Thanks for the memories, even though they weren’t so great
Pros
-Think of your co-workers as your brothers and sisters in arms. You are in the trenches together. You’ll deal with the same calls and customers, you’ll smile together, you’ll cry together. And if you’re all on the same page performance-wise, you’ll likely get promoted together. Similar to the military, some of the people you “serve” with will become your friends for life. -Them office parties. In my group, we’d have quarterly gatherings after work at some restaurant. They always tell you “beer and wine only, and only 2 per person”, but you’ll see everyone taking shots and pounding hard liquor like water. It’s a great way to unwind after a hellish week. -Career mobility. This is probably the biggest pro to Enterprise. When they say they promote based on merit, they mean it. If your numbers aren’t where they need to be, you aren’t getting that promotion or that flagship branch. In the four years I worked for enterprise, I’ve never seen anyone be promoted based on seniority or favoritism. This will definitely help the younger entrepreneurs or aspiring business professionals coming fresh out of college. -Rental discounts, and company cars. Everyone gets 50% rental cars as an employee, but some management positions get a company car. Of course it’s great having a company car and all, but it really helps when the powers-that-be suddenly toss you into a branch on the complete opposite side of town (or in some cases, another town entirely).
Cons
-Work/Life balance. Do you have a relationship/marriage? Do you have kids? Do you have hobbies? Do you just need some time to take a breather? Well then this isn’t the job for you. At minimum, you will work 12 hours/day. I clocked 65 hour work weeks because we just didn’t have the coverage for me to take lunch or leave on time. When you combine insane hours with a competitive, fast-paced and sometimes cutthroat industry, it results in poor work ethic or complete burn out. -At Enterprise, the money is in sales, meaning that if you choose to move to a support-type role (admin, HR, accounting, etc) be prepared to take a tremendous pay cut. There’s nothing wrong with those positions, but there’s a lot wrong with paying those positions close to 20% below average salary. -Remember when I mentioned burn out earlier? It’s very real at enterprise. Most people burn out after 2 years. When you combine the long hours, constant high-stress transactions and interactions, physically demanding work, too many tasks that have to be done before you leave, and the constant need to perform service and sales calls for 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, it can emotionally and mentally break you down. I miraculously made it to 4 years. I can only assume that was because enterprise killed my spirit by the end of year one.