I started a new job last week. It's 25 hrs/wk and will work well with my school schedule (school starts on Wed), so that's decent. And it's located in Pleasant Grove, so that's decent. And it's the cleanest, best-decorated, most professional office I've ever worked in, so that's decent.
The weird this is, though...nobody talks. I'm not kidding you. I will work there for five hours straight and not speak to a single other person in the office. It's so bizarre. When I first started working there and asked those preliminary questions (who I tell when I'm going on break or who to call if I'm going to be late or who to ask if I need help), the answers were essentially: "nobody cares when you're going on break, just keep track of it yourself," "just make sure you mark on your time card if you're late," and "I guess you can ask whoever is around, but you seem to be doing just fine." And that was about it for human office interaction. Now, I talk to people on the phone all day, so it's not like I feel broken off from the world, it's just the office dynamics are weird. I'm not even sure who my boss is. I have three suspects, but few clues. Normally I've worked in offices where everyone's chatty and good friends with each other and there's music playing and fairly heavy supervision, but I am just a lone worker here. It has its advantages and disadvantages. The jury is out on whether I like it or not.
The work itself is kind of dull, but not bad. The company sells/installs/fixes SAP Business One, business management software designed for small businesses. My job is to call as many small businesses as I can in our area of six states and find those that are unhappy with their current software. When I find them, I put them in touch with the sales people. And that's it. Really easy.
When they interviewed me, I remember they kept asking questions about how I handle rejection or rude people on the phone and that sort of thing, but I haven't really run into a ton of that. My perspective is probably skewed, since I've worked in the collections industry for the last two years of my life, but nearly everyone I've spoken to is quite polite, especially since I'm calling businesses. I've only had maybe two rude phone calls in the five days I've worked there so far. Practically nothing.
The only trick is to have the right attitude about the position. I'm not trying to convince anyone or push anyone or any of that. Just sifting through the haystack of small businesses for potential needles. It's 100% a numbers game. The more people I call, the higher likelihood of finding someone who's looking. I'm currently averaging 103 calls per lead (I would assume this is about the same for the other two lead developers, but it's not like I talk to them or even know what the male one is named). So it's not like having someone not be a lead is discouraging.
I get bonuses for leads found, so that helps keep things more entertaining. I used to think that working for commissions/bonuses would be horrible, but then I worked for Heritage and made so much money off commissions that I'll never think that about a job again. The base pay is enough to make the job worth working, but the bonuses make the job exciting. I like having how hard I work directly effect my pay. It's terrific.
Also, there's free hot chocolate in the break room. The office is freezing cold, so this is definitely a plus.
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