Pros
There are some great things about it: - You're working with 150+ people, all your age, fresh out of college. It's a blast and a completely unique, fun experience. Take advantage of it. - Working at HQ is awesome - Some managers will have your back and are a huge help - Push comes to shove, extremely competitive base salary, benefits, and PTO days for an entry-level sales role - Takes you through all phases of the sales cycle. While tedious and often frustrating, it's good to get the experience in - It's seen as a respected program, so good opportunities present itself after the fact
Cons
The reality of the program: - At least 50% of your cohort that you enter with will quit/be fired within 120 days. - As part of a new "convergence" concept, AT&T slashed $17,000 from everybody's salary as they were about to enter the field. Sellers were also not given a choice on if they wanted to enroll in this program, but were forced to. - It's hard. 65+ calls a day, every day, for months. No way around it, you need to have serious grit to make it through. - The program does not do a good job of setting you up for success in the field - HUGE emphasis on door-to-door sales, which is a hilarious waste of time and not what anyone signs up for. - Program isn’t built for people to learn, but survive - Awful communication in upper-management - You have to pay to park, and the lot is still 10 minutes away from HQ - Success is heavily dependent on your market - If you take PTO or are sick, you are still responsible for making up your activity quota upon your return (a completely made-up, arbitrary number) - It's incredibly demoralizing watching the happiness drain from your friends' faces each day until eventually, their desk becomes empty - While some are great, some other managers are terrible and will actively push to get you removed for subjective reasons. Bottom line, if your manager doesn’t like you, start sending out those resumes. - Your preferred placement is not guaranteed - You will quickly realize why the program brings in 40+ new sellers every single month
