So is this a bad idea?

[asgdrew]

I'm a major in communications and i'm going to be graduating college in December of '08. My G.P.A. has never been truly stellar (2.8-3.0) and unfortunately I could never commit to a job full time enough to get enough experience as supervisor or manager.

So I have the interview for the ERAC internship on monday. I know it's going to be grueling and I know i'll only be making $8 an hour and working 50-60 hours a week. But my plan is this: Work my ass for them, keep my mouth shut, suck up and kiss ass and even see if I can work during next semester as well. Do everything I can as well as I can, go out and have beer, suck up and play the good ol boy network. Even let them believe that I want to work full time after college.

Hopefuly, if i'm doing well, i wanna be able to suck a letter of recomendation (say its for grad school or something) or at least get some awards or something to show I did well there.

And then, start handing e-mailing applications (rather than posting them on line) to other places and show them my experience and try to snag a job as soon as I graduate and leave that hell hole.

But is it possible to do this? I know its good expereince and I don't mind putting in the work for less than a year and to put it in my resume and I do want to go into sales but how likely is it to get a letter of recommendation? Is it likely that this internship won't help me at all?

Or should I juts do my other possible intern and do campaign work for a local independent party and hope that pays off well too?

[JGATZ]

It all depends on what you are looking to get out of your "E"perience. I will admit companies like to see it on your resume, and most will acknowledge it is a good stepping stone. However, you will swallow your pride daily because you will not be respected by many of the people you deal with. Not everyone who works for ERAC or rents from ERAC is bad, but you will encounter your winners as in any other job. The pay is very bad for someone with a college degree, but I guess not too terrible for the type of work it is. This is merely a retail job with sales, customer service, car detailing, and taxi cab driving mixed in. Although sometimes you will be janitor because ERAC does not hire cleaning crews for its branches. The majority of your time will be spent writing tickets, trying to sell ERAC coverage, and driving customers here or there. Depending on your branch, you will either be very busy all day every day or have spurts here and there. I can tell you you will be at work more than 50 hours a week usually from 7:00AM until 630PM or later depending on the branch's hours of operation. I do not know how they treat their interns. The hours might not be as harsh in order to not scare too many people off. You will also be wearing professional business clothing (white shirt/tie) every day no matter the weather, so if you enjoy cleaning cars in these clothes, you might enjoy this job. Though I am being somewhat sarcastic, I still think a lot of people need to work for ERAC for a few months to really appreciate their next job (see my other posts on this). However, this is a terrible job to make a career of. I think you should interview with both internship opportunities and then make a decision. As far as a recommendation goes, ERAC will merely state the dates you were employed there if a reference were to call them. I could suggest you take the intership and network with all your customers to find out what they do and if their companies are hiring, but I honestly could not in good faith recommend this job to anyone.

[asgdrew]

Thanks for the reply. Like I said, my only goal is to use this as a stepping stone and work for another 6 months, thats it. I'm gonna smile, dress nice, talk about sports and babes and try not toburn any bridges when I bail out. I'm just trying to get something on the resume and some good accolades (like high sales or good reviews) and then move onto something bigger and better. I have no intention on doing this job as a career, I'm merely using this opprotunity as tool for moving onto a bigger and better things.

I don't plan on jumping into a high paying job out of college and I wouldn't even mind making 30K but I want something in a better field or a better company with better hours and more opportunities and I feel like busting my ass and brown nosing for 6 months might be the best way to do so

[JGATZ]

Again, it is your decision. If you are working there with the intention of leaving after the internship is up, then it might be okay only you will have no life outside of work. It is also very hard to interview for other jobs while working at ERAC, and don't even think about posting your resume on Careerbuilder or Monster because "they" will know and have a sit down with you about it. It always baffled me how ERAC would always try to prevent people from quitting by offering them lateral moves, a "better" branch, or some free food. Notice how I never said a raise or better hours. They are very desperate for people and will cling to you like a leech if you are thinking of leaving, especially if the area has low retention...

[3***C]

If you DO work there (and I'm not recommending it long term...) make sure you play up the intern angle. They shouldn't make you work the insane hours, as they should want you to continue to work there after graduation. Don't be just a grunt--you'll most likely get the sh*t work like washing lots of cars and picking up lots of insurance customers. It would be worth it to get E-Crap on your resume before you graduate, but, really, when are you starting??--if you intern and are taking classes you might as well drop out of college now, as you will have no time to study. If you have a girl/boyfriend, kiss them goodbye. If you had a life before--you see the pattern. It will suck you in and eat you up. Get in and get out, get your recommendation letter up front, or at least after 90 days......Make your friends, meet your contacts, drink you beers, sleep with the office slut....then move on....

[superman123]

I think its a good idea as long as you keep the goal in mind- You're working this job as a stepping stone. I worked for Enterprise with the goal of building my resume and getting into graduate school. I let them think I was sold on the Enterprise dream. The key is to make them think you've bought into their "this is my career" horseshit. Be careful that you don't tell anyone your real plans though.

[FormerClone]

Originally Posted by asgdrew

I'm a major in communications and i'm going to be graduating college in December of '08. My G.P.A. has never been truly stellar (2.8-3.0) and unfortunately I could never commit to a job full time enough to get enough experience as supervisor or manager.

So I have the interview for the ERAC internship on monday. I know it's going to be grueling and I know i'll only be making $8 an hour and working 50-60 hours a week. But my plan is this: Work my ass for them, keep my mouth shut, suck up and kiss ass and even see if I can work during next semester as well. Do everything I can as well as I can, go out and have beer, suck up and play the good ol boy network. Even let them believe that I want to work full time after college.

