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There are many reasons why you might be searching for a new job after 50. Perhaps you want to make a career change or maybe you’re looking for a rewarding part-time role in retirement.
Whatever your reason for searching for a new job, it can be tricky to know where to start.
With this in mind, we’ve teamed up with age-diverse employer Majestic Wine to explain more about what their roles can deliver. Majestic is the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer with employees ranging from 18-79 years old. Right now, they have a range of jobs on offer – from drivers and sales assistants to trainee managers.
To get a personal insight, we spoke to 52-year-old Natalia Kania, a manager at Majestic’s Covent Garden store. Below, Natalia tells us about her 14-year-long career with Majestic and what they can offer later life jobseekers.
“It's the best feeling when customers come back and say, ‘The wine you picked for us was absolutely amazing’”
Natalia moved to the UK from Poland 25 years ago. She now lives in Hornchurch with her family and two ragdoll cats, Leo and Lulu. She worked as a cleaner before moving into hospitality – first in a restaurant and then in a wine bar, where her passion for vino began. Next, she worked at a wine museum, hosting tastings and educating visitors about wines, before finding Majestic.
Natalia says, “I started as a trainee manager and worked in many different stores until I found ‘my’ store in Gidea Park. I was there for 12 years and, last year, decided to make a change and move to Covent Garden. It’s one of the biggest stores in the business, so it’s challenging, but I love the challenge.”
Natalia was drawn to Majestic by the chance to ‘level up’ her wine knowledge and interact with customers.
She says, “I love customer service, so I really like chatting with people and recommending wine. This is the most important part of the job for me: making sure people are happy with their choices. It’s the best feeling when customers come back and say, ‘The wine you picked for us was absolutely amazing, thank you very much.’”
However, customer service isn’t the only part of working for Majestic Wine that Natalia enjoys but the team culture too.
“We have this [saying]: ‘Together, we are Majestic’, and we all share the same values. I would never ask anyone from my team to do things I’m not ready to do myself.”
“When I started, we would all put the stock away together and the managers would jump in the van and do deliveries if needed. So there’s not that visible difference between sales assistants, trainee managers, and managers in terms of the workload. Everyone works together and helps each other. People from other stores will even jump in a van and help us if we need it, which is something I’ve never seen in other companies. That’s the Majestic culture, I would say.”
“Even if we’re really busy, we’ve always got time for fun and to chat with customers”
A Majestic Wine employee taking part in a wine-tasting
When Natalia tells us about what qualities make a great Majestic Wine employee, one word that keeps cropping up is ‘willingness’.
“The willingness to learn, work hard, and be part of a team. I don’t think this job is for people who like to sit behind and desk and work alone.”
Natalia says it’s this togetherness that carries her team through some of the more demanding aspects of working at Majestic Wine.
“Sometimes you’ve got five phones ringing, lots of customers on the shop floor, and you know you have to load the van for a delivery. But if we’re all working hard and having fun, [everything is good]. It’s very rewarding.
“For example, we’re very busy at Christmas, but it’s one of our favourite times of the year. You’re seeing customers who only come in once a year. They remember you and you become friends with them. People are coming into the store and asking for you by name. This is brilliant. Even if we’re really busy, we’ve always got time for fun and to chat with customers.”
“Most of the people who work for Majestic have a passion for wine. If they don’t when they start, they soon will”
Natalia explains that as long as you have a passion for wine and are eager to learn, you don’t need to know much about wine to apply for a role at Majestic.
“People might think, ‘I’m not going to apply for Majestic because I don’t know anything about wine.’ But as long as you like wine, that’s enough. We’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
“Most of the people who work for Majestic have a passion for wine,” Natalia laughs. “But I cannot imagine working [in a customer-facing role] at Majestic and not liking a glass of wine now and then – because it’s everywhere. We’re tasting and talking about it, and we need to sell it and be convincing. If you don’t like something, that’s not an easy task.”
As well as on-the-job training, all customer-facing Majestic employees complete a Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 2 Award in Wines. This qualification teaches you about grape varieties, important winemaking regions, different styles of wine, and more.
Natalia says, “It might seem quite daunting starting at Majestic because when you come into the store, you’ll see hundreds of different bottles. You might think, ‘How am I going to remember all of this?’ But you will.”
As well as gaining qualifications, Majestic Wine employees also get a 20% discount on their products and can win education trips to vineyards and distilleries.
“I’ve been twice to France and once to Spain on amazing trips,” Natalia explains. “I once won a trip to Australia but I couldn’t go at the time. So there are lots of opportunities to travel. We also have organised tastings outside of the store, so there are lots of perks.”
“If you’ve got lots of experience from other parts of your life, you can transfer these skills into retail”
Natalia taking part in business-wide listening groups
Throughout her 14 years at the company, Natalia has worked with lots of later-life workers. One thing she’s noticed is the strong work ethic many over 50s have.
“[Older adults’] work ethic is usually amazing. There isn’t half-working, there’s always full-on, today, I’m going to give you everything. So I really like that – the commitment to work.”
And now, being over 50 herself, she’s convinced that Majestic can offer a great career for older adults – whether you’re looking to make a career change or find a part-time role during retirement.
“If you’ve got lots of experience from other parts of your life, you can transfer these skills into retail. Plus, it allows you to work with younger people. Lots of my colleagues are 27-30, which makes me feel much younger.”
“Go for it! You’ll get to work in a really exciting environment and you can make friends for life”
As someone who’s risen through the ranks, Natalia is also quick to point out that Majestic can offer plenty of opportunities for career progression.
“What appealed to me when I started was that everyone working in the company had started in junior roles– for example, as a driver or trainee manager – and I knew that I had a progression plan. At the moment, I’m on the regional operations manager development programme, so I hope that’ll be the next step for me.”
However, even if progression isn’t on your mind, Natalia urges all older adults looking for a new opportunity to consider Majestic Wine.
“Go for it!” she says. “You’ll get to work in a really exciting environment and you can make friends for life.”
Are you inspired by Natalia’s story? If so, are you considering applying for a role at Majestic Wine? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.