Do you like working with people and love cars?

A career in automotive retailing offers competitive salaries, great benefits and opportunities for advancement for people with a wide range of skill sets.

Franchised auto dealerships represent global car manufacturers with significant resources for training and equipment. Dealerships are modern, clean and safe places to work. Many jobs are high-tech and challenging, as well as rewarding.

Most franchised new car dealerships have four distinct departments: administration, sales, service and parts.

Read on to find out which job is right for you!

Administration-managers are responsible for organizing, supervising and coordinating dealership operations. Positions may be available in finance, marketing, customer service and general management. Administrators are normally salaried employees.

Sales-accounts for more than a third of industry employment. Salespeople are responsible for marketing vehicles and services, and are usually the first to greet customers and determine their interests through a series of questions. Most sales workers receive commission on top of a base salary.

Service-technicians inspect, maintain, and repair the vehicles that are sold by the dealership. The increasing sophistication of automobiles requires workers who can use computerized shop equipment while maintaining skills with traditional hand tools. There is high demand for good automotive technicians in the Bahamas. Compensation is usually commission plus a base salary.

Parts-there are thousands of parts and accessories to be sold, ordered, shipped, inventoried, and delivered to service the vehicles sold by a dealership. It is the job of the parts department to make all this happen. These positions require an interest in computers and good communication skills along with a sound technical background and attention to detail.

Most franchised dealers provide in-house training in a variety of automotive and administrative trades, much of it provided by the car manufacturers themselves.

Parts and accessory suppliers have similar career options for individuals who are willing and able to perform in a fast-paced retail sales environment. Job categories include...

• Store managers
• Counter sales staff
• Warehouse staff
• Bookkeeping staff
• Automotive specialists
• Bay technicians