Why did I choose Wesco?
Education reimbursement & flexible schedule as I already had a morning job.
What were your first impressions of Wesco?
I loved the customers! They were fun to chat with. I loved the team I worked with at Store 37.
Sales Associate @ Wesco 37
When I first started Wesco I had 2 jobs. I worked at a daycare during the day and worked at Wesco 6pm-12am. Very early on, I realized I LOVED customer service. I loved to joke around with customers and make a small impact to lighten up someone’s day. I completed my Associate Level 1 Training.
I actually became very ill in my first year of working at Wesco with a rare disease called Guillan Barre’, I was paralyzed from head to toe. I remember my teammates from Wesco coming to visit me in the hospital, which I thought was so cool since I had only been there a short period of time. Months later, I made a full recovery and went back to work. At that time, I had to give up one job and I decided to stick with Wesco.
Sales Associate @ Wesco 37
I asked Becky (Manager at 37 at the time) if I could start working on my Associate Level 2 Training. She let me do that. I remember begging Becky to come in on my days of to finish certain items on my Level 2. One that sticks out was cleaning the Parrot Ice machines we had back then. I ended up completing level 2 pretty quickly.
Assistant Manager @ Wesco 37
I decided Wesco was the career path that I wanted to choose. I loved my job. There weren’t days where I dreaded going to work, which is why I knew this was something I could make a career out of. I asked Becky how I could grow with the company. At that time, we had Assistant Manager in Training. She promoted me to this position.
A few months later, our Assistant Manager became a Location Manager, and I was promoted to Assistant Manager at my home store, Cloverville. I worked on my Associate Level 3 & 4 Training. I also attended Leadership Academy & 7 Habits…
Manager @ Wesco 44
As soon as I decided Wesco was the career path I wanted I started applying to stores left and right. Looking back I was no where ready for my own store when I was applying, but I knew I wanted a store. I applied for about 4-5 stores and kept not getting them. I finally applied for Grand Haven (Store 07). After I interviewed with Zachary, for that big location (that I was no where near ready for) he called me and talked me into applying for a much smaller Store 44 (Grant). I applied, and ended up getting the store!
Manager @ Wesco 13
I was at Store 44 (Grant) for only 6 months. During that time a Muskegon store opened Store 13 (Laketon) I decided it would be best for me to apply for that one since it was closer to home.
Manager @ Wesco 13
I spent 4 years at Laketon. During this time I learned that building a strong team is one of the most important parts of the job. I started training my team as much as I could. Not only did it make my job easier, they also loved learning new things. We build a great team at 13 over the 4 years I spent there.
We ended up ranking top 10 in QPPAs 2 out of the 4 years I was there. During this time 2 of my Assistants became Location Managers themselves. I was able to help mentor them as well.
Manager @ Wesco 30
I decided it was time to grow and take on a new challenge. 13 was in a good place and I was ready for my next challenge.
The store I applied for was in my hometown. "I thought how cool would this be, to manage a store in my hometown." I ended up getting the Location Manager position at Store 30. 30 was a fresh start. I decided going in, anything I wanted to change about my old store/my old self as a manager I now had a fresh start.
This mentality really helped me grow and develop myself and the team around me. I really focused on cleanliness, sales, team work, accountability and training when I was the Location Manager @ 30. We were able to place 1st in Qppas 2 of the years I was there and 2nd the 3rd year I was there. This was a huge accomplishment for our team. During my time at 30 I was able to help train other Location Managers and Mentor many Location Managers along the way. After doing so much mentoring over the years, I really started to love the idea of doing that on a larger scale. This is when I decded to go for “Supervisor” now “Market Manger” I didn’t get the position the first time I applied for it. After not getting it Wanda, set me up with an IDP to help grow in areas so hopefully the next time I would be more ready to become a Market Manager when it opened.
Market Manager @ Zone 5
I applied for Market Manager second time around and was offered the position. During this time Sarah Walter has really taken me under her wing. She went through the Market Manger training list with me when I got the position. She has also signed all of us Market Manager’s up for a few development classes as a group so we can continue our growth.
I also had to complete UST Certification, which sounds scarier than it was. Sarah is very passionate about our continued growth and development as leaders. She goes above and beyond to ensure Wescos leaders are working on growing so we can help our stores grow. Now I get to make an impact on several people in the company.
I also get to learn new traits from others. I love my job and am thankful for all the opportunities that Wesco has given me!
What would I want someone just starting out to know?
I really enjoyed Wesco and the team. If you enjoy this job, embrace it. There are so many avenues you can use to grow into leadership, or any type of position at the office. I would want myself to know the Wesco genuinely cares about us growing and being successful. Take the leap of faith if you're thinking about it, you won't regret it.
