Sunday, July 18, 2010
Home Depot Corporate Office - Tips For Getting Employed There
If you have wanted a job at the Home Depot corporate office, then you probably already wait for openings and available positions. This type of position requires skill and a unique disposition that sets you apart from the crowd. The corporate offices work much differently from the retail locations, and also provide higher income compensation.
Corporate opportunities are usually available to college graduates and those with experience in the retail or home improvement field. It doesn't hurt to have a degree in business administration or a similar area, but a variety of degrees can help you get the job you want. Depending on the position you want, whether it is a main office customer service rep, or a Home Depot expert, your degree is an important factor.
One of the main corporate jobs is at a call center. These individuals provide service to customers to help answer important questions and provide tech support for products. These centers offer more than just phone call operations however. You can get a job as an installation sales man, service positions, and more. If you want something like this, then be prepared to speak with a lot of different people.
Another Home Depot corporate office job is at a distribution center. There are a number of options here that range from general manager to supervisor, engineer, financial analysts, and transportation coordinator. Some of these corporate positions require extensive knowledge. Being an engineer for Home Depot will certainly require an engineering degree. If this is what you want then be prepared with proper education and some experience in your desired field.
Aside from the various corporate positions you should show professionalism and care for the Home Depot customer base. When you go into an interview demonstrate that you have what it takes to work at their company with success and drive. They are going to hire the individual that can provide something different to their corporate offices - not a person that should be working in the basic retail department.
Corporate jobs are higher paying, but when applying you should never directly ask what the pay rate is. This shows you are only interested in earning as much money as possible, and not about the actual job at hand. If compensation rates are important, ask that at a later date or when they reveal that you have been hired. You always have the option to decline the job.
The Home Depot - Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus' Success Factors
Famous Quote
"We believed from the start that if we brought the customer quality merchandise at the right price and offered excellent service, we could change retailing in the United States. Today, we are the model of what retailing should be."
Starting The Business
In the late 1970s, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were both working at a home centre chain in Southern California called Handy Dan when Siegfried S. Sigoloff, known for disposing of senior management in the companies he purchased, bought the struggling Daylin Inc., Handy Dan's parent company. Since Handy Dan was profitable, Marcus and Blank were certain their jobs were secure. But they were wrong. False charges were brought against the two that alleged they had allowed a subordinate to open an account and use funds to fight against a union at Handy Dan stores in San Jose.
Before they were fired, however, Marcus and Blank had been working to find profitable ways of discounting at one of their Handy Dan locations. They noted that by marking items down, volume rose and costs, as a percentage of sales, dropped. At the time when they lost their jobs they had been planning to implement their discovery at other outlets, but now they were free to begin building a nationwide home-centre chain of their own. They planned to develop a store where product selection was great and prices were kept as low as possible, and where trained, knowledgeable, and helpful customer service representatives provided the best service available.
The venture began in suburban Atlanta with money from a New York investment firm. They stocked the shelves of their first two stores with 18,000 different products, everything from paint supplies to specialized tools for repairs, cut prices as far as they could, and hired and trained staff themselves. On opening day, they gave their kids a stack of $1 bills to hand out to customers to say thank you for shopping at the store, but by the end of the day, there was still money left and the kids were out in the parking lot using the money to try to convince people to go in and have a look.
Both were dejected and despondent. Marcus remembers that "[his] wife wouldn't let [him] shave for days. She didn't want [him] to have a razor in [his] hands."
Building an Empire
A few days after the grand opening, a customer returned with a token of her gratitude - a bag of okra for Marcus - for the positive experience of shopping at The Home Depot. Though he did not like the okra, it was a turning point, and word of mouth began to spread.
