Division Manager
Internship Skills
The Division Manager internship is a great way to learn a lot of skills that will benefit you in the future. While we couldn’t possibly write about everything someone has gained from this internship, in this article we break down the main skills/traits you can develop during your internship experience.
Management
Management skills are developed in the workplace, not in the classroom. It doesn’t matter how many courses you take on management because you will only ever learn how to manage people with experience. The Division Manager internship is a great place to get this experience. You have multiple employees that work for you and they all need you to teach them skills, tell them what to do, and give them support. This environment creates great managers in little time.
The EcoWash management experience differs from many workplaces. Firstly, most of the management is done from a distance. You may be in one part of town selling a project to a client while you simultaneously give an employee instruction that is working on a project 20 minutes away. This form of management can be difficult at first, but with a little practice, it becomes second nature. These management skills can be hard to develop in any other environment.
After you are done with your internship, you will likely have developed management skills that make you qualified to work as a manager in a variety of workplaces and situations. These skills will build a strong foundation for success far into the future.
Sales
Sales are the most enjoyable part of the internship for most people. You get a chance to meet a variety of people and solve their problems all while making good money for yourself and your employees. Sales are something we take seriously and we provide a lot of training on how to close deals and negotiate fairly with clients so that all parties come out happy with the end result.
In this position, you get a chance to do over a hundred of estimates, which are professional project proposals to clients all across the city you work from. During the estimate process, you get a chance to learn how to build trust with a client, learn more about them, tell them all about our services, and present them with a price. A good salesperson in this role can close over 80% of these deals and get competitive prices.
After your internship with EcoWash, sales will be the skill you will likely have developed the most. Many people are vaguely familiar with marketing or management before this internship, but sales are something that is hard to learn in the classroom.
Business Development
Running a Division at EcoWash is very hard but comes with a lot of accomplishments and lessons. Learning how to run a company from start to finish in 5 months is something that many people cannot do. At EcoWash, all of our interns do this every single year. Getting your first leads from marketing, turning those leads into your first customers, and getting your first employees to finish all that work you sold is something to be proud of and comes with a lot of valuable lessons.
Some of these lessons are hard. Screwing up a project and having to face a client who is upset can ruin your day. Having to fire an employee for missing work too often can be a difficult situation. Selling a project that your employees can’t do in the timeframe you promised can lead to upset clients. These are situations nearly every Division Manager has to deal with at one point or another. No matter how much training you get and careful you are, some mistakes are unavoidable when you do as many projects as we do.
Some of these lessons are fantastic. Running your first company and having everything be a success at the end of the year is a fantastic feeling. You learned a lot, built an impressive resume, and made great money compared to your peers. By the end of the internship it is quite rare a Division Manager feels unsatisfied with their experience here.
Confidence
Confidence is a trait that some people are just born with. Many others have to develop this trait with hard work. At EcoWash, our internship will leave you with newfound confidence. This isn’t easy- this confidence comes from the fact you took on a challenge and succeeded after working hard.
In fact, it would be practically impossible to leave this internship without being confident. In order to perform in this position you need to do hundreds of sales and meet with all sorts of people and sell yourself as a project manager. This task gives you plenty of time to learn how to present yourself as a professional with expert knowledge in the fields we work in. Leaving this internship with confidence is practically a guarantee after your internship with EcoWash.
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Perseverance
I think it goes without having to say yet again- but this internship is hard. In fact, this internship has so many challenges, many of our interns will have days when they want to quit. The great news is that it always gets better if you try. Trying is hard. With anything hard comes perseverance. This is a trait that will take you far in life- if your goal is getting your dream job or starting and growing your own business, EcoWash will help you get closer to that goal.
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