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Hey everyone,
Next week I’m attending an interview session for my apprenticeship with 7 different BMW dealerships around the Vancouver area. It’s sort of like a job fair. I was chosen along with 4 other students from my class and 7 from another to attend this session and out of the 12 students attending, they’ll be hiring at least 8. I’m hoping that some of you may have some advice for me when it comes to the interview process for a dealership. Is the interview at a dealership much different from that at a retail store or restaurant? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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No idea if it is different from a retail store i got no advise there at all.
But interviews are about selling your self. Look at everything you’ve learn in school, life, and etc and basically use it as a selling pitch. Are you willing to work hard? Are you a safe worker? Do you know the basics? (since you are starting out i hope they don’t expect you to know what a journy-person of 10 years knows) Are you willing to learn?
But also get them talking. Get them to tell you about what they work on(i know its bmw, but i mean what sort of jobs do they MAINLY preform there), what pay is like, moving up in the company, what they offer you (boot allowances, tool allowances, RSP, etc), what is their training programs like and how they work.
Get them interested in you and it will go really easy.
The job i got now, i did a total of 3 interviews.
Good luck.
Thanks a lot Woodbaron! I was trying to think of some questions that I could ask them to get them talking and this has really helped me. I love the question regarding the training program and moving up in the company.
My advice to anyone starting out in this trade is to avoid dealerships. Unless you want to be a specialist, avoid dealerships until you feel comfortable with a general knowledge of vehicles. I started out in a non-dealership, worked there for ten months, went to school, and was offered a job at a Lexus dealership. The money was too good to not do it. While I made great money, I was learning nothing (all I did was oil changes and tire stuff). After that, I went to a normal Toyota dealership. Again, I learned very little. By the time I went to an independent shop, I was into my third year as an apprentice, and THEN I started to learn. Working on every kind of vehicle, mostly crappy ones, is when my education really started to take place. I hope to go back to a Toyota dealership someday (for the money and relative peace of mind), but not until I feel comfortable in my abilities. I will be a journeyman about a month from now, but if I don’t feel comfortable with that qualification, I’m not going back to a dealership.
I went to school with a BMW apprentice a couple years ago. He seemed like a fine technician, but that was only because of his total enthusiasm for the trade, not from his experience at the dealership. He complained that the only thing he did at the dealer was oil changes and “fit batteries”. To this day, I have no idea what a “battery-fitter” does, or what it entails.
However, the really good thing about being a dealer technician is that you have up-to-date knowledge of the industry, which is ever-changing. Techs need to keep up with the technology for sure, but they need a solid foundation of knowledge in the trade in general before worrying about the incredible changes in the industry.
My opinion. Others might think otherwise. Good luck with your apprenticeship!
I appreciate the advice Johnny, and yes, i’ve heard that independent shops are the way to go to learn the most that you can…. to work at BMW has always been a top goal of mine as I love working on those cars and I want to focus on electrical diagnosis. I had my interview on wednesday. Some went well, my nerves showed on others…. we’ll see. They’ve begun calling students back for 2nd interviews so i’ll find out monday what my situation is… thanks to the two of you for giving me some feedback.
Well just to give you an update if you’re interested… I didn’t get the position. Only 3 out of 7 dealerships made offers and those who did wanted the youngest guys so that they didn’t have to deal with bad habits…. apparently 24 years of age is too old 😐 Oh well, all for the best anyways.
I find that funny. Young people tend to have really bad habbits, or at least this is what i have seen over the years and from schooling i have done.
very good story. thank you for taking the time to tell it. i just had my first interview for a entry level position with a service manager at volvo and wished i would have read this first. before reading this i thought i should go back and pick his brain about the industry and what he would suggest i do starting out, like i should have done the first time, not just talking about getting the job. after what you said, i wont hesitate to give him a call and see what happens.
BMW did the same with our class here in Ontario and promised to give the top students an apprentice position. 7 BMW dealerships came to our school after we finished 2 semesters, and interviewed us all. It was almost like a speed dating scenario, where we had a certain amount of time to speak with the interviewers and impress them with so little time. Unfortunately, BMW picked students in my class that had previous experience working for a shop, and some of the top students did not get the job.
As far as advice, be honest, be yourself and try not to be nervous. And also it’s good to know your stuff as some of the service managers might try to throw a technical question at you. It’s also good to ask them questions at the end of the interview to show interest.
To Joeswayornoway and others who are reading this thread I want you to remember that being offered a job doesn’t mean you need to take the job. This isn’t forced labor. Don’t take a position you aren’t comfortable with and will get trapped in. Be realistic, but be professional. You didn’t get into this trade to be paid in food stamps. Be realistic about your skills and confident in what you know. On the flip side of that coin, realize that if you come in all full of piss and vinegar right after being in tech without years or real-world experience you will rub people the wrong way and they will not want to help you. Without the help of those senior techs you will not learn what you truly need to learn to be a tech and it will make you look bad. Dealerships are run by bean counters. The moment you aren’t turning the profit they think you should you will be cast out.
I hope you and all others that read this thread as new techs read this thread and also watch in their entirety the videos on ETCG1 that Eric has spent many hours creating, editing and rethinking to bring his perspective to the masses. I have watched the vids pertaining to new techs looking to enter the field and I think he got it spot on. I couldn’t have said it any better than him, so I leave you to peruse the site he has created to help you.
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