What does 'management trainee' mean? Options

[J*L]

Many job titles are called 'mangement trainee' and sometimes accompanied by other descriptions like IT or sales. I notice that some are attachment programmes to expose trainee to various departments but some are just simply IT or sales position. So what does it actually mean?

[Daryl]

Well...you ask a very good question but unfortunately there is no clear meaning...not in Malaysia..

A true management trainee allows fresh graduate an opportunity to have a glimpse of what the company operation is all about. For example, Banking management trainee allows the person to work on different department to let them have an experience of all different aspects of the operation. This would allow mainly fresh graduate to know which operation or what kind of work he/she prefer.

However, a lot of companies abuse the term "management trainee" and some hired them to do very basic admin work. From sales coordinator or just helping out in the office. Even worst, some companies use this term to con someone in and do an entirely different job altogether...like selling unit trust, MLM type of business.

So it is important for jobseeker like you to do some research first about the company. Normally, reputable companies do have a good management trainee program. If it is an unknown companies....go to the interview and evaluate for yourself whether it is a genuine management trainee program. Ask them what the position will do. If still in doubt, post it here and we will check it for you.

[surbhi11]

fms group is hiring for management traineee.. will it be a reputed job or really management trainee or they will make a fool?

[Melissa]

fms group is hiring for management traineee.. will it be a reputed job or really management trainee or they will make a fool?

Hi Surbhi11,

Can you provide us the advertisement URL of the job ad? I can't seem to find any current openings for FMS Group on JobStreet.com.

Thanks.

[Robert Platt Bel...]

Perhaps there are real "Manager Trainee" jobs out there, but in the 40 years I have been in the job market, I have yet to see one.

Most job postings for "Manager Trainee" are come-ons for ripoffs. So beware.

The following is an excerpt from my blog, regarding my experiences with such "Manager Trainee" adverts.

See: http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2011/12/m...er-trainee.html

(if you think about it, why would a company advertise for such a position? They either want managers or employees. No one hires someone to "train" as a manager. But it sure sounds appealing to someone with no job skills and a hunger for advancement!)


* * *



The position of 'Manager Trainee' doesn't exist, really. But it sounds appealing and people apply for that reason. Usually, it is a con-job, not a real job. 9 times out of 10 it is an MLM scheme or door-to-door sales.

I mentioned in the last post about people who don't pay employees, and what scumbags they are. But there are a LOT of employment scams out there, where people prey upon the desperation of the unemployed, which is a pretty low thing to do, to be sure.

I thought it would be a good idea to relate a true story in this regard, that happened to me, back in 1986. I did not get conned, as I saw through the scam pretty quickly. But it was an interesting scam to observe, and these sorts of folks are around in one form or another, even today.

If you want an inside peek at how these sorts of con artists work, rent The Great Wall of Sound from Netflix. It is not the same scam, but some of the hallmarks are similar.

I had just graduated from school and was looking for a job. My boss at UTC told me that they were moving the EE department to Hartford, and that they would be downsizing in a few years. He was right, too, and working there would have been a dead-end. I applied at a lot of places, sending resumes out, going on job interviews, and perusing job postings at the placement office at school. I also send out "cold" resumes and cover letters to companies - all the usual gambits.

And I checked the want ads in the local newspaper, too. And since there was no "Monster.com" back then, there were one or two real ads in there, for example, one from a local Steel Mill that wanted someone to maintain their creaky older British-made relay-logic system for their rolling mills (what fun!).

Needless to say, I am glad I decided to get into the Patent Business. Engineers these days are treated like dirt.

But one ad caught my eye. It said "Manager Trainee wanted! No experience necessary! Make $50,000 in the first year!"

I strongly suspected it was a con-job, but since I had to drive into the City for another interview, I thought I would see what it was all about. They told me to show up at 10:00 AM the next day. I tried to ask questions as to what the job was all about, but they were vague and evasive, and told me that everything would be explained at the "interview" and that this was a great opportunity for a hard-working individual.

I stopped at the address the next day, about a half-hour early. It was an older, smaller office building that had seen better days - the sort of place that might have once housed Dentists offices. Inside, they were unpacking boxes and the phone company man was wiring up the phones, which were scattered on the floor.

One of the "managers" met me, full of enthusiasm, and lead me into his "office" which had a battered desk in it. "Excuse the mess," he said, "but we're expanding rapidly in this market! And this is a great opportunity for you to get in on the ground floor!"

We talked a bit more, but he was evasive when I pressed him for more details. He said the "interview"would begin at 10:00, and at that point, I noticed a number of other people trickling in. Now at this point, I figured out that this was a con-job. But my curiosity made me stay around to see exactly what they were up to.

