It was not my intention to have a career in sales. My degree is in programming, and while going to college I needed beer money. I wrote a list of my skills which looked like this:
- I'm good with computers
- I'm an excellent communicator
- I'm really bad at manual labor
- I like air conditioning.
I figured an excellent place to apply all of these skill sets was in telemarketing. I looked in the yellow-pages, found a firm near my house, applied and got the job. I quickly became one of the best salesperson's in the office, and moved up into a data-entry position. I worked this until I graduated from college, at that point I quit and got a job programming. That company downsized shortly after I got a job, and I went back to telemarketing "temporarily."
Shortly after starting, I found out I was soon to be a father. I could not find another job in the computer industry, and a supervisor position opened up in the office, which I applied for and was hired. Sine then I've been a trainer, Corporate Training Manager, Office Manager, and Operations manager. I've traveled the world and opened sites in several countries.
Yesterday, in a corporate restructuring move, we found out we will close our office in 60 days.
It's weird to know that such a large part of your life will come to an end in two months. Till then, we have to maintain the business and make sure we deliver the same results to our client, which is a major fortune 500 company. I met my son's mother in this office. Most of my friends are workmates. A lot of memories, and a lot of good times.
I'll be fine, I know I am very marketable and this will be the push I needed to find a career with better growth potential. But I am worried. I am worried about the 21 year-olds that I employ, the kids that led a hard life and had nowhere else to go until we hired them. They are trying to make good, and just had the carpet ripped out from under them. I worry about the ones that may go back to drugs. I worry about the single moms and dads. I worry about the 60 and 70 year-olds that have no retirement and our economy forces them to work. I worry about the people that have been here 17 years and know nothing else. I can write letters of referrals and help them with their resumes. I can do what I can, I wish there was more I could do.
For me, I look forward to more opportunities. I'll be able to take a couple months off with my severance package, do a lot of hiking and letterboxing, and spend more time with my son than I have been able to since he was born. I look forward to applying myself in a different career.
In the next couple months, if a telemarketer calls you, before you hang up on us, a kind word might count more than you know.
