Vacancy expired!
Grassroots Books sells new and used books, music, movies and more. We have significantly brought down the cost of reading in Reno. We think it's not "just a job".
We seek one person to:
- Sort used kids books from pallet-size boxes, and sort them by condition and type
- Clean the used kids books that will be priced at 99 or more
- Optional: tidy up our Super Safe Outside Sale
This position is needed to make about 5000 books a week available in our Outside Sale for 25 each, and another 1000 for 99. Then, on Sundays, we sell the leftovers for $4.99/bag. These prices are sustainable - we are able to make a modest profit on these kids books. We plan to continue the Outside Sales through October, weather permitting, and have plenty of work all winter.
We prefer to hire people who will continue with us for at least a year:
- Work when the weather is good enough for the sales
- 40+ hours/week.
- If you have interest and aptitude, you might get a chance to learn cashiering, shelving, ordering, forklift operation, drive the large truck, public relations, etc.
For this position, we can offer flexible hours and to work outside in the shade or inside our warehouse (lots of fresh air moving). In this position, you can avoid being indoors if you want to (we have clean portapotties and outside handwashing, and can bring masks etc to you). The pallets of books have been sitting for more than 3 days, so no cooties.
We hope to find people who rock!
- Highly competent and ethical.
- Able to move on your feet for entire shift.
- Able to lift 40lb repeatedly.
- Computer skills.
- If wanting to cashier in the future: able to do basic arithmetic, such as double-checking the computer's calculation of 20% off 17.99; able to post to Facebook with excellent spelling/grammar including paragraph breaks.
About Grassroots Books:
- Meticulous with our word and work - can be picky.
- Fun and sometimes irreverent.
- Fans of Toyota production methods and ideas - people first! (as the book: Toyota Kata by Mike Rother).
- Learning to use "Nonviolent Communication" as described in the book by Marshall Rosenberg.
- Learning how to manage without managers.
- Proud of the diversity of team members and customers.
- Team member hobbies/interests include writing, bicycling, board games, D&D, art, dogs, paleo, shooting, kayaking, zero waste, entrepreneurship, and of course reading. We rarely drink soda or smoke cigarettes.
- Most of us are overqualified.
We can be a place for people to work for many years, and we can be a place where you work while you launch a different career or business. We can accommodate time off, except November 1 to December 23 every year. We have a team of 35+.
To apply, tell us through Craigslist:
- Why it's a good fit for you, short- and long-term.
- Why you think you're a good fit for us.
- Your ideal schedule, hours/days you would rather not work, and how many hours a week you desire.
- About your proven ability to move fast at work, such as cleaning, stocking shelves, or factory work.
- Names of a few of your favorite books or movies.
- Your contact info.
Please apply through Craigslist, not at the store or by phone. We don't open email attachments.
Check our other job postings here. As of the time of publishing this, we're also hiring cashiers and people to organize our warehouse sale books.
(We will remove this posting when we're not hiring. We don't respond to every application. Typically if we're wanting to find out more about you, we contact you within 24 hours. If you want to verify that your application was received, send an email through Craigslist or to hiring@[our domain name].)
FAQ: Why are you guys hiring so often?
For one thing, we are looking to hire qualified people (many are overqualified, and others are motivated and energetic enough to become highly qualified soon) and most aren't going to stay in retail. Grassroots recent alumni include people who work for WCSD (librarian and teachers), UNR (instructor), have started their own businesses (such as an eBay business), and other terrific careers. We hope to "graduate" several team members into full-time writing and art careers soon.
We opened our retail store in 2009. In the last 12 months, we have increased our team member count by 8 people.
Doing the math: people stay about 24 months; with 30+ people, we're hiring more than once a month just to stay even.
We like hiring on Craigslist. Did you know running an ad on Monster costs $300? You might have heard that almost all bookstores have closed because it's a difficult business model. We are careful with expenses, and using a free service like Craigslist is just one way we are able to keep our prices low and still keep the lights on.
For every person we hire, we receive more than 50 emails. We want to hire people who have all the required skills, and we are sad when people aren't able to perfectly alphabetize or count out correct change, for example. We would rather post often than hire someone just to fill a position.
FAQ: Do you hire students?
We have found that the majority of students with December finals work less than their commitment, many of them getting sick (due to not sleeping enough). We've also seen students get worse grades.
We seek win-win, and our experience with college students in December is win-lose, lose-win, and lose-lose more than win-win.
We're currently trying to hire for a year, with special sensitivity for our busiest time, and we already have students on our team with December finals. Many people on our team work more overtime than they want to in November and December. We have found that high school students are more reliable in the first two weeks of December than college students.
FAQ: Will you hire under 18?
Yes, we have hired a bunch of 16- and 17-year-olds over the years, and it's been great for us and them. We would consider hiring younger.
FAQ: Are you doing ok as a business?
Yes, we are delighted that we're not losing money anymore! It was rough in March-April-May. Thanks to community support, we're doing ok again and expect that will continue.
