When Derek Kernus failed to land a summer internship at a big company, the College of William & Mary student responded to an ad in the paper for an admittedly unusual job. Now he’s spending the summer traipsing through the homes of friends, neighbors and strangers — armed with carrots and rope — selling stainless steel kitchen knives.
It might sound odd at best, nightmarish if you’re shy — and a far cry from an elite internship at an investment bank, law firm, or media company. But, say many an alum of the knife-hawking business, the skills and experience you need to boost your résumé and land a job postgraduation can be found in the quirky summer job.
The knife company in question is Cutco Cutlery, an Olean, N.Y., manufacturer with $198 million in revenue, according to Sarah Baker Andrus, director of academic programs for Vector Marketing, Cutco’s sales arm. Ms. Andrus says the company brings in 60% of its sales over the summer, when a force of 40,000 — 85% of whom are students — fan out to ply their wares.
These junior salespeople don’t receive an hourly or weekly wage. Instead they earn a commission that starts at 10% and can climb to more than 50% for top sellers. Ms. Andrus says students who work the whole summer earn an average of $3,000 to $5,000. But there are plenty who earn more.
Summer Job: Nice Pay, If You Can Cut It
August 28, 2008 by Angela | 1 Comment
In Network Marketing News, Network Marketing Trends
Buz Cook on August 31st, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I have always taken commission jobs. It takes a certain amount of confidence and you get paid for what you produce…..not for sitting on your duff. I had a friend, I don’t know if it was with Cutco, that sold knives exclusively in Walmarts. Every other hour or so they would announce over the intercom that there would be a live display of knives and around the people would come. He learned how to put on quite a show and made good money.