November 02, 2006
Nature of the Beast
I had an intereseting conversation over dinner the other evening. It was with my rep and his family (nice dinner, but a situation I've never been in). They were very warm and welcoming and wanted to know a bit about me.
Actually they wanted to know how I got to the position I am currently in. Well - I wasn't gonna tell them the whole damned story so I just ran through the highlights of my resume.
Sold steel to the automotive accounts for a while.
Lead rep for a steel distribution company.
Tropicana
Simmons.
Last job.
Now.
The first two are for the same company just different divisions. Trop? Got laid off. Everyone did.
Simmons? Moved here for family reasons, no openings in this area.
Last job? No comment.
The gentleman looked at me and said something about having a hard time holding a job. My jaw hit the table.
Sales is a revolving door. Things go wrong? Get rid of the sales folks. Issues? It's sales' fault. Plus - I had no intention of ever leaving Tropicana. Ever. The lay-off kicked my ass.
Anyway, it really got me to thinking how different careers have different timelines. I know, from my experience, the first thing other consumer products folks ask is if you're still with the same company. We move around. A lot. It's the nature of the beast. You keep your resume updated. Regularly. You network. Constantly. You never know. Ever.
And you can't feel bad for the flow. It's not personal in most instances. It's just the way it goes.
But damn - how do you explain that to someone who has worked in the same company for 30 years?
I just told him he was very lucky to have found something he loved that much.
Then I found out he owned the company. Well, hell. Even *I* could hold that job......
Posted by Tammi at November 2, 2006 05:15 AM | TrackBackAll jobs have become revolving doors, not just sales. The days of staying with one company for life are long gone. He must not get out much.
Posted by: Bou at November 2, 2006 07:11 AMI bet you anything that A#@$%&@ wouldn't have said that to a woman. I said nothing while you were in NY but let me tell you some of the things I would have said in reply:
- Wow, you own the company, well that's a nice safe way to buy job security.
- So what do you do to get your thinking from going stale and continue to be innovative? Oh wait, you don't have to worry about that, you have people to do that for you.
There's more, that's just what I can quickly get out off the cuff. My brain is back, Yep, I'm feeling better!
Posted by: Michele at November 2, 2006 09:49 AMyeah, i would have had a hard time holding my tongue in that case.
Posted by: sarahk at November 2, 2006 09:57 AMI would have blown-up.
I have had 9 jobs, excuse me 11 jobs since I graduated college.
Only left 2 of them. The others, laid off or re-org or company got sold.
Guess that makes me a real loser in that guys eyes.
It's the nature of the beast now a days in automotive, there is no security.
Posted by: Quality Weenie at November 3, 2006 07:41 PM