At Richmond International Forest Products, we pride ourselves on our passion for going above and beyond in everything that we do – And that starts at the very beginning with our training program.
Over the course of twelve to eighteen weeks, our trainees are ingrained in and exposed to every facet of our business. Starting in the operations department, and onward to our traffic and logistics team, to helping one of our senior traders as a trader assistant, our trainees will learn everything from and be a driving force for success for our operations and traffic teams, all while building a backbone understanding of all that our back of house teams do to support the trade floor.
While that is all easy to say on this end, let’s get some perspective from the folks currently in those roles. In this blog post, learn from the perspectives of Kyle Cochran, Ben Wallace, and Jonathan Leech, three of our current trader trainees.
What was the experience like?
“A particularly enlightening part of the experience was when we had the ability to sit down and listen in on the phone calls of other traders,” said Wallace. “Just getting hands-on experience to really see how people make phone calls in the sales world was invaluable.”
What was a memorable experience for you?
“One of the most useful things I found was talking to carriers and brokers on the phone and getting used to being on the phone and negotiating rates,” said Leech.
“Definitely talking to carriers and brokers and building those relationships over time with them and that will translate well into when we're on the phone as traders,” said Cochran.
What is your advice for anyone coming into the training program?
“Being open-minded, I think, is the best way to really succeed in the trader training role,” said Wallace. “Any assignments or tasks that come your way, try to tackle them to the best of your ability. Ask for help when you need to because everyone will gladly help you.”
“Rather than just trying to get work done, really focus and go into detail when you're doing the work,” said Cochran. “Understand what it is you're doing and continue to build off that.”
Ready to apply or have questions? Email Ash at ash.griffith@rifp.com for more information.
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