#KohlsInterns Experience Retail in the Real World

Collaborate with top talent in the retail industry. Catch a baseball game with friends. Get paid to live and work in in a great city while jump-starting a career.

Just a few of Kohl’s nearly 500 summer interns.

For nearly 500 fresh new faces these opportunities and many others are reality through Kohl’s summer internship program. And the experience could lead to a job offer. In fact, more than half of the students who intern with Kohl’s are hired after they graduate. 

Over the course of eight to ten weeks, Kohl’s interns learn how retail works behind the scenes and gain hands on experience in many different areas, like technology.

“Although I am in the technology department, I had the opportunity to work with people from store operations and experiences, finance and marketing and loss prevention,” said Alyssa Noll, a business analyst intern from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. “Now when I go into a Kohl’s store I have a whole new appreciation and understanding of how everything functions.”

Merchandise planning interns at final presentation.

There’s also plenty of time for fun. Interns who work at Kohl’s corporate office in Menomonee Falls, Wis., experience the beauty of Milwaukee summers. Brewers games, a tour of Kohl’s photo studio, visits to Summerfest on the shore of Lake Michigan and giving back to the community as part of Kohl’s Associates in Action volunteer program are just a few things that kept these aspiring young professionals busy during their stay.

Kohl’s interns volunteer at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee.

And what better way to learn about retail than from the executives of the company? At Kohl’s, our leadership is committed to meeting with interns throughout the summer to have candid conversations, share stories and take questions.

You won’t find our interns fetching coffee. They are embedded into teams and working on real projects that could end up in Kohl’s stores or on Kohls.com. For example: 

• One summer design intern created a print that appeared on t-shirts that were sold in stores the fall following her internship.

• Store management interns review sales reports and work to develop strategies to increase sales in key departments.

• The technology behind a device outside of meeting rooms that enables a room reservation to be made digitally at the Kohl’s Innovation Center was inspired by a recent team of interns.

In addition to the corporate internships, more than 200 interns learned from Kohl’s teams at our stores and distribution centers. During their tenure, they saw the inner workings of the fulfillment process and were part of making stores successful.

Cameron Green, a store management intern from University of Arizona, spent his summer at Kohl’s Oro Valley store learning what it takes to manage a store and be an effective leader. “Kohl's gave us the opportunity to implement these ideas and see the real results,” he said. “This was an amazing taste of what it is like to be an assistant store manager.”

Kohl’s Associates go out of their way to make sure interns get the most from the experience.

“The managers and supervisors have taken me under their wing and given me all the necessary tools to succeed and grow as a Kohl's Associate,” said Jocelyn Scott, an intern from University of Cincinnati at Kohl’s E-commerce Fulfillment Center in Monroe, Ohio. “The knowledge and experience I've gained in my time here at Kohl's has been tremendous and has shaped my perception of what a great leader should embody.”

Kohl’s interns tour the Kohl’s Photo Studio.

“Everyone, and I mean everyone, comes to work excited and ready for challenges at Kohl's, and that's the type of environment any aspiring professional would appreciate,” said Bryan Mack, a merchandise planning and allocation intern from University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Whether you intern in marketing, product development, design, store operations & experience, or merchandise planning and allocation like me, you see how intersected each and every department is and realize that ultimately, you're all working towards the same goal...make Kohl's great!”

Kohl’s offers internships at its corporate offices, stores, distribution centers and customer contact centers. For more information on Kohl’s summer internship program, visit KohlsCareers.com.

Take a look for yourself! Check out our intern adventures on Instagram by searching #KohlsInterns.