Is This TrueI'm 34 years old, and have worked as an Office Manager for the last four years. This has been my major and only significantly important job. I started and graduated late , completed my B.A. in Communication at age 28. Prior to that, I worked retail and not a whole lot else. Between college and graduation, I completed internships in radio and televison. Worked in radio for 2 years. Not as an announcer, I wrote ad copy. A lot of people think I should give my writing a go, but I don't feel I am that good. My grammar stinks down the house. Long story short, I currently command 29 k a year, and as I look around me I see that I am slipping futher and further behind other people my age and sadly, those younger than me. I'm so frustrated right now. I would very much like to change jobs, but from what I've been told on other career boards and by people who work in HR I'm stuck. A lot of jobs that command a higher salary demand experience I don't possess, human resources, ala. hiring, project management, etc. For a moment, I thought maybe there was light out there. My alma mater, through their School of Business offers a Certificate in Business Administration. It's supposed to be for people who already possess a bachelor's degree, but for whatever reason don't have the time or money to earn their Masters. Like I said, I thought about it. Thought that it might give me an edge, but I've been told by several people that it's worthless compared to actual experience. Some people suggested I rewrite my resume, which I'll do , but I'm afraid since I don't possess a business degree and that I've worked on the administrative end that everything about me screams Secretary. A little about where I work. It's for a marketing franchise which is part of a much bigger corporation. Including myself, we total four. The owners, and one sales rep. Excuse me, there are actually two sales reps as the owner sells too. As you can see there isn't much to manage, at least in terms of human resources. On the other hand I am the go to person, the one that gets things done. Since we're a small office, besides my payroll and administrative duties, I also act as the sale's assistant as I am responsible for ad creation and approval and general research before the sales rep seals the deal. If I'm not one the phone with clients, I see them in person to get proof sign off and to collect payment. Our office is unique in that we have several businesses going on at once, so I assist with that too. I have been told the only way to get around this is to downgrade myself, i.e. accept a lower position elsewhere so that I may earn those skills. The only downside of that is that it earns less money in the interim and I can't afford that. I will have my credit card paid off in Febuary 08, but even so I will still have a student loan and a car payment. I will have the car payment for the next four years, the student loan for a long time after that. I still owe about 18.000 grand on my B.A. Before you say anything, I already know. I screwed up financially in taking out too much in SLs. Other than that, I don't spend money on ANYTHING. I would love to have a better paying job in the upper 3Os, round about 38 k where I feel like I could possibly afford things, normal things like a decent wardrobe, a small mortgage, and a retirement nest egg. Right now, i just don't see that happening. To make extra money I dogsit for people, but it's not steady, and not enough to pull me where I want to go. One other thing, I've heard that if I accept less money elsewhere that I'll have a hard time commanding back my persent higher salary in the future. Is that true? All advice is greatly appreciated. Here is something that you really need to remember about careerboards, recruiters, human resource, friends, enemies, etc. Everybody has their own opinion and the bottom line is what YOU want to do. This is your life and only you can run it. So, you are just going to have to take all these opinions and whatnot and weigh them toward what you want to achieve in life. Now, for my opinion. Not all employers want experience in their particular field. It is usually preferred, but employers don't always expect it. Many of the skills and abilities you already posses can be transitioned to another industry. As an office manager, you can:
and undoubtedly, you possess many other abilities such as:
Many of the office managers that I know or advertisements that I read about in the papers and on the boards are asked to be able to:
You are currently within a marketing industry which means that you know, or have the ability to learn, about how to market products to their fullest potential. I think that you should write down all of your assets, starting with your strongest, and compare them to the postings you see on boards and in papers. Drive around and look at the different companies in your city/town and maybe surrounding and write down which ones you feel you would like to work at. Go home and research those companies. Rework your resume to include all your abilities and compose a general cover letter which reiterates your strengths and expresses your desire to change careers from the marketing industry to whatever interests you. When you decide which companies to send your inquiry to, tailor your resume to that company and their needs, while keeping your desire for an industry change intact and strengths intact. Are you going to have to take a lower paying job to get your foot in the door? Maybe. It depends on the company you are applying to and what their needs are as well as what the company feels they can afford to pay you as far as your experience and skills. In your cover letter, if the posting states that a salary request is necessary, provide a range. Figure out the lowest salary that you can possibly live on and then add about $1500 - $2000 and that would be the low end of your salary. The high end would be approximately $3000 - $5000 more. So, a salary range could be $28000 - $33000 per year. You're being too critical of yourself, don't you think? Your commitment to paying off your credit card debt is great and you didn't screw up on your student loans if your college degree ultimately leads to a better paying job. I was going to tell you to stop listening so much to other people's advice but maybe you should pay attention to those who think you should be a writer. You express yourself well, seem to write with ease and any grammatical errors could be fixed by a good editor. With your communications degree and experience in radio and tv, you'd be a natural at an ad agency or in the marketing dept of any large business. I don't see any reason why you should have to accept a lower salary to gain experience. Move forward, not back. You sound as if you have a lot of skills with which to offer an employer so I wonder why you are commanding such a small salary. Being "the go to" person in a small office means you are capable of filling many roles. When submitting a resume for a particular job - say account representative - cater your resume to reflect skills that your potential employer may be looking for. Also, sell yourself. Maybe you don't have actual management skills, but you do have experience doing small scale payroll and HR, that right there should get you in the door. Unless you are in the middle of nowhere, with your skill set you should be able to command a higher salary (38,000 - 48,000/year). What you need to do is ASK for it. If a potential employer really wants you - they will give you what you ask for even if they talk you down a bit. So, say you want $35,000/year. When they ask for your salary requirement say you want $40,000. They will probably try to talk you down, but you may get more than you hoped for in the first place! I learned that at the place I am at now - I asked for 40,000 which is what I wanted and got 38,400. Not bad, but not what I wanted. Next time I will ask up. The worst they can do it tell you no. Also, it sounds as if you are pretty satisfied with your position where you are now, but you feel you should be making more. You sound as you are a valuable asset to the company and if they can afford it (you should know, right?) and you ask, they will give it to you. So, if you don't feel the need to change jobs, just income, ask for a raise!
Unfortunately, the fact that we know we have many skills that would transfer over to other industries makes no difference. One case in point is that I have all the skills you mentioned here and many, many more. I have been in retail management for about 13 years, and the industry for several more years. I have been a third key, stock manager, floor manager, assistant manager, and store manager. I have worked in china, crystal, housewares, and gifts; womens and mens apparel and all accessories; and in home decorating. I have done training in all of these positions. I have been responsible for all aspects including human resources and payroll, setting customer service and employee evaluation standards, loss prevention, profit and loss, store maintenance, and anything you can think of that has anything to do with managing a store. I also have spent about a year in fast food, and more than three years in casual dining. In these positions I also did every aspect except actual management, except for two weeks when the manager went on vacation in the casual dining restaurant. But my restaurant experience was some time ago, and though I often mention it in my cover letter, it is not included in my resume, it encompasses my last three management positions going back 13 years. I have had no luck finding a job in any industry. The last job took me over three years to get, not including the six months I was unable to work due to a broken ankle. I finally had my "dream job", but the company closed the store after 14 months due to the ecomony. | |
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