For many job seekers, finding a position with the right dealership is more important than landing the role of their dreams.
If you’ve been looking for a new role for a while or you’re only just starting out on your job search, knowing which dealerships to apply for is critically important to finding that ideal role that’s going to keep you feeling happy and fulfilled at work.
Whether you’re looking for the perfect earthmoving, agricultural or truck dealership, these useful tips will show you how to identify what you value most in an employer and how to find the right dealership that’s a match made in heaven.
Why is finding a dealership that’s a good fit for you important?
Whenever you’re contemplating a new position, there are two main things you need to consider – the role and the company. If either of these factors doesn’t match up with what you’re looking for, things have the potential to quickly turn sour.
With the majority of Australian and New Zealand workers spending most of their waking hours from Monday to Friday in the workplace, many of us spend more time at work than we do with our own families. Just like anything else that we dedicate such a significant portion of our time to, whether you’re working for the right or wrong company will inevitably affect you both personally and professionally.
From your personality and working style to your career goals and personal ethics, it’s important to find a dealership that’s a good cultural fit.
Even if you think you’ve finally landed that perfect parts interpreter or parts manager role you’ve been dreaming of, if the values of the dealership conflict with your own values, you’re bound to quickly find yourself feeling unhappy at work; then it’s only a matter of time before it starts affecting your performance or even taking its toll on your personal life.
When you work for a dealership which isn’t a good fit for you, you’re likely to find yourself counting down the minutes until 5 pm rolls around on a Friday and dreading going into work on a Monday morning. In contrast, if you find a dealership which is a good fit for you, you’re more likely to feel energised and enthused to take on new projects and go the extra mile for the business.
What types of dealerships are there to choose from?
In the world of dealerships, we generally see two types of businesses: big-business corporate dealership groups, and the smaller family or privately-owned dealerships.
Each type of business has its own benefits and weaknesses which will make them more suitable for a different type of worker.
Here’s a quick overview of the key pros and cons of each type of dealership business:
Big-Business Dealerships
The Positives:
- Larger dealership groups are generally well setup with plenty of systems in place to ensure everything runs fairly smoothly.
- They tend to have well-established procedures and processes to remove any confusion about roles and responsibilities.
- They often offer a range of opportunities for career progression throughout their dealership network.
- They may provide the opportunity to relocate (if that’s something you want to do).
- The salaries tend to be a little higher.
The Negatives:
- Larger businesses tend to have a lot of red tape which can make it difficult to effect change or drive new initiatives.
- With so many employees, you can start to feel like you’re just a number.
Smaller Dealerships
The Positives:
- Smaller dealerships tend to be more nimble with less red tape, making it easier to implement changes quickly without all the bureaucracy.
- Employees tend to have more influence on the business and can make a significant impact in helping to grow and develop the dealership.
- They tend to foster more close-knit and personal relationships with employees.
The Negatives:
- May not provide much scope for career progression.
- Remuneration rates may be slightly lower.
How to identify what you want in an employer
If you’re not sure what you most want to see in an employer, it may help to consider the following:
- Think about what you really want out of your career – Do you want to be able to move up the ladder onto bigger and better things, or are you happy completely dedicating yourself to a particular role to make it the best it can be while knowing you’ll be home by 5:30 pm each night?
- What is the company’s overall mission? – Do they operate purely to make a profit, or do they also have other community or societal change objectives?
- What are the roots of the company? – How was it established and how has it grown and developed to become the business it is today?
- What do they value most? – Do they put the interests of their customers above all else, or do they show genuine care for the happiness of their employees?
- What working style do you prefer? – Do you prefer a corporate culture which is more hierarchical, structured and procedural/systems-driven, or do you prefer a more organic family-style business
- What kind of relationships do you value? – Do you want to build strong relationships with your ‘work family’, or do you prefer to have more separation between your work and personal life?
While one single dealership may not tick every single box, if the majority of their values are aligned with your own, it’s more likely to be a fruitful relationship.
How to figure out if a company is a good fit for you
While it can be difficult to gauge exactly what a dealership is like before you start working for them, there are a few things you can do to get an idea of what their company culture is like.
Some simple ways you can build a better picture of what a business is like include:
- The leadership team of a business is generally a good reflection of what a business is like, so it’s worth using LinkedIn to find out more about the leadership team, their background, education and experience. It can also give you an idea of the career progression opportunities within the company.
- Use LinkedIn to find out who was in the role previously and send them a direct message to ask for their thoughts about the role and company; if they’ve already left the dealership, they’re likely to be happy to provide some fairly honest insights.
- Read through any Google customer reviews to gauge if there are any themes in the type of concerns or grievances customers have when dealing with them (keeping in mind that people tend to only leave reviews when they receive either exceptionally bad or exceptionally good service).
- Based on what you find during your research, ask any questions you have during your interview to get a first-hand insight into anything which might be a concern for you. This will also show the employer that you’ve done your research, which is always a good thing.
While you can never know entirely what working for a particular dealership will be like until you’re an employee, with a little forethought and research you can greatly improve your chances of landing a role in the right dealership which offers a good balance of the culture and career opportunities you’re looking for.
Teamrecruit is Australia’s most established recruitment agency specialising in truck, earthmoving and agricultural machinery dealerships in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. Find out more about Teamrecruit and how we support employers and candidates in the dealership industry.
