account manager

front end developer

software engineer

senior software engineer

director

TRADER Corporation

I had a VERY frustrating experience working at Trader due to certain individuals. This will be slightly a rant. First and foremost beware of two faced people working here. You will be thrown under the bus if you question things too much, do things differently, uncover process or work flaws and try to reinvent the wheel too much. There are people who will act very friendly to your face, but behind your back talk very badly about you and make you a scapegoat for existing problems at the company. Very childish and snake like behaviors, bad vibes.

I moved from my previous position thinking trader will give me a better opportunity. I'm mid-career, experienced. I was well established and respected in my previous company. It seemed initially a good move with better pay, but I slowly learned, those that are more senior are protective of each other, as a new comer you can and will be a scapegoat for their own flaws.

Work is heavy and repetitive, you are expected to do more and more, it's understaffed and if you require assistance or information it will be hard to get it without drama or blame.

SOME people are wonderful, great to work with and helpful while others have a certain "one way" of thinking, "no it won't work", "we do it different here", "it's all over the place, we just patch things all the time", "we've always been doing it this way" and the people who initially developed a process who hold all the information are hard to deal with. There is NO documentation and you're just expected to figure it out. If you ask questions you annoy the people you are asking, even if they hold the information or they will act too busy weeks on weeks. They will put you down expecting you to do things their way even if it doesn't work correctly or there is a better way. If you do something different and they don't understand it, they will think you didn't do anything at all because they don't understand it. You are expected to know everything from people who hold the information; what they've previously done -- OR if you are made the process owner you will get no information on how the original process is constructed, you just have to figure it out, which would be fine if there was some sort of documentation, but nothing is ever documented and poorly put together originally.

This has been an extremely frustrating experience, while in the end being blamed for not getting enough done. The best part about all this? People in question who have worked 10+ years at the company will use you as the perfect scapegoat as a newcomer for their own mistakes.

I've never had to deal with this elsewhere and unfortunately I've had to at this company. I've dealt with all kinds of low to high level projects and gathering information for projects was manageable; when you hit road blocks, you request that specific individual, book meetings or escalate to someone above and they force them to participate. Not here, the person in question does as they please and you take the blame for poor progress. They have a bad day? Too bad, it's your fault. Everything is poorly done, all over the place, patched together and glued together. Senior people when exposed to flaws, will try to hide them and you will be the perfect scapegoat.

As a scrum master it depend on the period of the yearly Quarter and sprint period. How ever,  In the morning i usually check in on the team’s boards on Jira to review progress, blockers, and sprint health.

A little later I will facilitate Daily Stand-up, ensuring it’s focused, time-boxed, and that impediments are raised. Follow up on blockers raised in the stand-up, working with stakeholders or removing organizational obstacles.

During the Midday, I will  work with the Product Owner to refine and prioritize the Product Backlog, ensuring clarity and alignment with business goals.
Collaborate with other Scrum Masters or Agile Coaches to align across teams (especially in scaled environments like SAFe).

In the Afternoon I facilitate or prepare ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Retrospective, Review, or Backlog Refinement).

Drive cross-functional collaboration by connecting engineering, QA, UX, and business stakeholders.

Work on continuous improvement initiatives, such as optimizing workflows, improving estimation practices, or automating reporting.

Ongoing throughout the day
I serve as a servant leader and coach, observing team dynamics and providing feedback.Encourage a collaborative, transparent environment where risks are discussed openly.Track metrics and progress, but focus on outcomes (value delivery) rather than just outputs.

Typically I made dozens of calls each day, but I was told when I was hired that I'd be visiting clients, but the role changed to a home-based call/webinar driven role rather than face-to-face meetings

Management doesn't communicate expectations and when communication occurs it's not consistent. It was unclear what was viewed as success and I was often asked to proceed in a manner that created tension with different departments. 

Co-workers were really amazing. Too bad they are remotely located though, since we all got along really well.

Hardest part of the job was the constant change in my role. I was told it would be a more technical product consultation role with lots of opportunity to meet dealers and build relationships, but in the end I was expected to make 30+ plus virtual calls a day, booking virtual visits/webinars and selling, rather than sales support.

My rare opportunities out of the office. Any chance I had to get out of the office and visit clients was enjoyable. This is a tough industry and this company has lots of dealers that don't like Trader, but I found I got along with the Franchise dealers quite well and enjoyed building those relationships when I was given the opportunity to meet face-to-face.

I've been with Trader for 6 years and have seen the company shift from print to digital and watched it grow and evolve over those years.

Pros
-Ability to work with many fun and talented individuals
-Managers and Execs are very approachable-Opportunities are there for individuals who step up to the challenge
-Able to work with various business teams to develop new and enhance existing skills through projects and special tasks
-All employees have a yearly allowance for training to enhance skills and knowledge via courses and certifications
-There's internal growth and promotions; Employees growing and moving up through roles across many different teams to take on greater challenges
-The various IT Support teams experience a very dynamic and fast-paced work culture; You're never board looking for ways to keep busy!