Money was still tight (employees stacked empty cardboard boxes and paint cans on top shelves so that the stores appeared more packed with goods than they actually were), but since the first two stores were doing well, Blank and Marcus decided to open two more, this time in the Miami area. Two more Miami stores followed two months later. On November 22, 1981, the company went public and investments and profits exploded. The chain expanded and profitability far exceeded expectations. Originally projected at $9 million worth in sales per store, average sales went beyond $17 million. Before 1990, 118 Home Depots were pulling in $2.7 billion in sales.
In less than two decades, by 1999, The Home Depot had become the world's largest dealer of home improvement goods. Additionally, it has become an international retailer with stores in Canada and South America and will continue to expand. Blank insists that the foundational principles of his company, though it has grown so vast, "were cemented in those early years and have never changed. Our prices were low then, and they are still low today. And our service was excellent then and still is today."
Core Values and Company Secrets
Marcus and Blank, as stated in their book "Built From Scratch", attribute their success to eight core values:
- Give excellent customer service.
- Take care of your people
- Develop entrepreneurial spirit.
- Respect all people.
- Do the right thing; don't just do things right.
- Give back to the community as an integral part of doing business.
- Take care of your shareholders.
- Build strong relationships with associates, customers, vendors and communities.
The success of Home Depot can also be seen in how it has encouraged its customers to do it themselves. The salespeople at Home Depot are hired for their knowledge and understanding of home repairs and can direct customers to the equipment they may need for a given project. Short hands-on training classes are also offered at their stores to teach various aspects of repair and remodeling.
Blank and Marcus take "road trips" and show up unannounced at their stores. They say the experience is good for them because they are continually learning from their associates - that marketing strategies have changed because of these opportunities to learn from those on the floor who know more about the products and deal with the customers directly.
Additionally, Blank and Marcus operate according to the "running scared" method of management, where 90% of their meetings deal with problems, how to outdo competitors' approaches, products that are in demand and what customers are not finding at their stores. Their longstanding objective is to continually work to improve today's standards. And it certainly has worked for them so far.
Evan is an entrepreneur and international speaker. At the age of 19, he became an owner and Chief Operating Officer in Redasoft, a biotechnology software company. The company quickly grew to over 300 organizations as clients, including NASA and Johnson & Johnson, in 30 countries. He started Evan Carmichael & Associates with the goal to give entrepreneurs the motivation to follow their passion and the strategies they need to succeed. Evan has delivered over 100 keynote presentations to entrepreneurs in North America, Europe, and Asia. He has been interviewed by newspapers, radio stations, and television stations including CHUM FM, CityTV, Global TV, OMNI TV, Enterprise, and the Toronto Sun. Evan's website, http://www.evancarmichael.com is the world's #1 website for small business motivation and strategies.
Free Home Depot Coupons - What to Use to Turn Your House Into a Real Home
Have you just moved in to a house or an apartment that was not properly maintained? If you're nodding your head to this question, then worry not. The bright side of the matter is that, this situation gives you the permission to work on your new residence. This will enable you to design your home exactly the way you want it too. If you're one of those people who are worried about repairs, you should trust discounts like free Home Depot coupons.
Stores like Home Depot can offer customers everything they need when they wish to turn their home from a plain old room with furniture to a vision that you'll want to go home to every single day of your life. Home improvement stores can offer you everything you need - from furniture to fixtures; from tools to house accessories; and even from pipes to lighting materials.
Now, if you're worried about the overall bill that you have to pay, you can always trust coupons. Stores like Home Depot have their own offers. When you're shopping for a redecorating escapade, you should always have these discounts. What will you get from these? Saving a couple of dollars is already an important advantage. Of course, if you get the chance to do what you want and save money from doing it, why would you hesitate?
Other benefits you can get are, you may get special freebies. You may get small decorations and displays for your home, as well as discounts to these stores' affiliates. Going back, if you wish to turn your new house into what a real home looks like, you shouldn't be afraid to step inside a home improvement site. When you're set to go, always remember to get some discounts like Home Depot coupons.
If you're interested to learn more about how to get discounts for your home improvement needs, you can always check out this site on home depot coupons.