The interview process for the Management Trainee position at Enterprise is well-documented: the applicant submits an online application, receives a phone call from a recruiter to weed out any undesirables, gets called in for an in-person interview with the area HR recruiter, then gets passed along to the location in need of hiring. My recruiter was very professional and represented the company well. From the first communication, I was informed that my offer, should I receive it, would be for approximately $36,000 calculated at 50 hours/week at a base hourly rate of $13 and $19.50 for the 10 hours of overtime/week and that offer would be non-negotiable.
After passing from the recruiter, the mood shifted and I felt I was being sold by the branch manager, area manager, and regional manager (3 tiers in total, although their exact titles escape me right now). The first on-site interview includes an hour of observation and a tour from the branch manager. From this tour, I grew skeptical of the position, but decided to proceed with the process.
Each subsequent interview with higher authorities felt the same: I was being sold relentlessly on the prospect of 8- and 9-year compensation if I can just commit my life to Enterprise. At this point, I would like to highlight one thing I took away from these interviews: this position leads to very lucrative positions if you have no further ambition than to work for a car rental company for the entirety of your career. I don't feel like there is anything wrong with working for a single company for your entire career, but this started to feel like every other salesperson gig. At the close of the last interview (5th interview, including the phone screening), I was offered the position on the spot. I asked for a week to contemplate the offer, and he had no problem in offering that time. I asked for the job offer in writing, but he declined to provide any letter.
Overall, the interview process felt rather contrived; passing through five interviews before a job offer felt like the framework for a cliched Japanese video game, and I wasn't sold. I would highly recommend this position for any individual who worries about ever breaking into the corporate world. I see this position leading to lucrative careers for people who would otherwise work blue-collar jobs, which is an excellent selling point. Enterprise was extremely accommodating and straight-forward throughout the interview process, which I appreciated. I honestly and openly shared my objections and they worked with me (maybe too much) all the way to the final interview. Very well-organized interview process.