it has come to my attention i should now try to draw favours.I am currently at University on a business managment course specifically for adventure recreation.I have to have a year on placement this summer to next summer to gain experience.I would like to be in some area of the bike trade if possible.I have sent countless emails( i have counted (78) ) and cv’s.I have a good skill set and cv’s but employers are not interested.Does anyone in the massive know of any placement oppurtunies that exist?
thanks in advanced
Bruce

I have sent countless emails( i have counted (78)

Well if there’s nowt happening in the bike trade, try comedy! I had a good old chuckle at that!

Good luck with your search…

You gotta do more than send out emails…

Hi Bruce,
Firstly, it’s admirable that you’re sending CVs around the country in an attempt to get work.
That’s the good stuff over with…
Secondly, please, please, please, please, please get someone to check your grammar and spelling before applying for work. Based on what you’re asking for and the style of asking here, I’d tell you to sling your hook too.
Thirdly, anyone and everyone can email, get off your arse, put on some smart clothes and go and visit people to ask them face to face.
Fourthly, saying you have the skills isn’t enough either. What are these skills and how can you demonstrate them?
HTH.

it’s not clear what experience you are looking for.

Most bike businesses, retail anyway, are small, and WBA with a trianing a placement guy.

I would like any experience on the retail,marketing and sales areas Including B2b.I have Been on 6 interviews,I have called everywhere ive sent cv’s and covering letters and chased them up too.I was hoping there might be some contacts on stw world who could be philanthropic and be able to recommend places to me.
Bruce

Fair enough, not sure how to help.

IMO it will be difficult to find a paid position. Volunteering may work. Try charities – Recycabike, that kind of thing. Maybe Cairngorm Mountain will be looking for an MTB feasibility study – unpaid I guess. Same at Glenshee. FC may have voluntary posts.

You need to develop contacts and follow leads. Starting this summer doesn’t leave much time. Solstice is in 2 weeks…

thanks anyway chaps

Have you called all the Distributors? Tried the website bikebiz(sp?)

Dont work in a bikeshop for a year. It would be a waste of accumulated debt and your sandwicb year.

Change focus if need be and look at alternatives like adventure companies, facility management within large holiday companiss like Nelson.

Why do you think the current applications have been unsuccessful?
What can be done to improve them?
Let’s see some of this business management degree in action. 😉

ignore Don, he thinks he’s Theo Paphitis*

*more like Deborah Meaden without the cash, or good looks

Jobs

Could you contact Mark (STW) and ask? You never know?

Have you sought feedback on where you were going wrong?
Or was it more the case you have been applying for things that aren’t there?

I would like any experience on the retail,marketing and sales areas Including B2b.

This is potentially a massive area. Why not pick one of these 3 and home in on something you think could be improved.

As a pointer I would suggest looking at sales training for shop staff as an area that you would be able to do something with.
Generally the quality of sales staff in bike shops is poor relative to other retail environments and margins are such that there is not much cash for training.
Recently Fisher Outdoor took the brave and good step of holding sales training days FOC to shops who wanted it.
How about looking at a project within a distributor managing a sales training program for them?
Key point- make it sales training and not product training. Anyone can recite a web or brochure spec list and the best people at that are customers. Why tell them what they know when you can use that to better effect and encourage the step to buy.
This type of program could be integrated into b2b resources also so you would have that angle too.
I hope that is helpful. It may be utter tripe though.

Generally the quality of sales staff in bike shops is poor relative to other retail environments and margins are such that there is not much cash for training.

TBH and fair to bikeshop retail staff all areas of retail have to suffer an element of really rude/staff abuse which turns the staff cynical/miserable with their lot.

I’ve overheard how some people talk to staff and my friend was a manager within various high end retailers in London where she received threats of violence.

ignore Don,

WTF?
The OP’s on a Business Management degree, isn’t he? You do know what that means don’t you?

business managment course specifically for adventure recreation

I’d be knocking on these guys door:
http://www.keadventure.com/page/about_ke.html
a high end company & and based in Keswick!

Business Management degree… You do know what that means don’t you?

one of those Mickey Mouse degrees isn’t it? like a David Beckham DPhil, or the History of Surfing, or Law.

one of those Mickey Mouse degrees isn’t it?

So that would be nothing then. Yet you feel you can dismiss the advice of others. Interesting.

Please don’t denigrate the OP’s choice of degree. He didn’t ask for his life choices to be discussed, just potential help.

University on a business managment course specifically for adventure recreation

LOL (sorry, compulsory chuckle)

What’s the uni doing to help? I’d say approach massive companies like p&g tesco asda. I know that’s not what you want as a job but they will be the ones with placements or they’ll have decent HR depts who’ll know. Don’t just send out a cv, seriously you need to stand out!! How many cv dyou think they get?

When I was on placement last year we got cvs every day and over 200 applications for a warehouse Job

Edit why the piss take of the guys degree choice?

When I was on placement last year

My google-bots picked up a young hottie? (Letcherous old perv-me) 😆

Don Simon +1.

It may be that you pay little attention to your grammar when posting on STW, but if I was having to sort through a pile of applications, then poor use of grammar would be an easy filter to use. Your university should have a careers department who can help check your CV, covering letter etc, as a minimum. You are paying large amounts of money to go to university, you should make sure that you use the facilities available to your advantage!

Also try and think a bit beyond just sending a CV. Could you do voluntary work? It might not seem ideal, but if it gets you a job in the long term, then it could be seen as just as much of an investment as the money you are spending on your degree.

I’m doing a degree that I thought i would A,enjoy B,take a first or at least a 2-1 I didn’t want to do a degree In bio medical science (because I couldn’t make the grades for medicine) Etc etc etc.I have sought feed back and generally its the companies view that it isn’t economically viable or there are no training schemes available.To give you more back ground to my CV,I set up My own company last year called 4crosswheels (which is profitable) and I have set up another one for components since then (even though ive sold my shares).I have Linguistic experience In French and Japanese.So my degree maybe laadeedaa but I am achieving more at 19 then others do at other ages,Or so i hope.Thanks for the suggestions of where to contact I have sent out emails and called up (fishers weren’t interested in helping and said no programs exist).Im on Bike Biz jobs all the time fear not.
Thanks Bruce

Sustrans seem to have been recruiting for quite a few roles recently, maybe they would be able to support a placement if you got in contact directly. It may not be exactly what you were after business-management-wise, but it would be relevant to a future career in several areas (including bikes) with a large, well-regarded organisation.

You could give the CTC a try