By 10:00, about a dozen people had arrived. Most were casually dressed and clearly not "manager trainee" material, but rather unskilled workers. Listening to their conversations and talking with them, I realized that most were either unemployed or were working at, or had worked at, minimum wage jobs all their lives, usually in restaurants or the like, and were looking at this as an "opportunity" to get ahead.

The "Manager" I talked to, Chuck, lead us all into the "conference" room, where we had to stand, as there were no chairs or other furniture. The whole operation had a fly-by-night feel to it. We were told again and again what a great "ground floor" opportunity we were being offered, but without any specifics as to what it was about. Some others came in and gave testimonials about how much money they were making and how they could afford to buy a new car, and that sort of thing.

We were lead in a series of cheers, in sort of a call-and-response kind of thing. "Does anyone here want to be a SUCCESS? Can I hear you say YEA??? YEA!!!!" - that kind of thing. It had the feel of a revival meeting. And of course, all the "Managers" and people giving testimonials all had that plastered-on kind of plastic smile that only televangelists and sociopaths (once again, I am being redundant) have.

They took their sweet time explaining the con. "Everyone likes music, right?" they said, "All your friends like music, right? How much do you spend on records and tapes every year?" Of course, this was before CDs, when we still used Cassette tapes.

Charts went up, showing record industry sales, retail sales for record albums, etc. Then came the pitch. What we were to do was become "distributors" for music. It sounded pretty glamorous. What the real deal was, of course, was that we were to sell cassettes door-to-door and to our friends.

And of course, the hook was, we had to buy the "starter kit" of cassettes, for only $500. And with that "starter kit" they would give you a box of cassettes that the record stores couldn't sell, and likely you wouldn't. That is, presuming you got even that, and they didn't in fact just take your money and move on to the next town.

I slipped out the side door. One of the managers intercepted me. "You aren't leaving now, are you? This is a GROUND FLOOR opportunity!"

"Look," I said, "You don't want me in there. If I stay there, I will have to loudly say what a rip-off this is, selling cassettes door-to-door. So I tell you what, you go your way, and I'll go mine."

He let go of my arm and let me go, nodding in understanding.

I suppose I should have gotten up at the meeting and said "Hey, everyone, this is all a ton of BULLSHIT! Walk away from this!"

But, I suspect it probably wouldn't have done any good, and 25 years of experience since then have confirmed this. When you tell people something is a rip-off, not only do they not believe you, they actually defend the people ripping them off. And moreover, the rip-off artists will spin your outrage into their favor.

"Well of course Mr. [Disgruntled Former Employee] says this is a con. But he just didn't work the system properly! If you don't want to do the work, you won't be a SUCCESS! And who wants to be SUCCESS! YEA!!!"

Let's face it, you can't argue with that "logic."

It was an interesting experience for me, to see this seamy underside of the world. And it saddened me to think that these hard-working but not-very-bright folks were being conned out of money as they tried to climb our socioeconomic ladder.

But such schemes have been going on for at least 50 years, if not a century, and it is clear that we can't rely on the Government to shut them down - you have to rely on your own internal compass and skepticism.

I mentioned before in this blog how a hapless friend of mine was briefly snared in telemarketing jobs. Graduating from Expensive University with a useless degree and a 2.5 grade average, he was shocked to discover (as the Occupy protesters are) that no high-paying jobs were waiting for him.

He answered an ad for a "Manager Trainee" and got a job with a company doing what is called the Freezer Scam. He sat in a telephone "boiler room" cold-calling people and offering to sell them a side of meat for a startling low price per pound. Many folks jump on this offer, as it sounds "Too Good to Be True". However, since most folks don't have the space for a side of beef, the company helpfully offers to sell them, on time, a freezer to put it in.

And the gag is, of course, that the freezer is sold for nearly double retail price, plus interest. It is hardly a good bargain, and when you get done paying for the freezer, the interest, and the electricity to run the freezer, well, the price per pound of that side of beef is more than what you'd pay at the grocery store, retail.

He quit that job after a few weeks and answered another "Manager Trainee" ad, which turned out to be selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door. The product was not bad, just overpriced by a factor of at least two. They took the people out in a van, and dropped them off in poor neighborhoods. They then walked door-to-door trying to convince people to spend $600 on a vacuum cleaner, paid for "on time" of course. He made one sale - to his Mother, before quitting.

Such "jobs" are really not jobs at all. And in many cases, they don't pay, they leave town, they pay little, they pay on commission (which results in you making less than minimum wage) or they ask you to buy a "starter kit". Just walk away from these sort of things.

