The job is working as an Account Manager at CDW. They sell IT and electronics to businesses. CDW was at the career fair at State in February and I gave the recruiter my resume. Now they just got back to me last week after about a month's time. Does anyone have any experience with working at CDW have applied at CDW before?

The recruiter guy called me on the phone and talked to me about the position as if he was trying to sell me the position(first red flag). They offer only $25,000 a year salary plus a $3000 bonus which will be divided into equal payments throughout the year. You will be earning comissions on top of that. That is really low especially considering it is in a suberb right outside of Chicago(Vernon Hills). He said they'd be willing to fly me in there and was trying to see when i had time. He didn't even do a real inital interview before the offer. He's just basing this on how much interest he hears me say I have(another red flag). He told me most people make like $35,000 or so first year.

I did some research and found that on Vault the responses on there were all bad.(another red flag) I don't pay for that service so all i can see is the begining of someone's comment. I did manage to get a couple comments to come up through google.

So here's the deal, the guy is still working on getting me out to the Chicago area. Even if it does turn out bad as I suspect, I might just use this as a chance to get a free trip and as a learning experience. I'm making another post right below to show you what other people have said so please give me your advice.

Thanks a lot

3/13/2007 3:05:12 PM

This is about the salary. http://www.vault.com/survey/employee/CDW-Salary-compensation-57954.html

Quote :

"Don't even get me started. Like I said... the smoke and mirror show landed me 25K a year and another $700 in TOTAL commission over 10 months. I filed for a below the poverty line credit on my tax return this year......McDonalds Managers make more than that. Here is what you will be offered: 25k/year and 10% of the gross profit What they don't tell you: you only get 10% of the profit if you hit 110% of your quota. Otherwise you float b/t 4% and 9%. Anything below 60% of quota gets you a whopping 4%. When you consider that most items CDW carries are sent out at an average margin of 3-4% that doesn't give you crap. You qouta is most likely outrageous so the company can make a fortune off of you. Think of it this way: Your Gross Profit Quota: $10,000/month You actually get: $5,900 You get: $200 in commission The company gets $5,700 Benefits are good. Healthcare, 401K and ESPP. Bagels on Tues and Thurs. Maybe they could can the bagels and bump up the base?! Like I said, people coming out of college and even those who have been out for a while......I promise you can find a better job than this....both financally and mental capacity. I have now landed a job making $65,000/year (nearly 3 times my previous salary) plus a commisson plan. Trust me.....your skills/education are worth more than CDW will give for them. this is about the workplace http://www.vault.com/survey/employee/CDW-EMPLOYEER-57954.html "

CDW is an awful place to work. Just ignore the Fortune "Best to Work for" rank. Not all employees get to take this survey. CDW selects a group of "designated employees" to take the survey. If you are interviewing with them my advice is to run. The best sales people they have are the recruiters. Culture- Similar to a cult. Everyone is programmed to do the same thing. Hours-Long hours with little reward. During your interview you are told that you will work long hours but the reward will be great. I don't think so. I filed for a "below the poverty line" tax credit on my last return...that was the last straw. You are an order taker, plain and simple. Dress Code- Tie or CDW shirt........ Training- Vendors come in and train you on various products. Nothing one could not find on the website. A waste of time. Bottom line, if you have a college degree there are much better opportunites for you. I know it looks good because the job market is so bleak but don't buy the smoke and mirror show that CDW puts on. Want proof? Ask your recruiter about the avg turnover and see if you are given a straight answer.

3/13/2007 3:11:43 PM

this reminds me of that guy who got a scam email from nigeria and was asking us if we thought it was a scam.

the job sounds like crap. the pay sucks and the actual work sounds horrible. thanks for posting the stories tho, interesting read.

3/13/2007 3:41:52 PM

Quote :

"So here's the deal, the guy is still working on getting me out to the Chicago area. Even if it does turn out bad as I suspect, I might just use this as a chance to get a free trip and as a learning experience."

Make sure you get reimbursed for it. Don't assume, ask explicitly. I've shown up for an interview or two where they wouldn't reimburse my gas on a significant drive. And if you do get reimbursed, go. One of the best parts about interviewing is seeing multiple companies perspectives on fields you are interested in. Granted, it does require some prep work on your behalf as well, but once you DO find a job you like, you'll have a general idea of how the competition works (rather than no idea at all).

3/13/2007 5:48:14 PM

^
well the guy actually said that it would be a flight and they would be paying for it, so i'll see if he calls me back tomorrow

3/13/2007 11:40:15 PM

I drive past there when I take IL-21 (Milwaukee Ave) home from school, when it's the week of your birthday your name goes on this little marquee across the street from a Sam's entry


other than that, CDW is hardly worth the flight they'll pay for. You're gonna be over 25 miles away from Chicago's northern limit, so don't really count on getting to see much. They'll likely board you somewhere on 21 and you'll get to see the same crap any other Suburbville, USA has.

3/14/2007 3:02:46 AM

so the update is this: the guy called back today and got me set up with a flight out there for a same day there and back trip on monday. I'm going to test the waters, so wish me luck.
i'm gonna go to my career counselor and see what he has to say.


[Edited on March 14, 2007 at 12:53 PM. Reason : .]

3/14/2007 12:48:00 PM

I'd just like to point out that I work for Berbee, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDW. We're their professional services arm, so even though we're owned by and technically part of CDW we're still our own separate business unit.

SO if you're looking for a career in network consulting, let me know and I can send you some info. I can't speak for CDW as a whole, but my little part of it (roughly 1000 employees compared to the 5500 CDW has), Berbee, kicks ass.

http://www.berbee.com/public/index.aspx

[Edited on March 14, 2007 at 5:40 PM. Reason : .]

3/14/2007 5:39:44 PM

Rule # 1 if any review on the internet:

Don't trust those that aren't written properly and where the writer hasn't taken the time to give a solid review.

3/15/2007 9:24:04 AM

Quote :

"I filed for a below the poverty line credit on my tax return this year"

how the fuck is $25,000+ below the poverty line??? right now, i'd kill for $25,000+.

3/15/2007 6:05:15 PM

poverty line for a single person is under $15,000 a year. that reviewer is full o' shit

3/15/2007 6:18:28 PM

Or married...

3/15/2007 7:40:33 PM

SALES IS SALES

if you're good you can make unlimited amounts of money

if you suck you will make no money

really this is no different than any other job

people just bitch about it because the amount of income is DIRECTLY related to how good you are and how hard you work

whereas in most jobs you can make either more or less money than you deserve, sales is straight up

case closed

3/15/2007 7:51:01 PM

Quote :

"how the fuck is $25,000+ below the poverty line??? right now, i'd kill for $25,000+."

dude $25k is $12.50 an hour... which isn't something you would make doing floor retail... but isn't that hard to come across for full time work... and DEFINITELY shouldn't be a problem for a person with a college education

3/15/2007 7:51:58 PM

but it is about what a shitty salesman would make

3/15/2007 8:07:07 PM

you can get a similar job in Raleigh

never move for a sales job

you can sell anywhere

3/15/2007 8:25:20 PM

^^^Remember that's $12.50 in Chicago, not Raleigh. The cost of living there is about 50% higher (depending on where you live and how much you commute to work, etc...)

3/15/2007 11:04:39 PM