College Works Painting

CWP

February - April 2020 • Midland, MI

What I liked

I did not like it. I ended up not finishing it because they were telling us to go door to door during the stay at home orders of the pandemic.

What I wish was different

I wish I had known it is not a great company, and that I did a bunch of work up front and only got paid for a bonus, never for the rest of my work because of how the pay was structured.

Advice

I would be very careful when working with college work painting. Make sure you know what you are getting into, and also know that they will say the bad reviews are from people who do not work hard, as they told me, but I strongly disagree.

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Branch Manager

March - August 2018 • Redding, CA

What I liked

-The culture of the company is a lot of fun, and meeting new people from different campuses doing the same thing as you. -The support from my manager in not only training me in the different aspects of how to run a business, but also in my personal life and making sure I have enough time dedicated to school and family. -The autonomy in the role that allowed me to meet with clients when I wanted to, and set my own goals to hit. -Learning all the aspects of not only business (sales, marketing, accounting, management), but also different skills like stress management, communicating with clients, and organization.

What I wish was different

-Most of the pay comes in during the summer, but that's because that's when the projects are actually getting completed and checks from clients are collected. -Lots of weekends working during the spring, but it was hard to not want to work because that's when the majority of the business would be built.

Advice

-This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, so I'd just encourage people to realize this is more mindset than skills in the beginning. Anyone can develop a sales skill or learn marketing, but people need to have a positive mindset in order to get there first.

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District Manager/ Branch Manager

March 2018 - October 2019 • Chicago, IL

What I liked

The people are beyond amazing. It is a group of people that want to be the best of the best and want to help you grow and become successful. The company takes you to amazing places and rewards you for all your hard work. Its a company that builds lifelong relationships with likeminded people. It helps teach you so many different parts of a business that you don't necessarily learn in a classroom.

What I wish was different

Nothing.

Advice

It is a challenging program but it will change you as a person. No matter how hard it gets, its worth it. Commit, and commit 100%

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Branch Manager

February 2017 - August 2019 • Madison, WI

What I liked

I really enjoyed the independence I had while running my own business as a branch manager for CWP. I had the flexibility to make my own schedule, hire my own personnel, find my own clients and make every decision for my business. I was given mentorship and advice, but also the responsibility to grow into a true leadership position. I am a firm believer that you learn by doing and CWP is all about getting it done.

What I wish was different

Looking back, I can honestly say I don't wish that anything had been different. Every challenge I faced grew me as a person. If I had to pick one thing I wish had been different, I guess I wish I learned to enjoy the wild ride more back then. You forget that running a business as a college student is truly amazing when you are in the position and I wish I would have realized how much I was growing as it happened.

Advice

This is a career development program, which means you are going to be trained to develop skills you don't necessarily possess right away. You are supposed to face challenges, that is expected, so don't kick yourself when you feel down. Learn to love the process because that is the real takeaway from the program.

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Branch Manager

February - August 2019 • Port Huron, MI

What I liked

I really enjoyed multiple things: personal growth, endless networking, and skill development necessary for the real world. The internship taught me inner confidence, discipline, and managerial skills that you cannot find anywhere else when looking for internships.

What I wish was different

I wish I would have committed to getting out of my comfort zone even more so then I did. I find it very fun to do that thing alone and in the early phases I was nervous to do so. Embrace getting out of your own comfort zone!

Advice

Stay disciplined to your goals. If you set something for yourself, go and do it with no intention on a result. Jump in and enjoy every aspect, even if it makes you nervous. You will be thrilled at what you can do!

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Branch Manager

February - August 2019 • Mount Pleasant, MI

What I liked

I enjoyed learning all of the career development skills I have acquired such as communication, leadership, confidence, and time management. I feel like I have grown more over the last 6 months than I have in the past 5 years. It was a very challenging experience, but you cannot grow without stepping outside your comfort zone.

What I wish was different

I wish I hired more workers to help me when many people left for a variety of reasons, and to find even better painters at a consistent rate.

Advice

Work harder and think smarter to excel. Also how ever much you put into this, is how much you are going to get back out of it by growing and developing yourself.

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Local Branch Manager

March - August 2019 • Stevens Point, WI

What I liked

I liked creating my own schedule and was able to build my own business.

What I wish was different

If I were to change something about this internship, I would change the meetings to be closer to where I live instead of 2 hours away everytime.

Advice

Apply yourself and you can make a lot of money and memories.

