While you might have a seat at the table, it's hard to close the sale due to their greedy pricing practices (you'll never have line of sight to the true cost of an item). Also, while it's a good place to start your career it's not a good place for advancement, unless you're willing to kiss some major A**. It's all about the "in crowd" and being a part of the club. I've been both a cool kid and a black sheep ... and neither side is easy. The goal structure and compensation plan make me shake my head. I worked harder every year (which was explained by management as our "new normal" so we should "get used to it") but each year my goals increased to unattainable levels and the last two years my income declined. Management is hit or miss. If you're lucky enough to have a manager with leadership ability, then you're going to enjoy going to work. If you're unlucky enough to have a manager who runs their people like a dictator (and there are plenty of those) then you're out of luck. While I was never placed on one they use the PIP (performance improvement plan) as a punishment and fast track to the exit. I've also seen a trend of eliminating older, highly skilled, sellers and replacing them with kids fresh out of college. Everyone is replaceable, that was my last manager's favorite saying. Since I left ... all but one of his sellers has left too. When an entire team turns over in less than a year I have to wonder why upper management isn't taking a look at their middle managers?
