Black In Business

I was in my office yesterday, when the comptroller for a U.K. owner business asked me to set up interviews for 3 people. “Great, was my response, I specialize in the medical field but I my be able to put together a slate of candidates for your inside sales position. When do you want to interview?” He responded, “Tomorrow.” I said, “Man it is 3 o’clock, but I will try. 1 of the people I brought in for an interview was a 25 year old recent graduate of a good university. She has a good chance to get hired despite having zero sales experience.
It got me thinking about being a new graduate and looking for a professional job. My first big gig was for Xerox as a sales representative. I was so proud to have a business card with my name on it. You would have thought I was the CEO. Xerox prided themselves on hiring the best and brightest. Most of the sales reps were in the 20’s and the old ones were in their 30’s. It was a great transition from college to the real world. My early days at Abbott was similar, even our national sales manager was young.
I have admired Enterprise car rental’s business model. They hire young college graduates with no or little experience. They teach them business skills by having them be rental agents. The career path can be rental agent, store mgr, zone mgr and up the ladder I had to rent a truck this week. The store I went to has a large black clientele, their staff was young, college educated, wanting to please. They all had white shirts and tie on. They seemed to have camaraderie and pride in their company. They were well trained and perhaps a bit arrogant but that may be a competitive thing. They were also all white and male. This is what this post is about, this can be a good place to start your career. Check it out and see if it makes sense for you.
Readers, If you know of other good companies to look for work and careers give us a shout out.