And the effect on the people involved is devastating. The folks who go for these scams end up ripped off, depressed, and convinced that life is just one big con game, and that the whole system is rigged. And this has a corrosive effect on our society as a whole. Every person ripped off in scams like this is one more person not willing to defend his country against outside aggression. Why bother? His country wasn't there to defend HIM. And in fact, the government institutions PROTECT the con artists in many situations.

But alas, that ain't about to change soon. Many of these con artists take in tens of millions of dollars annually - enough to buy Judges and Congressmen. Yes, in some States, Judges are elected, and campaign contributions talk. Act shocked.

The only defense, therefor, to the con-games and rip-offs is your own internal compass and your own skepticism. When someone offers you something-for-nothing, you just have to walk away. Whether it is Glenn Beck selling gold, people offering free ponies, or job offerings for the mythical position of "manager trainee".

Just walk away!

[Maryama]

I disagree with the previous reply.
Management trainee jobs do exist.
Yes, there may be some companies who use the job title ' management trainee' just to entice people to work, without fulfilling the promise of climbing the career ladder.

However, there are plenty of people around the world working in management, and there is no doubt that some of these people got there via the management trainee route.

In fact, it is in the interest of many companies to train their managers up, in-house, rather than recruiting externally. Companies who train their managers in house can train them in their own methods, and to their own standards/procedures, and can usually do this more cost effectively in the long run than hiring externally.

[Robert Platt Bel...]

I disagree with the previous reply.
Management trainee jobs do exist.
Yes, there may be some companies who use the job title ' management trainee' just to entice people to work, without fulfilling the promise of climbing the career ladder.

However, there are plenty of people around the world working in management, and there is no doubt that some of these people got there via the management trainee route.

In fact, it is in the interest of many companies to train their managers up, in-house, rather than recruiting externally. Companies who train their managers in house can train them in their own methods, and to their own standards/procedures, and can usually do this more cost effectively in the long run than hiring externally.

Well, sorry to break it to you, but I think you are being naive.

I have been in the job market for about 40 years. And at General Motors, United Technologies, United Parcel, The United States Govenment, and the various law firms I have worked for, there was never, ever a job description of "Manager Trainee".

Why is this? Well in most work environments, they promote from within. So if you have a department with a dozen people, one is the manager, who used to be an assistant manager (not a "trainee") who before that, worked in the department as an EMPLOYEE not a "trainee".

No one hires someone to bypass the "employee" part and go directly to "manager" without doing their time, somewhere.

The fictitious position of "manager trainee" is perfect for the CON ARTIST as it preys upon the weakness of the average working Joe. He sees these ads for "manager trainee" and thinks, "Gee, this is perfect, I can finally advance to management! All I need to do is 'train' for a while, and I will advance!"

But what these chumps fail to realize is (a.) wouldn't the company merely train someone who already works in that department and has experience? and (b.) maybe the reason Joe Paycheck is not advancing in his career is that he is not cut out to be a manager.

Want to become a "manager"? Go to business school. Or work your way up through the ranks, like most folks do.

There is no secret shortcut to the top, and that is the fantasy sold in these ads for "manager trainee" positions.

If you see an ad for "manager trainee" you should be very skeptical. Particularly if it says, "no experience necessary!"

There are no free ponies.

Maybe things are different in Malaysia. On the other hand, maybe things are pretty much the same there - and con artists prey upon the dreams of the needy, just as they do in the USA.

All I can say is, be SKEPTICAL. A posting that says "manager trainee" that is a SALES position, has nothing to do with training or managing. It is just a SALES job - probably on commission. And probably a ripoff.

[spencerhastingsf...]

Hi Surbhi11,

Can you provide us the advertisement URL of the job ad? I can't seem to find any current openings for FMS Group on JobStreet.com.

Thanks.

hi, can i ask too?
this is a management trainee ads link:
<invalid link removed>

can u guys check it for me whether this is a con-job or a real deal?

thanks.

[Melissa]

hi, can i ask too?
this is a management trainee ads link:
<invalid link removed>

can u guys check it for me whether this is a con-job or a real deal?

thanks.

Hi,

We can't access the link that you gave as it links to your JobStreet account. That is not the job ad link. The job ad link is accessed by clicking on the job advertisement and the URL will appear at the top. Alternatively, you can also give me the company name and position title by sending me a private message (PM). Do include your login ID and email address as well via PM.

Kindly also let us know why do you think that it's not a genuine job ad? Have you been for an interview with them?

Thanks.