https://cedcareers.com

Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc.

Intern

June 2017 • Merrillville, IN

What I liked

The internship introduced me to the world of business. Wanting a future in Sales Engineering, the role showed me how to successfully interact with customers to give them great service, along with developing sales and management skills I will use forever.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Inside Sales

December 2017 • Little Rock, AR

What I liked

I love Keathley Patterson in general. I met my current boss in the UA Little Rock College of Business, where he was tabling, and struck up a conversation. I just hit the two year mark with the company. I've been sent to Milwaukee, WI twice, Las Vegas, NV, Minneapolis, MN, Boston, MA and several places in Arkansas for training. The company isn't afraid to invest in us employees and make sure we have the knowledge to take care of customers. We do profit sharing, which is essentially a bonus check based on our total sales at our location, once a year in February/March. The environment is fairly laid back and we have a good dynamic between employees and the manager.

What I wish was different

Advice

Sales in our market tends to be fast paced, especially in the industrial sales area, where a customer with a machine down may be losing thousands of dollars every hour. The more organized you are, the easier it will be. Get good at checking email, be responsive, be engaging, and you will do just fine in similar roles.
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Warehouse Manager

January 2017 • Flagstaff, AZ

What I liked

It is a good job that was willing to work with my school schedule.

What I wish was different

Better pay is always a plus but I like the people I work with and it is a chill work environment.

Advice

None
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Business Management

May 2021 • Dover, NH

What I liked

I enjoyed being able to see all aspects of managing a profit center location, from the ground up.

What I wish was different

I wish that I had more outside sales experience, as I want to see if this is something I am good at.

Advice

One piece of advice I would share is be prepared and ready to learn, as you have to be willing to learn about the electrical industry as I did.
1 One person found this helpful

Intern

May - August 2021 • South Bend, IN

What I liked

What I wish was different

Advice

Show up early. Leave when the job is done.
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Inside Sales and Delivery

August 2019 • Vernal, UT

What I liked

CED is a great place to grow if you want a future in business and knowledge in the electrical field. I have enjoyed the atmosphere, work schedule and opportunities to gain useful electrical knowledge. During the summer, I was able to start my day early with deliveries and get off work by 5 without having to work weekends, which was fantastic.

What I wish was different

I wish I knew more about the electrical field. The best cure for that problem is to learn as much as I can on the job.

Advice

Be humble enough to learn.
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Business Operations Intern

May - August 2019 • Denver, CO

What I liked

Good work culture, a lot of learning

What I wish was different

Higher pay

Advice

Hard work pays off
1 One person found this helpful

Intern

May - August 2019 • Tempe, AZ

What I liked

Very nice people to work alongside everyday. All motivated people willing to lend a hand.

What I wish was different

Advice

Be ready to mess up and learn from it.
1 One person found this helpful

Division Intern

June - September 2018 • Los Angeles, CA

What I liked

The focus was always on what I wanted to learn. My superiors always asked me what I was interested in rather than what they wanted me to learn. As such, I found the internship very enjoyable and rewarding.

What I wish was different

Advice

1 One person found this helpful

Intern

May - August 2019 • Dallas, TX

What I liked

The people are one of the things that makes CED a great place to work for. The pre-employment testing ensures that everyone is driven, intelligent, and a joy to work with. The rotational aspect of the internship provided me with a perspective of the company that not many people get with other internships. I also got to travel to Denver, Colorado, and to other locations within our district. 10/10 Internship

What I wish was different

I was exposed to every department at my location. This provided a broad overview of the entire operation, which was very enlightening. However, since my internship was only 12 weeks, it was difficult to get as in-depth as I would have liked on certain subjects.

Advice

Work hard, ask questions, and get to know everyone at your profit center. I had an amazing experience, and I am excited to start back up after graduation.
1 One person found this helpful

Intern

June 2018 • San Luis Obispo, CA

What I liked

I loved the ability to travel to conventions and to job sites. I also had a lot of freedom to choose improvement projects to implement during my time here. All of my coworkers were extremely knowledgeable and experienced.

What I wish was different

Nothing I can think of.

Advice

Be open to constantly changing work environments. Everyday is different.
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Warehouse worker

June 2019 • Ruston, LA

What I liked

Employer is very flexible with hours since I am in college

What I wish was different

Nothing

Advice

Pay close attention to detail and be through
1 One person found this helpful

Management intern

May - August 2019 • Pueblo, CO

What I liked

Got a great sense of how they operate their business and worked with great people with a great company culture

What I wish was different

Intern program still in early stages. First year that they offered a highly organized internship experience

Advice

Great company, fast paced working environment with a fair amount of manual labor
1 One person found this helpful

Intern

May 2018 • Scottsdale, AZ

What I liked

Hands on experience that impacted the business immediately

What I wish was different

Number of interns. Fewer interns would have made it more personal

Advice

Come in with an open mind because the electrical industry is probably something you’ve never considered as a career opportunity
1 One person found this helpful

Shipping/Receiving

June - August 2018 • Salt Lake City, UT

What I liked

I loved the people and the atmosphere. It's a wonderful place to work with wonderful co-workers.

What I wish was different

I wish I could've worked with more teams. I did a lot of work alone. I want some teamwork experience.

Advice

Learn how to stay organized, stay on time, be aware of your surroundings, and communicate.
1 One person found this helpful

Sales/Management Intern

May - August 2018 • South Bend, IN

What I liked

I loved working in each department of the business. I spent a few weeks in each including sales, logistics, projects, purchasing etc. This internship this summer with CED taught me more about working in and managing a business than I could learn from 4 years in a classroom. I also got to spend a lot of time getting to know my fellow interns. We became really good friends this summer and I will miss them.

What I wish was different

The only thing I was I had done differently is arrange my housing earlier than I did. I procrastinated until 3 weeks before my internship started to find an apartment. At that point the only thing that was available was wicked expensive, but there was nothing I could do but pay it.

Advice

The advice I have for students doing internships is: don't be afraid to speak up and try new things. Figure out what that company is doing "wrong" and tell the boss your ideas for improvements. This will show them that you are interested in improving the company and that you are paying attention to important things.
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Management intern

June - August 2018 • Pewaukee, WI

What I liked

It was a great way to see many different aspects of a functioning office and be apart of many different departments.

What I wish was different

The actual product was a bit boring.

Advice

Do it and he active. Look for new things to do and ask people to help them if you finish your work.
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Management Training Intern

May - August 2020 • Springville, UT

What I liked

CED went to great efforts to keep the internship experience despite the turmoil in the world surrounding coronavirus. The internship gives you opportunities to experience each part of the business. It gives you a solid foundation in the industry and a solid foundation for potentially working full time in the electrical supply space. The coworkers I had were fantastic and provided a ton of support as I was learning.

What I wish was different

Sometimes being rotated through so many different positions in such a short amount of time is stressful because you are required to learn so much information so quickly.

Advice

Most of what you learn is very industry specific, so consider if this is the industry you want to get into. If it's an industry that you find interesting, this company is the best in the business.
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