Cons
-Trader has a strong sales culture and is very performance driven; This can be challenging for non-sales roles.
-The various IT Support teams experience a very dynamic and fast-paced work culture; You can easily find yourself biting off more than you can chew.

autoTRADER offers strong brand awareness that resonates with consumers which is the main value proposition to the clients. But ultimately, reinforcing that brand awareness and staying top of mind with consumers is what drives the costs higher for the clients (auto dealers) that buy real estate on the website. Top management really needs to listen to the clients more and also the client facing reps (account managers) to understand their challenges and concerns. Unfortunately, as much as the account managers try to advocate for their clients, they also take the heat when something goes wrong or when their prices start to skyrocket due to technical problems and yearly increases, respectively. Being an account manager at autoTRADER is extremely high pressure and it’s is very difficult to meet OTE due to the structure of the compensation plan. I think every AM should be paid on cross sales regardless of percentage to target and this is unfortunately not the case as it is for so many other companies of the like. 

This position requires you to drive to different dealerships, which can be in multiple cities/towns. You are compensated with an annual allowance but if your car breaks down then you will not be helped. You will be expected to get a rental and show up to work the next day!

I learned that the management likes to pick favourites and promise a lot of things that will never happen. You can see that they have been always getting changes in management based on other reviews. There is high turnover in this position and for good reason. The pay is small for the amount of work you're expected to do, which includes an expectation of responding to emails after hours.

I would not recommend this position to someone looking for full time work. However this position may work for you if you want part-time hours working no more than 20 hours a week. But beware you will be expected to take on a lot of work when you start. Training will be done by people who most likely just got hired a few weeks before you.

My experience at Auto Trader has been mixed. While the compensation is competitive and overall benefits are strong, there are significant areas where the organization could improve. The management approach often feels overly controlling, with a level of micromanagement that limits autonomy and slows down effective decision-making. Work-life balance is a major concern, as expectations sometimes extend into personal time, including vacations, which can make it difficult to fully disconnect. Additionally, opportunities for employee growth appear limited, with unclear pathways for advancement and development. The performance review process also feels inconsistent and not always fair or transparent. From a product perspective, there seems to be insufficient emphasis on engineering quality and long-term technical excellence. Overall, while the compensation is a positive aspect, there are cultural and organizational challenges that impact the employee experience and long-term satisfaction.

A typical day involves a quick chat with coworkers then a deep dive into work. The work environment is collaborative and team based where great ideas are shared and put into action.

In my short tenure (just under 1 year), I was able to gain substantial experience in my field which I am able to use to add value. My coworkers are some of the most brilliant individuals that I have the pleasure of working with, and I consistently learn from them as the days go by.

My immediate managers are supportive in my attainment of higher education and promote goal congruency. They are also very flexible when time off is required. They also promote growth as a team through various team building initiatives.

The most challenging part of my job is not getting the full picture of a task at times, and there are sometimes difficulty in putting the pieces together. However, the most enjoyable part of the job is the experience and knowledge that are being attained, and the very close knitted group of people that surrounds me. In addition, morale is high and the firm rewards employees for outstanding work.

For the better part of a facade I’ve been working within the company. Through two sales to different equity firms we’ve seen salary replaced with part time inconsistent hours, reduced benefits and higher workload. 

I started thinking I’d have a career and room for growth. I’ve instead had issues getting HR and managers to follow the corporate policies on harassment from supervisors and to hold the stated meetings about the issues.

It seems every message is positive but immediately followed by condemnation and bone that should lie elsewhere. When many employees raise client concerns each year and nothing is done, it’s no wonder the company opened up space for competition and is loszing ground.

Clients have often compared us to the Rogers communications of the Auto Marketibg world: we raise prices and never resolve technical problems.

It’s very easy to enjoy the work. It’s very hard to enjoy the company you work for.

A typical day at work was highly structured with a strong focus on productivity. From the moment the day started, the pace was intense, leaving little room to ease in or connect with colleagues. While I learned how to manage time effectively and work under pressure, the lack of work-life balance made it difficult to maintain long-term motivation.
Management emphasized output and efficiency, with time being tracked to the minute. Although there were initiatives for employee engagement, they were rarely executed, and casual communication among staff was discouraged. The culture felt restrictive, with limited freedom to express ideas or build meaningful workplace relationships.
The hardest part of the job was the absence of a supportive, open environment. However, I did take away valuable lessons in discipline and accountability. While the structure may suit some, a more people-centric approach would have significantly improved the overall experience.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Account manager 7 salaries reported	$57,286 per year
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Senior software engineer 4 salaries reported	$118,375 per year
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