Alex

Let me start by saying that this is a fantastic opportunity. You would have a hard time finding another organization that can give you this much interactive exposure to such a wide variety of brands and while providing the extreme level of support and trust in the youth development within the company. There is a large focus in moving resources to individual development and improvement. In a typical organization, you may have a progression chart of where you would end up in 2 years or 5 years, but with us, you can take your career on any tangent you like. The only limitations are ones that you put on yourself.

The ACES program is an efficient and comprehensive course in every side of the business. You will have the opportunity to connect with every unit and structural level and understand from various viewpoints the interactions of our team members. In the initial rotation I had the opportunity to work with Sales, Retail, Administration, Marketing, Category Management, and Business Planning units in order to see the 360 view of how Advantage is sucessful. This interesting viewpoint also previed me to an exclusive side that not all companies would show.

When I actually started getting into the thick of it, the exposure evolved into working with a large number of major clients - primarily in general merchandise, health/beauty care, and grocery products doing sales strategy, trade promotion management, and distribution pioneering. I was managing all the brokerage controlled business in my channel of business for more than 15 clients ranging in size, structure, and assortment - Some as small as a 2 person startup, some as large as a multimillion dollar businesses.

What's a day like?: At the most basic core of it all, I work with our manurafturer business partners to come up with a go to market strategy that directly fits my specific channel of business. Once we formulate that the best way possible, I work with our Advantage sales team to get the products in distribution and help them work with the stores to manage and grow the business.

What's a year like?: In 2009, I lead a major push for one of the company's 2010 strategic initiatives which yielded more than $100,000 of sustainable incremental business on Advantage's bottom line and more than $2,000,000 in incremental sales for clients. Met some great people, created a fantastic network, and took my career further than I could have originally imagined.

To be successful in the ACE program, there are 3 focuses that I think any candidate needs to have:
1. Integrity: Winning is nothing if it's the wrong way. I firmly believe that "winning" without integrity isn't really winning at all. You are what you sell, and we sell the best products and services – the right way.
2. Adaptability: This is a changing world, with evolving markets, and dynamic businesses. Your either growing or your dying, and to be successful in this, you need to have the flexibility to change with the times and lead the charge in uncertain waters. Success in this is a highly sought after trait.
3. Persistence: Good days will come and go, like in any position, but it is important for an associate to stay focused on what matters and how to be successful. Like in any sales position, you are either progressing or regressing, so it is essential that we are pushing the business forward. Hard work pays off - get out there and prove it!

Bethany

After graduation from the University of California - Berkeley, I was looking for a strong company known for a solid culture that would allow me to be challenged as I grow my career in brand management. I knew many of my peers thought that the first company that they worked for out of college would simply be a stepping stone to another company and another after that, and it was important to me to join a company that I had the potential to be with for my entire career. That is why I pursued a career with Advantage.

During college, I worked very closely with a student run non-profit organization that serviced children and their families in the cancer community. Through this organization, I learned about PR, Marketing, Fundraising, and Budget Management. There was a great emphasis placed on in-kind donations to help subsidize the cost of our programming, and through this I found Advantage. A local ASM branched worked closely with this organization and my team year over year to ensure that we were successful in reaching out to this community in need. The dedication and business know-how of the Advantage team is unparalleled to any other company for which I considered working, and so I was sold!

Nearly two years later, that same dedication and support that I was given by this company as a student has been shown to me ten-fold as an ACE. Advantage is a community founded on Winning Together, and ASM places a great emphasis on giving incoming talent the experiences they need to be successful and the freedom to build a career for which they can be passionate. Our leaders can often be heard saying, "We are a company with only one resource: people, so we had better be good at that."

As a Development Associate starting out in the ACE program, I was given a strong background in Retail, Sales Presentations and Negotiations, Category Management, Administration, and Budget Management. After completing my Sales Final, I was promoted to an Associate Business Development Manager (ABDM) and was given the opportunity to manage our company's wall-to-wall portfolio at many Southern California independent retailers, as well as to manage our Post Cereals business for Smart and Final. It was at this time that I could tell that participation in the ACE program really sets one apart in the company, as I was able to co-manage a National line in the beginning of my career. After my time as an ABDM, I was given the freedom to go off the "set" course of the ACE program so that I could dive deeper into an area of the company that particularly interested me: Corporate Communications and Marketing. I will work in this arena until I have gained a deep understanding of what it takes to be successful, and then will go on to fill a position as a Business Development Manager. I one day hope to be a Sales Manager at a regional office and to be given the opportunity to "pay it forward" and mentor our company's future ACE candidates.

To be successful in the ACE program, there are 3 focuses that I think any candidate needs to have:
1. Passion for Your Work: You need to love this industry, love this company, and love what you do for it. Inevitably, there will be tasks at hand that do not thrill you, but it is a passion for growing your career and Advantage that will drive your success.
2. A Great Work Ethic: You are young and this is your time to shine. You need to be willing to put in the hours to learn as much as you can and to produce great results while given the opportunity. Any seasoned BDM will tell you: "This is not a 9 to 5 job, but it is rewarding and fun so who needs 9 to 5?"
3. Be a Team Player: While this phrase gets thrown around a lot on career search pages, it is a crucial element to working for ASM. Our motto is Winning Together, and in a company as large and multi-functional as ours, you cannot be a one man show. You have to be comfortable trusting and relying on other people, celebrating their successes alongside yours, and must have a moral compass that lets every ASM associate know that you are someone who they can trust and depend on. Moreover, you are the middle man between your clients and customers, and have to understand how to balance the needs of both sides to find a solution that allows for everyone to walk away winning.