| From: | Greg Symons <gsymons@******.TEMPLE.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Kids in management (was opening a business) |
| Date: | Sat, 18 Jul 1998 00:52:10 -0400 |
>
>The name sounds familar. I think I might have worked for them once,
what does
>Vector Marketing actually do?
They market Cutco cutlery, <sales training> a comprehensive line of
cutlery, household, and sporting items. </sales training. They really
are the best I've ever seen (which is totally off-topic). And it's a
_great job for college students... if you work hard enough, you can
easily make $10,000 in a summer. (one girl in my office earned $4k in
two weeks). But enough of this off-topic job stuff:)
>
>> Case 2:
>>
>> Daughter of my high-school principal decides "Hey, I wanna work in
my
>> field this summer." She starts cold-calling marketing firms, and
winds
>> up with a job as an advertising manager. Subsequently lands huge
>> account with the Hershey Wildcats soccer team, managing the
>> advertising campaign for the team's opening season. While still in
>> college.
>
>That is really not the same as being a manager of entire business.
She would
>be focused on one aspect of the business, the advertising campaign.
While yes
>I will agree that what she is doing is a professional job, I can not
see the
>same person managing a resturant while they are in collage. My wife
used to
Do you realize how much work goes _into_ managing an advertising
campaign? At least as much if not more than a restaurant...
Managing restaurant:
Interview/hire employees (usually unskilled)
Inventory supplies (usually delegated)
Order supplies
Bookkeeping (payroll, register tabs, etc.)
Schedule Employees
Supervise every day operations
Now, usually, these jobs are divided among several managers in a
restaurant (BK I worked at had 5).
Managing Advertising campaign
Research target market
Negotiate w/ client
*Hire/interview Designers, Video Directors (skilled professionals)
Approve/disapprove ad designs and tv spots
arrange publicity events (photo shoots, interviews, press releases)
Negotiate with various advertising venues (TV stations, radio, print)
Implement a campaign which actually hits the target market (not
necesarily easy:)
Research impact and effectiveness of campaign
*may not be necessary, depending on the size of the firm.
Really, an advertising campaign is, in and of itself, it's _own_
business. That's why there are advertising firms. I really see no
difference between managing a restaurant and managing an advertising
campaign (except for obvious skill differences:) And in this case it
is quite incredible, as this was the _inaugural_ season. She couldn't
just look where the previous manager had left off... she had to create
it all herself.
>work in a resturant and was offered management postions a dozen or so
times,
>each time turning it down. Why you ask? Management generally worked
so hard
>that they never got to see their familes or have free time. Also the
fact that
>they would regularly work extremely late hours. Now she works for the
city,
>and there is a big diffance in the work enviroment like everyone goes
home at
>5pm.
The hours for advertising/marketing management are _extremely_ long as
well. For instance, my manager probably got to the office at 8 or 9
this morning. I called in at around 10:00 tonight, and he was still
there. And probably was there at least another hour. Granted, every
day isn't like that (we're in a push period right now, so everyone's
workin' a little harder), but still, I would not be surprised to find
out he works 50-60 hour weeks. Marketing can't really punch a clock.
But you still have plenty of free time. After all, there are 168 hours
in a week. 116 for work and sleep still leaves you with 52 hours a
week to spend however you want. And that's with 8 hours a night. It's
just a question of managing your time (another discussion entirely:)
Also, I think we're missing on one crucial point... these are _summer_
jobs. I agree... you probably can't go to class full-time and manage a
business and still remain sane. But can you get a job in management
and still be attending school? Yes, easily.
>> It happens. Quite often. If someone's motivated enough, it's
_very_
>> easy to do. And these cases are _professional_ jobs. Not managing
a
>> Mccy D's.
>
>How often would you say is "quite often"? In my experience I have
only seen a
>single 19 or 20 year old as a manager of anything, and that was a
gameshop.
The sales division I'm in for Vector is looking to hire _30_ branch
managers (read students age 19-23) next summer. And this is in a
_very_ small (relatively) division... from about the middle of
Pennsylvania eastward to Philadelphia and parts of Delaware. There are
divisions out in the Midwest and West that cover whole _states_. So
you can imagine how many are gonna be hired out there. I wouldn't be
surprised if, as a whole, the company hires 2-300 branch managers next
year. Now, if that's just one company (and, BTW Vector is used as a
successful case study in one of the most popular marketing textbooks,
so you can be sure a lot of companies use the same model) I can easily
see it being _very_ common for college students to be managing
restaurants. It's all a question of applying for the job in the first
place.
I think the real question isn't "how many college students could get
jobs as managers" but rather "how many college students _apply_ for
jobs as managers." Most of the college students I know rule themselves
out simply by not applying. But that's a whole different discussion:)
Hmmm... this seems to be going OT, and I can't really find a way to
bring it back on, so if you want to continue the discussion, we'd
better take it into private mail, before one of us gets thwapped:)
Greg
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* \ (__) Greg Symons <gsymons@******.temple.edu> *
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