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Industrial Distribution and Logistics Internships

Veteran

Dwight Ross Greenville, NC

My name is Dwight Ross I am currently enrolled as an undergraduate student in the Industrial Distribution and Logistics program at ECU (Eastern Carolina University) with a grad date of May 2017. I recently separated from the military after serving for 8yrs to finish my degree. I have been applying for internships and been as far as four Interviews for a summer internship, but to no prevail. It seems as everything is going well my GPA is a 3.4, I'm an officer in the student organization Professional Association of Industrial Distribution, and I have 8yrs of prior military experience, and I have taken practice interviews at my career center to better present myself. Yet no acceptance I was hoping I could get critical feedback to try to fix this dilemma.

23 October 2015 7 replies Interviews

Answers

Advisor

Chris Doolen Houston, TX

Dwight,

What is your interest in Industrial Distribution? What area are you looking to get into?
- Sales?
- Marketing?
- Logistics?

I've been in Industrial Distribution in the Hydraulic / Pneumatic business for 20+ years.
Forward me your resume and I can review and give you some detailed advice. cdoolen@sunsrce.com

Dwight recommends electrical distribution companies (good ones at that...), but where is your passion? Mechanical, Electrical, cars? beds?
Texas A&M has a great ID program. We hire allot of grads out of there, as do all my competitors. Some of the largest companies that hire from the ID program are car companies, furniture/mattress companies and industrial distribution (hydraulic/pneumatic/motion control/nuts & bolts/bearings/mechanical power transmission)

cdoolen@sunsrce.com

Best of luck.

11 November 2015 Helpful answer

Advisor

Louis Schwarz Somerville, NJ

Hi Dwight, keep your head up. This is a tough time for entry level jobs. I suggest applying to Lowes or Home Depot and get a position at one of their stores. That will give you an opportunity to see internal postings. That may be a way to get to the level job you are seeking and you will have operations experience in their business. Large supermarkets may also be a way of getting the operations experience needed to move up. UPS or Federal Express are big logistics companies. Try local Distribution Centers.
Good Luck..

26 October 2015 Helpful answer

Advisor

Michael Crowley Andover, MA

Hi Dwight:

My experience with Industrial (electrical) distributors is that working up from the shop floor is a typical career path. Rather than seeking an internship, which may or may not be paid, I suggest looking for a part time job at a distributor to get your foot in the door while you attend school. Working the counter and driving a truck will give you a feel for the customers and the business that an internship might not.
Your field of study will be a plus for hiring, but be willing to learn the business from the ground up, the hiring manager may have started there as well!

You could start with some of the big industrial distribution firms like Graybar and FW Webb. They are large enough to offer a lot of career options down the road.

Thanks for your service and good luck!

25 October 2015 Helpful answer

Advisor

John Aiello Guilford, CT

The market is very tight and internships are harder to come by. Are you offering to work for free? You need to stress what you can do for the company you are applying to. Relate how your military experience will help you with the job. Keep plugging and don't lose heart b

25 October 2015 Helpful answer

Advisor

Cliff Locks Saint James, NY

Please follow the below link for a "Free" resource on campus, which indluces the Employer Connections and use of the ECU CareerNET. http://www.ecu.edu/cs-studentaffairs/career/upload/ECU-Career-Resource-Guide-15-16.pdf Set-up a meeting and let me know how you make out.

It's important you understand, we care...it's important to keep smiling and thinking positive!

Best regards,

Cliff

23 October 2015 Helpful answer

Veteran

Dwight Ross Greenville, NC

Thanks for everybody's input and advice I was able to take all of this into consideration, change my plan of direction when applying for internship and was recently accepted to a summer internship at Spirit AeroSystems. I just wanted to update you all and thank you again for insightful and immediate responses that I received.

Advisor

Casey Jensen Saint Louis, MO

Hey Dwight,

Distribution and logistics is a great profession, but it can be difficult to get your foot in the door. Louis said it the best, find a part time job, that works best for your school schedule in a warehouse, or Lowe's/Home Depot type jobs. This will help to build your experience level that employers will be looking for. It will also expose you to different types of industry needs. For example, hardware stores will have significantly different requirements for warehousing and staging then a grocery store.

I can tell you from experience, that separating from the military and finding a position can be very frustrating. It sounds like you are doing the right things, so keep your head up and never stop searching.

If you need anything else, do not hesitate to reach out. I wish you the best of luck.

Casey

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