any advices on management trainee at Blinds To Go or marketing coordinator?

the trainee program sounds like crap.

can you explain? i really wanna know why

Sounds like you just try to sell blinds... doesn't sound like much of a career job to me.

Post more info on the trainee position.

I would never take a "management trainee" position...such a scam to get more of a person without reimbursing them properly...and to entice them to join.

Ask yourself why they would be hiring a "management trainee" position?

If I was an employeer I would be looking either a) internal to a good person to train or b) external for a person who could be a manager.

You don't look for people to train externally in this type of scenario.

A marketing coordinator position at an advertising agency usually pays around $30~$35K (for new hire w/ no or very little experience). If the position is in-house then it usually starts around $38~$45K - it all depends on industry, job location, and etc.

alanalan wrote: ↑I have 2 job offers. they are 1) management trainee at Blinds To Go and 2) marketing coordinator?

basically, for the management trainee program, i will be a sales of blinds. wage is around $15-$16/hr.

for marketing coordinator, i not yet know the salary yet. does anyone know how much will this be getting?

the trainee program seems better in terms of the growth opportunities but it may take so long for me to have the opportunity to really get promoted. and also, i dont think i can learn much out of it except ppl skills.

what is your opinions? adventages and disadvantages for both jobs?

ullyeus wrote: ↑I would never take a "management trainee" position...such a scam to get more of a person without reimbursing them properly...and to entice them to join.

Ask yourself why they would be hiring a "management trainee" position?

If I was an employeer I would be looking either a) internal to a good person to train or b) external for a person who could be a manager.

You don't look for people to train externally in this type of scenario.

It's unfortunate "management trainee" positions are not as wide spread as it is in Europe. Here, those are highly sought after position. Companies like Ikea, Bosch, Siemens, etc. always hire a few in any given year. The candidates are usually hirely qualified - a Masters degree or better, several internships, international exposure, and 3 languages are required. For the duration of the traineeship, candidates are placed in a number of roles, all mid-level. I know one at Bosch and one at Siemens. They travel all the time and do huge international projects. After a traineeship, the company usually retains the person in a managerial role. In fact, we're just hired a new international management trainee. Just 25 years old. She'll be moving here in February from the USA. All expenses paid by our company. Not to shabby.

It's funny how the word "trainee" means totally different things between NA and EU.

Anyway, as to the original poster, trainees positions are good if you intend to stay within the company for the long term. Given that people change positions every few years in North America, it's probably not worthwhile to dedicate yourself to a trainee program. Also, it looks like the trainee program is just a glorified title for a junior sales position.

Take the marketing position. You'll learn more and the pay is probably comparable to this "trainee" position.

for the trainee program, after a certain amount of time, you got to choose to manage the company such as finance, HR, Logistics.

doesnt it give you a wide chance to choose what you like? (assuming you really got promoted as they said)

honestly i don't know too much about the blinds position, but i do know the management trainee position @ enterprise has you washing cars.

If this is truly a management rotational program, then it may be good (but those are usually geared towards MBA grads).

alanalan wrote: ↑
basically, for the management trainee program, i will be a sales of blinds.

It's nothing more than a sales position, if you wish to work in sales then go for this. However, if that's not what you want choose the other.

Has blinds to go ever hired a sales person to work in their stores?

I've only heard of management trainee's being hired, putting in time at the retail level, moving to different stores and then leaving after they were satisfied that they hit a glass ceiling in the corporate structure.

alanalan wrote: ↑for the trainee program, after a certain amount of time, you got to choose to manage the company such as finance, HR, Logistics.

doesnt it give you a wide chance to choose what you like? (assuming you really got promoted as they said)

I used to work there quite a few years back, so things might have changed but, i highly doubt it. Here is the way it works. If you get hired, you will first go for training as a sales rep in either Montreal or NJ (they pay everything 1 week) then you will work as a sales rep first for atleast 2-5years, unless you are pulling in $20K a week in sales. It doesn't matter if you are trying to get the marketing position, manufacturing, HR, accounting, everyone starts in the store, period. The average depending on the store is about $7-$10K/week and you get 6% of the sale. All this advancement and programs is junk, its all about sales, if you sell alot, then you will move a bit higher in the company. The turnover in sales reps in the store is very high i would say atleast 80% quit in the first 2 years. Why, cause they couldn't care less about you, they have stacks of resume's and i mean stacks, don't like working there you know where the door is. I don't mean 100-200 resumes, im talking thousands, do a search on criaglist, canada job bank, they are constantly looking for people for atleast the past 5-8years and have not opened one more store in Ontario. MMMM, that should tell you something there already, they have not expanded, so why are they always posting job vacancies. 2 reasons, one cause people quit there so fast, and second people quit there, lol. Unless you are the lucky ones to work in a store with a manager that is cool. To advance into HR, finance, or whatever, good luck, in some ways its just better to buy a lottery ticket. And they will bleed you to the bone and pay you basically nothing that is there attitude. There employee retention is crap and non existant unless you are a power house sales person, then they love you. But, is that not true in any company. Lets say you don't trust me and just think im bashing the company, then if you are one of the lucky ones that actually do well in sales and stuff, you will go to Montreal for Q-testing. You can not study for the test, its multiple choice and you better have the attitude "i dedicate my life to blinds to go" they are looking for people that will scarifice everything for little pay. Have that thought on your mind, you will do well in your Q-test, which all of this is designed to lead you on. They won't give you your score and give you some excuse that you have to work on something and stick you in the store for another 6months to improve on whatever they make up. And i went through all this and i was more than qualified and had tons of experience in the industry. Again don't beileve me, don't care, not my loss. The only thing i will say I have the upmost respect for Stephen Schiller (CEO and son) he his a great guy, its a shame he has idoits working underneath him. And why im i posting here, because if only Stephen knew the type of morons that are working for him, he would fire more than half of them and start fresh. He could have done so well with the company, its idoits that are underneath him that is ruining it. And if you ever get that far to actually be in the room with him and get the Q-Test, tell him i said hi God forbid if Nikera (however you spell it) is still there. That would be the first person i would fire if i was Stephen.