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Branch Manger

March 2019 • Madison, WI

What I liked

Real world, practical experience, really tough

What I wish was different

Scheduling through summer and fall

Advice

It's real tough but that's why it was so rewarding

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Branch Manager

January - August 2019 • Danville, CA

What I liked

It opened my eyes about business.

What I wish was different

I wish I could redo it with much more focus into it.

Advice

Don't try to fool yourself--this internship will require all of your time. If you're going to attempt it, don't try and split time with another job or activity.

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Branch manager

March - August 2018 • Valley Stream, NY

What I liked

The internship as a whole teaches you how to run a business for yourself and you learn a lot.

What I wish was different

I wish there were more ways involved to contact and Connect with leads to get jobs done.

Advice

Work hard and don’t give up. It’s a very challenging internship but you learn a lot in the end.

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House Painter

May - August 2019 • Columbus, NE

What I liked

I enjoyed working outdoors and painting houses exactly to the standards of our customers

What I wish was different

Most of the time we were not paid for gas on jobs out of town.

Advice

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Intern manager

February - November 2018 • College Park, MD

What I liked

The friends and final trip

What I wish was different

The money needs to increase. The vibe is demeaning and they promise a lot that they don’t deliver on.

Advice

I know sales which will really help in the future.

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Branch Manager

February - September 2019 • Cincinnati, OH

What I liked

The experiences I gained, the people I met, the money.

What I wish was different

The training had been better or more intense.

Advice

I would recommend more people to do this internship because it teaches you to be responsible and run your own business.

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District Manager

August 2017 - March 2018 • Duluth, MN

What I liked

The everyday challenge to balance my work, school, and social life. I learned a lot about myself and what I hope to achieve in the future.

What I wish was different

Less time consuming, just so I could've balanced more of my social life into it.

Advice

Work hard, stay disciplined, organized, and hang on to the roller coaster.

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Branch Manager

January - August 2016 • Douglasville, GA

What I liked

It was a great growing experience. I learned a lot about myself and business in general. I really feel like it put me ahead of my peers.

What I wish was different

The hardest part was the part of town I was in. Some people are more accepting of what you are trying to do than others. Plus, I never had any real big paint jobs like other interns did. So I’m order for me to make the numbers they were making I had to work harder.

Advice

Don’t do it just for the money. If that’s the only reason you’ll quit like a lot of people did. You have to have a lot of motivation and perseverance to stick it out to the end, but if you do, it will totally be worth it.

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Painter

June - August 2019 • Plymouth, MN

What I liked

Experience in skills that will be applicable in the future

What I wish was different

I wish we were able to get more hours.

Advice

If you're looking for a full time job make sure it's fairly certain that you will get that.

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Branch Manager

March - August 2016 • Wichita, KS

What I liked

It was very challenging and a lot of hard work but the payout was worth it.

What I wish was different

I wish I had been in a better place in my life when I took on this internship. Make sure you are mentally prepared before you begin an internship this difficult.

Advice

Work on your time management skills and get ready to be busy. You may have to be ready to make some sacrifices to make time for this.

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Branch Manager

March - July 2016 • Midland, MI

What I liked

Gave a great experience on teaching me how to manage my resources and create opportunities on my own.

What I wish was different

To be less stressful and to have more helpful people around me. I was mostly thrown out to the dogs to try and accomplish my goals on my own.

Advice

Honestly would not recommend, there are better internships out there that aren’t as stressful and will give you a better learning experience.

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Branch Manager

February - September 2018 • Madison, WI

What I liked

I enjoyed all of the relationships I developed through the process, the skills I was able to learn, and the management experience of running my own business. I met most of my best friends doing this and enjoyed the Payroll Friday events and Cancun trips. Most of the relationships should last a long time. I also enjoyed learning the skills it takes to be successful. I was able to step out of my comfort zone with confidence, leadership, communication, and management skills. I also took great pride in having my own business. These were my employees, my clients, and my profits that I got to take care of.

What I wish was different

I wish I would have gotten more opportunities to network earlier on. I met a lot of awesome people but it wasn't until July or August that I was truly great friends with them. I wish I would have had more times during the spring to network.

Advice

It is truly an amazing experience if you make the most of it. Do not have regrets and do not waste the opportunity. While my friends will be sleeping in and playing video games every weekend, I was able to go out there and run a real life business. Get out of your comfort zone, trust your mentors, and make the most of this challenging, yet incredibly rewarding experience.

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Branch manager

February - August 2019 • Pittsburg, KS

What I liked

The career development aspect of the company. CWP taught me and allowed me to be able to do things most professions don’t do until years into their career.