Interview

[formererac]

It depends on what your minor was and if you had any extra curricular activities.

my ex was a history major and he's now a car salesman and from what I understand he makes decent money, but alot of hours.

[formererac]

Sounds like he should have foregone the degree. A friend of mine does the same thing, and he just has a high school diploma.

hey, that's why he's an ex... haha...not too bright!

[formererac]

That always made me laugh (or kind of sad) guys that spent all this time and money getting a degree, then working a job that a high school graduate could do. What a waste.

[FailingEnterpriseAdmin]

Originally Posted by formererac

That always made me laugh (or kind of sad) guys that spent all this time and money getting a degree, then working a job that a high school graduate could do. What a waste.

There are benefits to education other than skills you can put to use in the next couple of years.

Just out of curiousity... does anyone know why ex-ERAC employees get recruited so much by pharm companies? What kind of pharmacutical companies do ex employees generally go to? Companies like Pfizer and Merck?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Ok... so like most people I've been reading all the stuff on this board and have been a bit turned off by what I have found. However, I still decided to go through the interview process and have now been asked back for a 3rd and Final interview. Yes the "salary" is low, and yes the hours are long, but is it really that bad? Do most of you really regret ever working there, or can you atleast admit that some of the stuff (maybe the trianing or whatever) helped you get your next or current job. I am not looking at Enterprise as a career, as much as they say it may be. I look to work there for maybe 2-3 years, get maybe as high as a branch manager and then get out. What is wrong with that? As a college kid, it is extremely hard to get your first job when you have virtually no experience whatsoever. You all make it seem like you had such terrible experiences at ERAC, which I do believe to a degree, but aren't you better off for it? You have probably learn more about business, or atleast what it is you don't want to do with your life. No? For me, its just a job... one that will get me the experience I need to get into some kind of other sales position (I would love pharm. sales and I have heard a bunch of former ERAC people end up getting jobs in that industry). What do you guys think? They tell me 30k, plus skill's test and MQI for 32k possiblity for first year out. Even if its not that much, some people on this board have said it's more like 18-23k or so.. and that seems a bit off from what I have learned. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much.

I dont know if I would spend more than 1 year at Enterprise. I think your plan is pretty good in regards to working for the Big E for a short time, especially if you want to get into the phara. game. I'm sure that you have read that most people get their start in Pharmaceutical sales because of Enterprise.
From what I have heard and seen in the past on this site is that most pharmaceutical companies are looking for atleast one year of sales experience.

Forget about learning much when it comes to running a business though. You may learn very basic things but nothing that you would be able to transfer over to other jobs. What you learn are people skills though, how to deal with them and get them to buy something from you. You learn how to kiss ass.

The pay is going to suck. You may have heard the 18-23k because thats what you would make if you were working for a real company that had you work 40 hours a week ($11/hr * 2080hrs = $22,880). Your first couple of months will consist of working 6 days a week and sleeping when you are not working. Dont plan on doing much with your time off. Dont plan on taking any time off as well, you will have to beg to take any time off, especially if you like to do things like spend the holidays with your family instead of working. You will have to attend after work functions such as happy hours, united way fund raisers, etc.

Hopefully you are not in a relationship, if so then the big E is going to put a strain on it. If you have any ethics you might have some trouble. To be a top performer you might have to use a few shady tactics to get those sales figures. Examples would be asking people if they want the basic or the full coverage, this is similar to going to a McDonalds and ordering a value meal and them asking if you want the medium or large size. They fail to mention that there is a small size just as the customer can go with their own insurance. When you do find someone to purchase the DW you will most often sell it as a "package" with the PAI because it is frowned upon if you split the coverages.

It sounds like you have done your homework about the company. If you get hired you might want to set a date of when you are going to quit. Dont get sucked into the E-crap, I have seen too many people waste 3 to 4 years with the company and nothing really comes out of it.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you do.

to be honest, i'm of the opinion that erac doesnt really teach you in a year anything you couldnt be taught in a couple of weeks. you'll deal with angry customers being totally unreasonable all the time. for instance, 'why can't you just deliver the car to my house/i'm not leaving a deposit/this car simply won't do (despite the fact that you know damn well it WILL do) and so on.

point being that erac is so obsessed, so permanently, maddeningly your-future-depends-on-it ENTIRELY obsessed, with having 'completetly satisfied customers,' that will actually do pretty much anything to make the customer happy. this is not how to deal with customers. this is how to make a last ditch, underhand effort to get your esqi (customer service essentially) figures to look good.

nowadays, i don't deal with customers very much, and am employed in a position in which i have authority over people at a branch manager level, though in an industry 100% removed from erac. and if a branch manager is being unreasonable towards me, i am in the refreshing situation of being able to tell him to shut up, be reasonable, and simply say the word that you CANNOT say at erac. 'no.'

customer: 'can you pick me up from the airport at 6?'

your manager: (noticing the 1 car he doesnt need for the morning, thus making his books look that 1% better): 'of course sir.'

and you will be on this pick up, and you won't be home til 7 earliest.

nowadays, my reaction would be like this:

customer: 'can you pick me up at 6?'

me: 'no. we shut at 6 and all go home. you'd have to ensure you could be picked up and be away in your hire car by six or i'm afraid there's little more we can do.'

see also:

customer: 'this car simply will not do. i need a bigger car.'

me: 'but this is pretty much the same size as your car.'

c: 'i demand a bigger car.'

m: 'this is the car you're getting, or you're not getting one at all.'

or how about:

customer: 'do you have any vans that i could take overnight?'

me, noticing a van 100 miles away that one of my staff is going to have to spend 4 hours getting, and it's half 5: 'no.'

another good one:

customer: 'i'm not giving you my card details. i'll leave a ten pound note and that's it.'

me: 'that's ridiculous. what good is ten quid if you wreck this car. i'm not lending you a car.'

and the biggest contrast; at erac: (bear in mind you have no cars).

customer: 'do you have any cars?'

erac: 'yes.'

me: 'no.'

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My degree is in History... basically a completely useless major, other than the fact that it taught me how to read and write pretty well. That's the reason I feel like I need some kind of trainee program to prove myself as a good worker in the "real world". I just feel like I need to start with someone who is willing to take a chance on me and let me prove that I am a good worker and have great skills, and from my experience not many people are willing to give a history major straight out of college that opportunity.

Get your teaching credential or go after an advanced degree.