An unwelcome side-effect of my intimate relationship with the computer screen yesterday resulted in some major eyeball fatigue, so I was up and out of the house before 10 this morning. With friends coming over for supper this Saturday night, the first stop was the supermarket to purchase a liquid pick-and-mix of Corona
It was then off to the hairdressers for some much-needed bonce surgery and at the capital city of all things gossip - it was very easy to forget the trials of tribulations of being workless. A liberating insight into the tales of female-evening-time-activity and a cup of coffee later, I was coiffed and good-to-go.
I then followed up this healthy portion of ‘me-time’ with a jog to clear my thoughts, in cold weather that really did take my breath away. In the space of a couple of hours …I’d actually taken the weight from my mind both metaphorically and literally!
It made a nice change to get out of the house for a while, but I honestly couldn’t wait to get back home so I could check my phone for new e-mails and missed calls.
The good news is that I received some news; the bad news is that there was no good news at all! One letter of rejection was received via the post, whilst two e-mails informing me that I hadn’t made the next stage of the recruitment process pretty much explained the same. In all three cases, a lack of experience in the sector concerned was the cited reason. Nevertheless, this didn’t deter me and if anything, the news spurred me on to keep applying.
Over the years and throughout my career dilemmas, advice from friends has consistently thrown up two professions that I might be good at. The first is teaching which is definitely on the radar now, with my UCAS application almost complete.
The second piece of advice that tends to crop up is, “You know what Jay, you’d probably make a good salesman”.
A career in sales is one I’ve never really given any serious consideration to. In fact, although some of my previous roles have had some sales-oriented elements, it’s one of the few environments I haven’t actually worked in!
Commission-based work carries obvious month-to-month risks, whilst working over weekends, during evenings and through bank holidays isn’t exactly kind to your social diary. Both these issues also make it tough to plan ahead.
Then there’s also the ‘sleazy salesman’ tags to contend with, and all the connotations that go with it. How many times have we all felt uncomfortable or pressurised when in the company of a sales person? Showrooms and stores are one thing, but at least you have time to prepare. But how about when someone cold calls over the telephone, or even worse, knocks at the door after a long, hard day? …Do I really want to be that guy that EVERYBODY hates?
But I’ve always said that I’d be more than happy to try and sell an item, as long as I could back up my words by having total faith in the product. Despite all the negatives listed above, the most successful salespeople can reap some of the highest financial rewards as well as some attractive benefits.
A good salesman would need to be a strong communicator, have excellent customer service skills, be well presented and flexible enough to ‘go that extra mile’. Above all, the salesman needs to be trustworthy and I know I’m capable of delivering all of these ingredients.
Having thought about this during my run earlier today, I started to look through the websites of local prestige car dealers upon my return. To my surprise there were a variety of positions locally and despite it being my ‘day off’ from this seemingly never-ending search for a job, I managed to apply for six more vacancies.
My day off was completed with one of my favourite ever ‘old school’ movies; ‘The Long Kiss Goodnight’. Cue the quote from the coolest dude in the whole wide world:
“I never did one God-damn good thing in my life …that take’s skill”. Samuel L. Jackson …I might not be a BMF, but I know exactly how you feel.
Many blessings
Jason
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