Pros
I have been a consultant for World Book for 6 years. I made the career move after interviewing and speaking to several other consultants. World Book is a product that people LOVE!!! It's trusted and has been a brand for over 100 years. Everyone has a World Book story to tell. :) Working with librarians and district coordinators is so much FUN!! They are great people and have it in their DNA to want to help! Our nonfiction books are beautiful and our databases are loved by many! My 2 year ride was awesome until we received news of a new president. The new president was very damaging to our business... he was cruel and had unrealistic expectations. He also hired managers that would hold out his agenda... and his agenda was something I couldn't understand and left damaging results for many territories. The GOOD news is he is NO LONGER with us and Karma will follow him. No need to discuss him anymore, but out of all my years of working... he was absolutely the worst leader EVER and the reviews that you have read were TRUE, but their is NEW HOPE! 😊 Geoff Broderick is now our leader... he is a worker, SUPER pleasant, a thinker and get the job done kind of a guy. He has already brought NEW life to World Book. He listens, he is NOT aggressive, he has common-sense, and has already implement new policies and procedures for growth.... he believes in the value of the customer and the CONUSLTANTS! He believes the way we grow is by listening to our consumers! He has made an advisory board to partner our customers to our editors so we know what to focus on for age appropriate books at all levels. He is FAIR and listens to all stories... good or bad to make the best move for our company. He believes in communication and will be fair to ALL employees. He values the consultants, their ideas and will bring unity to all levels of the organization. I have personally watched this happen (several times) in just the few months he has been at World Book. I am personally so thankful for him and his vision! A GREAT leader makes ALL the difference and he will move us right into the future! Also, 401K (they match up to 6%), insurance (medical, dental, life) are a plus! There are huge benefits for working with Berkshire Hathaway.
Cons
Micromanaging - This is SO much better with the NEW president. This has become less of an issue in the past months. Even the mangers are starting to relax a bit because the pressure on managers is less. You know what they say about stuff rolling down hill. ;-) With the past president everyone seems to have a different deal... commission wise and expense wise. It needs to be leveled out with everyone being on the same playing field. More print to sell... we are sole source which means that you can only buy our products from World Book… and that is great thing! However, it would be nice to have around 10-12 new sets a year. This helps for growth in our territory. Marketing Team - it's very week and most materials/flyers are made by the rep. I know that this will get better though and it's on the horizon to bring better support to the consultants.