Hopefuly, if i'm doing well, i wanna be able to suck a letter of recomendation (say its for grad school or something) or at least get some awards or something to show I did well there.

And then, start handing e-mailing applications (rather than posting them on line) to other places and show them my experience and try to snag a job as soon as I graduate and leave that hell hole.

But is it possible to do this? I know its good expereince and I don't mind putting in the work for less than a year and to put it in my resume and I do want to go into sales but how likely is it to get a letter of recommendation? Is it likely that this internship won't help me at all?

Or should I juts do my other possible intern and do campaign work for a local independent party and hope that pays off well too?

I actually would recommend working for ERAC in, or right out of college. As far as looking good on a resume, yes and no. Most people think of ERAC as they do any other car rental company. It is valuable on the resume, if they know the real deal. You will work your ass off, but you get good business experience, and learn how Corporate America chews you up and spits you out. Also, very good drinking experience!

[erudite"eracer"]

Originally Posted by superman123

I think its a good idea as long as you keep the goal in mind- You're working this job as a stepping stone. I worked for Enterprise with the goal of building my resume and getting into graduate school. I let them think I was sold on the Enterprise dream. The key is to make them think you've bought into their "this is my career" horseshit. Be careful that you don't tell anyone your real plans though.

Even if you tell them your real plans of leaving you can always go back on your word..This company is so fucking starved for fresh dumbasses they will forgive any accidental hickup in the context of you looking for another job option...But this only rings true for those below the assistant manager position. I feel sorry for those that bleed green. It really is a modern day tragedy that people give up their health, mental well being, families and friends to rent god damn cars after studiously obtaining their bachelor degree. I mean, sacrafice all of this for a real future and a decent paycheck-not some fukt up pipe dream that will never come to fruition. Also, any good hearted person that stays with the company ultimately caves in to the immoral backstabbing greedy ass environment that efuk so shamelessly promotes. Perfect example- just look at the fresh faced female mt's and you cant help but think....hmmm if you stay with the company you will be the biggest cum guzzling cok stuffing whore bag sleep my way to the top piece of shit ever!! Fucking enterprise..I mean if your going to suck cok to get ahead at least make it a career with a real fucking future INSTEAD OF RENTING CARS TO DRUG DEALERS LOW LIFES AND ALL AROUND ASSHOLES!! NOW GO CLEAN MY FUCKING IMPALA!

[wanky]

Originally Posted by asgdrew

I'm a major in communications and i'm going to be graduating college in December of '08. My G.P.A. has never been truly stellar (2.8-3.0) and unfortunately I could never commit to a job full time enough to get enough experience as supervisor or manager.

So I have the interview for the ERAC internship on monday. I know it's going to be grueling and I know i'll only be making $8 an hour and working 50-60 hours a week. But my plan is this: Work my ass for them, keep my mouth shut, suck up and kiss ass and even see if I can work during next semester as well. Do everything I can as well as I can, go out and have beer, suck up and play the good ol boy network. Even let them believe that I want to work full time after college.

Hopefuly, if i'm doing well, i wanna be able to suck a letter of recomendation (say its for grad school or something) or at least get some awards or something to show I did well there.

And then, start handing e-mailing applications (rather than posting them on line) to other places and show them my experience and try to snag a job as soon as I graduate and leave that hell hole.

But is it possible to do this? I know its good expereince and I don't mind putting in the work for less than a year and to put it in my resume and I do want to go into sales but how likely is it to get a letter of recommendation? Is it likely that this internship won't help me at all?

Or should I juts do my other possible intern and do campaign work for a local independent party and hope that pays off well too?

I've worked alongside a few interns during my time in rental hell, and from my experience the interns were treated fairly well. I know myself and other MT's would pull them aside at any chance and talk them up just enough so they don't quit right away since it's always nice to have another body around to help with cleaning cars, picking up customers, etc. On the other side of the coin, we'd also put enough doubt in their minds as to whether or not this would be a wise career move, since most of us had already made up our decisions that this absolutely sucked and it's about time we saved other people from making this mistake.

If this is something you're seriously considering, I would pay VERY close attention to everything and everyone around you your very first month. Renting cars for a living can be tolerable for indeterminate amount of time if you happen to have coworkers that you not only get along with, but can trust. Granted, I already graduated and was a full-timer, but the only thing that kept me there for as long as I did (a little over a year) was that for the most part, my "superiors" were okay and left me alone, and the majority of my coworkers were very cool. Trust me when I say even as an intern, this job sucks enough as it is; it is simpy not worth another fucking day "at the office" if you also have to look over shoulder or simply can't stand the people you work with.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by erudite"eracer"

Even if you tell them your real plans of leaving you can always go back on your word..This company is so fucking starved for fresh dumbasses they will forgive any accidental hickup in the context of you looking for another job option...But this only rings true for those below the assistant manager position. I feel sorry for those that bleed green. It really is a modern day tragedy that people give up their health, mental well being, families and friends to rent god damn cars after studiously obtaining their bachelor degree. I mean, sacrafice all of this for a real future and a decent paycheck-not some fukt up pipe dream that will never come to fruition. Also, any good hearted person that stays with the company ultimately caves in to the immoral backstabbing greedy ass environment that efuk so shamelessly promotes. Perfect example- just look at the fresh faced female mt's and you cant help but think....hmmm if you stay with the company you will be the biggest cum guzzling cok stuffing whore bag sleep my way to the top piece of shit ever!! Fucking enterprise..I mean if your going to suck cok to get ahead at least make it a career with a real fucking future INSTEAD OF RENTING CARS TO DRUG DEALERS LOW LIFES AND ALL AROUND ASSHOLES!! NOW GO CLEAN MY FUCKING IMPALA!

Fuck man, that was a kick ass post!