If you are an American reading this post, things are a bit different, they actually care about there American stores and focus more on the US than in Canada. If you work in ON or QC, you won't go far, but they will keep on with there lies and string you along. And for consumers always make sure they are giving you 70-75% off of list price. If they don't trust me they can. If price is the issue, don't leave the store and dont' take the first price. They can even go down to 80% from list, you don't even need to talk to a manager, there always should be a manager present in every sale, thats if the sales rep is doing there job right.

charles09 wrote: ↑I used to work there quite a few years back, so things might have changed but, i highly doubt it. Here is the way it works. If you get hired, you will first go for training as a sales rep in either Montreal or NJ (they pay everything 1 week) then you will work as a sales rep first for atleast 2-5years, unless you are pulling in $20K a week in sales. It doesn't matter if you are trying to get the marketing position, manufacturing, HR, accounting, everyone starts in the store, period. The average depending on the store is about $7-$10K/week and you get 6% of the sale. All this advancement and programs is junk, its all about sales, if you sell alot, then you will move a bit higher in the company. The turnover in sales reps in the store is very high i would say atleast 80% quit in the first 2 years. Why, cause they couldn't care less about you, they have stacks of resume's and i mean stacks, don't like working there you know where the door is. I don't mean 100-200 resumes, im talking thousands, do a search on criaglist, canada job bank, they are constantly looking for people for atleast the past 5-8years and have not opened one more store in Ontario. MMMM, that should tell you something there already, they have not expanded, so why are they always posting job vacancies. 2 reasons, one cause people quit there so fast, and second people quit there, lol. Unless you are the lucky ones to work in a store with a manager that is cool. To advance into HR, finance, or whatever, good luck, in some ways its just better to buy a lottery ticket. And they will bleed you to the bone and pay you basically nothing that is there attitude. There employee retention is crap and non existant unless you are a power house sales person, then they love you. But, is that not true in any company. Lets say you don't trust me and just think im bashing the company, then if you are one of the lucky ones that actually do well in sales and stuff, you will go to Montreal for Q-testing. You can not study for the test, its multiple choice and you better have the attitude "i dedicate my life to blinds to go" they are looking for people that will scarifice everything for little pay. Have that thought on your mind, you will do well in your Q-test, which all of this is designed to lead you on. They won't give you your score and give you some excuse that you have to work on something and stick you in the store for another 6months to improve on whatever they make up. And i went through all this and i was more than qualified and had tons of experience in the industry. Again don't beileve me, don't care, not my loss. The only thing i will say I have the upmost respect for Stephen Schiller (CEO and son) he his a great guy, its a shame he has idoits working underneath him. And why im i posting here, because if only Stephen knew the type of morons that are working for him, he would fire more than half of them and start fresh. He could have done so well with the company, its idoits that are underneath him that is ruining it. And if you ever get that far to actually be in the room with him and get the Q-Test, tell him i said hi God forbid if Nikera (however you spell it) is still there. That would be the first person i would fire if i was Stephen.

If you are an American reading this post, things are a bit different, they actually care about there American stores and focus more on the US than in Canada. If you work in ON or QC, you won't go far, but they will keep on with there lies and string you along. And for consumers always make sure they are giving you 70-75% off of list price. If they don't trust me they can. If price is the issue, don't leave the store and dont' take the first price. They can even go down to 80% from list, you don't even need to talk to a manager, there always should be a manager present in every sale, thats if the sales rep is doing there job right.

Thank you very much for posting. I got a call about this and was already preparing for my interview, glad I didn't waste any more time with this pyle. In retrospect, I can't believe I didn't notice their careers section is only about management trainees, they don't even bother to advertise for sales associates.

brucemeng wrote: ↑honestly i don't know too much about the blinds position, but i do know the management trainee position @ enterprise has you washing cars.

If this is truly a management rotational program, then it may be good (but those are usually geared towards MBA grads).

Entreprise program for years has been known in the US for being one of the best, grooming young leaders in the firm that made the number one player for a while there back in 04-07. Sometimes beleive it or not even the manager needs to know how to wash cars.