Beware of Entry Level Sales and Marketing Consultant positions listed on Monster, Career Builder, Hot Jobs, and any other job search engine.
The jobs always sound very enticing, but are a trap for young people who may have recently graduated and are looking for a REAL job to begin a marketing career. However, these jobs are not so much Marketing, as much as they are Door-to-Door, Face-to-Face, or Business-to-Business SALES.
The claims are that you can begin with NO experience and within mere weeks you are promoted to a Team Leader. After months of training as a Team Lead, you are promoted to Assistant Manager, and then you are promoted to a Manager position and can open your own marketing company, with an entirely new name that you choose.
The money sounds awesome. They tell you how you will retire in 10 years and be wealthy. They discuss these big dreams and goals. They make it sound like becoming a millionaire is within easy reach.
However, they regret to inform you that you basically have to give up the rest of your life and your freedom and give 110% of yourself to this "entry level" job, while the higher-ups (who you will rarely meet) make the BIG BUCKS.
Don't get me wrong, the money is there... But it is 100% commission that you have to earn by selling a certain product to strangers. And, like I said, you have to work LONG hours to earn this money.
Here is my story:
I went to the first interview and was asked to come back for a second interview. This second interview is out in the field. You have to follow the Team Lead to wherever the 'field' is and observe them in action for a couple hours. You witness them selling (or trying to sell) the product to strangers who, most times, do not want it. Then, you discuss the great opportunities they have in the training program... How fast you can become a manager and have your own company and how much money you will earn every week. They do NOT mention that it is 100% commission based, not consistent, and you can basically not take any time off or ever be late, and you must work 60 hours a week and 6 days a week.
I was hired and began my new job at 9am. You do a lot of interacting with one another... Play some games... Practice your selling techniques... Go over all the sales methods... Talk about your goals... Etc.By 11am, you need to be in the field, where you will spend ALL DAY selling your product to random folks.
At 7pm it's time to head back to the office where you discuss your productivity, discuss your day with the others, and talk about what you need to work on the next day. If you did well, you get to ring the bell and run around clapping, yelling, giving high-5's, that type of thing. Around 7:45pm you can head out for the night. That's nearly an eleven hour day, in which you get about a 30 minute break.
Not to mention, you must do this SIX days a week. You only get one day off, and that's Sunday.
I don't know about you, but I cannot give up everything else in my life JUST to help these so-called marketing folks make money. I have pets to take care of, a home to clean, a husband to care for, dinner to cook, cars to wash, laundry to do, friends to see, family to spend time with, etc.
The long hours and extended work week for 100% commission is a lot to ask of a young person just out of college. Forget about having any kind of social life, a boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, friends, hobbies, pets, ANYTHING. You have to be 100% devoted to your job and this company in order to succeed.
They don't ever mention this, so beware. Don't fall into the trap. I had to quit after only 2 days because I knew that I could not compromise my marriage like that. I only wish they'd told me everything up front so that I would not have wasted 4 days (2 interviewing and 2 working) during my job-hunt.
Good luck.
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