What to Avoid: Considering Your Next Sales Job
In
these difficult, strange times, when unemployment keeps creeping in the
opposite direction, and the powers that be don’t seem to know what they’re
talking about, it is quite easy to take the first job your offered. You’ve sent out scores of
resumes and have been touring the interview circuit like a weary country
singer and all you want—please let the madness end!—is to be productive
and get back to work.
Don’t
rush the process. Don’t
panic. Rushing into a job without
really knowing why you’re accepting the position will only lead to hitting the
interview tour again. Remember,
sales is different from other jobs.
You have to consider straight commission or a salary-based structure or
a combination of both. You have to
consider if you live in an at-will employment state. If you do you are pretty much at the mercy of the employer. They can terminate your position at
any time for any reason at all, whether it’s your shirt color, your
hair color, the way you talk, your politics. You’ll be out the door before you ever really know what hit
you.
Ask
yourself what you want from an employer and then look at your lifestyle. Are you single and in your 20s and feel
like gambling a little, feel like riding the next big wave of
companies that go public?
Fine. You’ll have your pick
of employers that believe their company is next new thing. There’s no shortage of companies trying to make a name,
trying to become Google. Just
remember that many of them will do an el-foldo before five years time, and you
may be bouncing around for quite a while.
If this is the case, invest in a couple of good pair of shoes.
But
what if you’re not a rookie and you’re looking for a little more stability? Well, nothing is stable anymore, no job
is safe, and the time when an employee worked for a corporation his entire life
doesn’t look it will be back in vogue in the foreseeable future. However, there are pitfalls to
avoid when looking for your next job.
Avoid
the Mom and Pop Stores. Very
simply, if the company’s CEO is also the HR director run for the hills. There are too many people who
think they know how to run a company.
They want to do it on the cheap and they don’t care to churn and
burn. And if you look at these
companies you’ll see that most of them operate on a commission-only
structure and most of them advertise on sites like Craigslist. If they don't identify who they are in the ad, don't have a website, can't spell and promise the moon and the sun, well then it's time to run.
Target
a large company. Most people will
change careers several times before they retire and end up miles away from
their college major. By working for
a large company you’ll have a greater chance to explore different departments,
different sales divisions.
It goes without saying, there’s more opportunity within a large company.
This
is the perfect time of year to regroup and ask yourself two important
questions: what kind of company do
I want to work for and what kind of compensation structure fits my lifestyle?
