- Kiley Pulley became Walmart's youngest US store manager at 21, starting as a cashier at 16.
- Her former store manager helped her through her succession plan and interviews.
- Pulley emphasizes learning daily and adapting for career growth.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kiley Pulley, a 23-year-old Walmart store manager in Buckeye, Arizona. It has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2019, when I was 16 years old, I started working at Walmart as a part-time cashier. I wanted my own money, and figured, why not just get a job?
My sister and my mom were already working there, and it was also right down the street from my high school. It was easy for me to get out of school and walk to work.
Over the next few years, I moved through different roles, from cashier to stocker to online fulfillment. Then, when I turned 18, I became an academy trainer, and six months later, a digital team lead.
When I became a team lead in mid 2021, it hit me that I wanted to stay at Walmart full time and make it my actual career. At 19, I became an operations manager, and right before I turned 22, I became the youngest store manager at Walmart in the US.
People ask me, "How did you do it?" My answer is to show up and learn something new every day. Here are six things I've learned along the way.
I realized I could help people by hiring them
Originally, I wanted to start either my own nonprofit or my own business and help out the homeless population; then I realized that I could do all that through Walmart.
I could make a difference through the people that I hire and the impact that I have on my associates at the store.
When I became a team lead, I was making good money, and I also really liked it. I started actively working toward becoming a store manager. I got on succession plans and was on monthly calls with our market manager. When I became an operations manager, I led multiple projects in our market to get myself ready to become a store manager.
I'd also ask to cover for store managers when they'd take off work; that way I could gain additional experience that was needed to be promoted. I remember thinking, I'm going to be a store manager at 21. I'll be the youngest in the company.
I had to learn that my words carried more weight
As an associate, I was friends with everybody. I could joke around with everyone. When I became salaried, everything changed.
One of the biggest learning points for me has been the way I talk and how to engage with people from different cultures. Changing my tone and limiting the joking and playful attitude felt necessary as a leader in the building.
At the time, setting new boundaries for myself made me feel more confident in my new role and even now in my current role.
I was a little nervous when I first went into a salaried position. People said I might have issues managing those older than me, but I've never had problems with my team not respecting or listening to me.
I also made my social media profiles private. I think connecting on social media can make it harder to separate between being someone's manager and being their friend.
I had to learn how to delegate
Getting out of the "if I want it done the right way, I'll do it myself" mindset was a big learning. I realized not everyone's going to know everything that I know, and if I really want to delegate and get tasks done, I'm going to have to teach and train.
A big part of being an academy trainer and team lead is training your associates. Once you get to operations manager, you kind of have to step back and expect your team leads and academy trainers to do that same thing.
I had to learn that if I delegated, things could get done faster or more efficiently.
I had to learn to be a servant leader
When it comes to my associates, if they need something, whether that's ordering the supplies or putting in tickets for them, I want to do that. I want to advocate for them.
I know it makes them more productive, but they'll probably be happier coming to work, too.
Also, everyone likes the appreciation of, "Hey, thank you for doing this today," or "Thank you for going above and beyond on this."
I had to learn to have work-life balance
When I first became salaried, I was always on the clock. I stopped going to the gym, and I sacrificed some time with my fiancé and family. I'd stay at work and say, "They need me."
It was my fault; the team didn't need me that badly. Now, I'm doing better. When I get home, I'm not spending the whole day looking at metrics or constantly texting my team. I've gone back to the gym.
I learned to take a step back and trust my leaders to do what they need to do. I trust that they know what they're doing.
I think there's always going to be some event you could miss out on. That can be hard to juggle sometimes, but I'm lucky enough to have a fiancé who's also career-focused and driven, so we kind of use each other as motivation.
I realized I could build a career without giving up on school
I went to college for business and ended up dropping out when I got my salaried position. I told myself that I'd get back into college when I got my first store.
My old store manager was the one who promoted me through all of the hourly supervisor roles. She even prepped me for my first salaried role. She sat in the office reading interview questions with me. Every time I'd say the word, 'um,' she'd say, "Nope, restart."
She was constantly there for me, and even still having her as someone to go to has been great. My market manager has also known me since before I started promoting. Every time I think I'm too young to be in this room, he's always in my corner.
I'm now enrolled in Live Better U, a program where Walmart pays for certain bachelor's degrees. I'm getting some of my foundational courses, and then I plan to get my college degree.
Keep pushing to learn more
For teenagers starting out, I encourage them to do a good job and learn as much as they can.
Companies are constantly changing, especially with technology. It's important to adapt and not be comfortable with what you already know.
When I look at my future at Walmart, I told myself I'd get to market manager at 27 or 28 — that's my short-term goal. Then, long-term, my goal would be regional EVP.
One thing I always remind myself is that I worked hard to get to this life, so I can't be upset now that I have it. Maybe we don't have time to do all the fun things right now, but if we work hard through our 20s, thinking about where we might end up when we're 30 or 40 keeps me motivated.