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It’s about life. It’s about hair. It’s about beauty. It’s about creativity. It’s about music. It’s about singing. It’s about confidence. It’s about sharing. It’s about learning. It’s about helping. It's about growing. It's about love. It's about fashion. It's about prayer. But most of all, It’s about JESUS!!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

It's hard out there for a pimp ...

This is just in reference to job searching. I seem to attract all the companies that people believe are scams! I don't know why and I don't know how but I do know that every time I'm about to go to an interview, I find something online that says I'll have to pay them $700+ dollars to work for them, selling insurance or some other nonsense. As you can probably guess, I neglected to show up to those interviews.

More recently, I started training for a position as a "distributor" for Home Depot/US Remodlers/The Smart Circle (or something to that effect, honestly I'm still confused). Basically this is what I had to do: I would walk around a Home Depot store, zipping through isles and speaking to people. My goal was to get them to sign up for a free, in-home consultation with a Home Depot designer that would discuss with home owners how they could update their kitchen or bathroom for 1/3 less of the cost and guaranteed 3-5 install. In the kitchen they do cabinet refacing as well as put in new countertops and backsplashes. In the bathroom they lay a product over your bathtub and/or walls that is infused with microband and has an anbacterial agent that does not allow germs to live on the surface. Sounds like a pretty cool thing right?

THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!! And yet no one signed up for this FREE appointment. Of course many people were not home owners so they didn't have the option anyway. But I felt like a salesperson and I wasn't even selling anything. Smh ...

Besides the fact that sales is not my forte, here are some other reasons I did not like this job:

  • The office felt a little unorganized because there were hopefuls galore in the small lobby, waiting for interviews. Mind you, there are 3 companies in the same tiny office.
  • The amount of people waiting for interviews lead me to belivee that many more people were quitting this job than staying (which is usually true of sales positions I think). They try to tell you that they're looking for someone with the right fit for the position and they really need people but in my opinion, they just need enough people to start because they know they won't end up with very many people in the end.
  • The 2 days of training I had to drive somebody that I did not know in MY OWN car to the Home Depot location and then back to the motel they were staying at because my trainers were from an office in Portland, Oregon and didn't have a rental car (most companies would put you in a nice hotel instead of a Motel 6 and possibly get you a rental car. Red flag anyone?)
  • Both of my trainers were male so although I was safe, I was put in a potentially dangerous situation because who know what could have happened after leaving the office?
  • Oh yeah, did I mention that they DON'T pay for gas mileage? And get this: I drove about 20 miles to the office from home, then about 10-15 to the Home Depot, then that same 10-15 miles back to the motel near the office. All because I had to drive my trainer around with me. And THEN I had to go home.
  • If you didn't sign up any appointment for any given day, you would just get paid minimum wage for the hours you worked.
  • Overall I just think sales is a sucky job but someone's gotta do it!!!
I am so glad I only worked there for the 2 days of training. Whew! No telling what could have gone down cuz it was giving me some shady vibes. Same thing with Vector Marketing and setting up appointment with people to sell them Cutco knives (which are excellent, but overpriced) which I also did a few years ago.

So even though I might just be bored out of my mind, I would rather work for a company that I know and recognize the name of and sit at a desk for awhile. Just to make enough cushion money to actually spend time figuring out how to make money doing what I love - browsing natural hair websites! Lol just kidding. But only slightly. I really do want to find a career without wasting time on the scams.


HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD TROUBLES WITH THEIR JOB SEARCH???

2 comments:

  1. Yes, its hard out here for a pimp....keep at it, I'm sure you'll find something soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Brit. How can I contact you via email? I dont think I have your email addy. I have things I'd like to share with you regarding your job hunt. Trust me, it gets better.

    ReplyDelete