History of Menards

John Menard, Jr. began building post-frame buildings to finance his college education. After graduation he found that he had to hire other people to help him and that customers were coming by to ask him to sell them lumber and other building materials. When he graduated in 1962 he decided to open up Menards Cashway Lumber in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This was the start of the first Menards home improvement stores.

Menards is a privately held company with 252 stores in 12 states: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Menards today is considered to be the third largest by sales home improvement company in the United States being behind Home Depot and Lowe’s.  Menards ranked 24th in 2006 in the Forbes’ list of “America’s Largest Private Companies” making them one of the largest privately owned stores in the United States today.

Job description/Average wage

Sales Associate: The sales associate must work on the floor assisting customers on a regular basis. They help the customers to find the merchandise that they need and performing other tasks in accordance with the department that they are working. They may be required to mix paint, cut boards, or find screws and knobs. Since this is a home improvement store many times the customers will ask advice on how to fix something or make a project. The sales associate often needs to be able to advise the customer on particular projects. The average wage for an hourly sales associate is $9.36.

Cashier: You’re going to work the front of the store where you’re going to help ring up customers, accept returns, as well as ensure that the customer gets everything that they need.  You’re going to accept credit cards, cash, as well as help with larger orders.  You’re going to answer to the lead cashier in charge.  The average wage is anywhere from $8 to $13 a hour.

Receiving: The receiving clerk works in the warehouse unloading trucks as they bring supplies into the business. They must make sure that everything is accounted for when it comes to the store. The receiving clerk enters the merchandise into the computer making sure that it matches the order of merchandise. Also they must mark any merchandise that is damaged or shorted on the bill of laden. The average wage for a receiving clerk is $9.91 an hour.

Sales Representative: The sales representative is responsible to help the customers buy the right amount of merchandise for the project. Often the sales representative works with contractors who are buying for specific jobs and need to be able to maintain a budget. The sales representative is helpful in providing merchandise for the contractor within his budget. The average hourly rate for a sales representative is $9.00 an hour.

Department Manager: Working as  department manager will mean that you’re going to watch over a department where you’re going to assign tasks, manage the department, as well as perform other various duties such as cleaning, stocking and more.  You’re going to more than likely answer to the main manage of the store.  The average wage is anywhere from $10 to $19 a hour.

Benefits

  • Health Care Package
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
  • Paid Vacation, Paid Holidays
  • 401 (k) and instant profit sharing
  • Weekend bonus pay
  • Management gets bonus
  • Team discount prices

How to Apply

You may apply for these positions and many others with Menards by going to their website: http://www.menards.com/careers

Please feel free to stop into your local Menards and ask for an application and checkout the posting for openings in your area.