change careers
I am in need of career advice. I have been in social services for almost six years, although I enjoy what I do and the benefits of working with the state are okay, I would like to change careers and do something where I am making more money. I feel that if you can do this(social work) you can just about do anything! I have a degree in Business Admin./Marketing. I have applied to several outside sales positions with no results. Please, if there is anyone out there who can advise me on how to break into a sales position, please let me know. I would appreciate any help.
Don't do it. Trust me, just stay where you're at. Unless you're really into rejection, 100% commision, no social/family life, constant traveling, etc. Outside sales isn't for the faint of heart. No don' t stay were you are at. I have been in the social services/human services game for over 15 years and I should have left at least 5 years ago. I have been a juvenile probation officer for a good part of that time. But when it is time to move on, it is time to move on, and staying for job security only will make you an unhappy employee with job security. Right now I am trying to make the transition from what I do now to sales as a profession. Sure I am scared and a bit unnerved at times about having to be more self reliant. But being miserable and not doing anything about it is to give up the race before the starting gun has even fired. Besides, in my arena you don' t know rejection until you have had one kid assault you and another threaten your life. Figure out what you want to do don' t just jump into a position because of money or prestige. There is no money if you do not perform. Even when you are a great salesperson it does not matter. Several things come into play-- die- Territory,quota, People, support, resources, weather-- yes I said weather. Economy etc... go on several ride days to figure out if it is what you can see yourself doing--- you never truly know until you do it. example selling cars, payroll, it solutions, Gym memberships, windows, Retirement plans-etc... look before you leap if you are truly wanting to breach the realm of sales then get together a business plan or a directive for a company you think you want to sell for, cold call and sell them on giving you an interview if you can close them on that sell them your plan then maybe you will have a shot, but just pitching resume' s in the dark will not help. I was in your situation one year ago. I had been working for State government for over 2 years after graduating from college and was not happy in that environment. I knew I would be good in sales and wanted to try it but sent out many resumes with cover letters boasting of my communication talents and interpersonal skills, but no response was received. I then started networking with friends and asking who they knew that was in sales. I ended up taking a friend of a friend to lunch one day and asking her a lot of questions about her career in sales and how she thought I should get started. Luckily for me, the timing was right because the company she worked for one year ago had an open sales position and she was kind enough to hand-deliver my resume to the sales manager. That started a chain of events with interviews following. I knew that once I could actually get in front of someone in charge of hiring, I could sell myself and land a job eventually. Now I have been working in the medical equipment sales industry for the past year and absolutely love it. I would recommend to you to think about everyone you know and solicit your friends to help you. Even if you don' t have a personal friend in sales that can offer advice or possibly put your resume in front of a hiring manager, they may know of someone they can suggest you talk to? Networking and knowing someone to help you get your foot in the door gives you a huge advantage! Sales is a very rewarding job, and one of the best ways to see if you can deal with the public is to try car sales and work for commission only, but you need to be prepared for a lot of rejection. I' m averaging about 40-50k easy and I know with hard work I could do a lot better. Not sure how old you are or the kind of money your making but what I did to get into outside sales was to go into customer sevice or inside sales for some training. These jobs are easier to get but do not pay like outside sales (25K- 45k). Once you understand the products and industry you may have a better chance of getting out on the road. There are outside sales jobs that pay a salary/ bonus/some commission/and car allowance. These jobs can go from: salary 55K-85K, bonus 1K-??, and commission, 1K-??. Usually there is a limit as to what you can make. 100% commission jobs, the sky is the limit, just make sure you know how much the best sales rep is making. I have been a hiring sales manager for 15 years. You can break into outside sales but the way to do it is first apply for inside sales positions. They are proving grounds for outside sales. No one will hire you for the kind of outside sales I think you want without some experience. So, go inside, become successful then move to outside sales. It will take time and lots of work but can be done. Good luck. It is good that you are trying to get advice from others on your situation, but please take this advice as merely a guide, not a guarantee as to what will happen with your situation. The opinions you receive from others are from their viewpoint only, and different people have different attitudes. You can read my story below, but in summary, my key advice is (1) Have a Financial Goal and focus on it and don' t let anything/anyone stop you from achieving it, (2) Always look at the positive side of things, and (3) don' t make excuses for anything you do in life. I, like you, worked in Social Services with troubled kids for 4 years while I was in college. I graduated with a Psychology degree and moved onto another Social Work job for about 7 months after I graduated. I realized very quickly that I would never achieve my personal financial goals if I continued to work in Social Services. I decided the best way to achieve these goals was by working in Sales, and working hard. I interviewed at about 40-50 different companies, all sales positions. Every job was different. Every place I interviewed asked me why in the heck am I trying to work in Sales when I have a social work background. I had a few that treated me like I was worthless and that a social work background will never qualify me to work in Sales. DO NOT listen to these people. The truth is, all of the different/unusual clients you work with in social work (depending on the type of client), actually better prepare you to work with clients in the business world a lot better. The clients you will sell to are more than likely going to be more ' normal' than the clients you deal with in social work. Anyways, I finally landed a job working Inside Sales, business to business for a software company. I did this by honing my interview skills. YOU NEED TO INTERVIEW WELL to make your transition from social work to sales. If you do enough interviews, I guarantee you will be good at it after awhile. Just be patient and keep interviewing. Don' t ever convince yourself that you can' t get a sales job. At first it was tough learning the in' s and out' s of selling. It took me a good year on the job to get the hang of what I was doing. There were many times I wanted to quit, but at those times I kept focusing on my financial goals, and that this career will lead me there. The key is to immerse yourself in how to be better at sales in your industry. Ask your new Sales Manager good books to read, or selling CD' s to listen to in your car as you drive to/from work. Things have been working well for me, I have now been with the same company for over 4 years and am making upwards around 90K. The potential to make twice that amount in the coming years is very real. On top of that, I love working in business way more than Social Work because I' m financially independent and have turned many clients into friends. And trust me, I' m probably the last person any of my friends would expect to make the transition from social work to sales. I' m the same person I was 4 years ago, I just focus on more of the positive things and am focused on my financial goals. I hope this helps. Good luck in your search. Good things are going to happen to you. P.S. for good CD' s on how to learn to be a top salesperson, I highly recommend the following people: Art Sobczak, Brian Tracy, Jeffrey Gitomer. You can buy their CD' s, books, or better yet, look them up on itunes. They have a wealth of great information.
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Career Tips
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