I'm good at engaging people, from students in the classroom to parents at an open house. My co-workers are a very nice group of young women, and I worked with young teachers. I missed that connection. I like it when the groups of 8th-grade girls come into the store. I'm used to standing and being physically active at work. It's a very natural fit for a teacher.

Have there been any surprises?

I hadn't expected the appreciation, coming from a career with 8th graders. Coach makes an overt effort to make you feel valued. It's a very supportive atmosphere. They want you to succeed, and they take steps to help you achieve it. There are built-in incentives for success. Older customers sometimes seek me out because they can confide in me -- one woman needed a strap that wouldn't irritate her breast cancer scar. I like to hear people's story, match the bag to the person, find the right thing for them. I like to sell.