Work – Page 2 – Small Stuff

Anything but searching for jobs.

One that pays me.

You wouldn’t believe how many times I get these questions. I understand it. From an outside perspective, they are ‘safe’ questions to ask after those old chestnuts: “Any prospects?” or “How is the job search going?”

I have been guilty of it. I’m sure we all have. You feel bad for the poor friend that has lost his job and hasn’t found a new one yet. You mentally knock-on-wood and briefly feel thankful for the job you were just complaining about 15 minutes earlier. “There, but for the grace of…” and all that. This is where those questions stem from. I appreciate that they care enough to ask, but then it is up to me to change the subject before either of us gets too uncomfortable.

This must be how new mothers or pregnant women feel. People are always asking them questions about (sometimes very) personal issues that are really none of their business and would be embarrassing in any other circumstance. Picture a couple on a romantic date in a restaurant. No one walks up to one of the diners and asks if his/her date sleeps through the night, if either of you were still breastfeeding, or how much weight you gained and lost in the last few months…at least, not in the restaurants I go to.

I am an open book, and have no problem telling you the truth: It’s a tough time to be unemployed. There are too many of us looking, and the economy can’t handle all of us. Two of the jobs I applied for went unfilled because the position or department (both State jobs) lost funding and were terminated. The skills I have are not what people are looking for, especially in someone my age (more on that in a later post, maybe). Whatever job I find will pay me 25-30% of the salary I was getting, not even taking into account the benefits, profit sharing, bonuses or travel that were all perks of my last job. Some of the jobs I am applying for would pay me less than what I am currently receiving from unemployment insurance payments. How depressing is that? Talk about a party conversation killer. Besides, I live with this on a daily (and in the waking hours of the night) basis. I am always thinking of these things. There is no need for you to bring it up when I am trying to enjoy myself. Perhaps I came to this party to forget about my troubles.

More often than not, the question, or line of questioning, says more about you than the person being questioned. We all project our own insecurities and fears when confronted with something uncomfortable. Think of any conversation you’ve had at a wake, or when someone is diagnosed with a terminal disease. You cannot help but think of how you would handle, or wouldn’t be able to handle, being in the same situation. In those particular scenarios, I’ll take being unemployed over sick, dead, or losing my husband. If someone asks me if I’m worried because I haven’t found something yet, that tells me that that is how they would be feeling at this point. “What is it you want to be doing?” could almost be them asking themselves that out loud. Again, I’ve seen people reassess their (often unhappy) current job, because although it is easy to say “I hate my job, I’m going to quit!” my reality is there in front of them. I didn’t choose this, and it is difficult.

Perhaps it is a defense mechanism, but people really like to tell me how much they hate their jobs, as if saying that I’m lucky that I don’t have to work. I am at a point where I am ready to say: “Fine. Quit. I will take your job!”

What do I want to be doing?
Not searching through dozens of job listing sites every day. Not worrying about being able to pay bills. Not having to apply for jobs that are written for recent college graduates. Not stalking the HR Director that is notorious for not responding, even if the position is perfect for you, and then watching her post the opening for the 3rd time. Not thinking about my husband’s birthday in 2 weeks, and how I can’t get him anything. Not trying to explain how I know that I can do this job, even if it isn’t apparent on paper. Not having a great interview and follow-up that leads to silence. Not checking my resume for the 115th time because “____ didn’t give me an interview because there had to be a typo.” Not being kept awake all night worrying. I want to be working and earning my keep.

What would be my ideal job?
One that pays me for doing my work. One that I am interested in. If I could afford to live, I have always thought that I could be happiest selling popcorn on Main Street, USA in Walt Disney World. I would be in the happiest place I know, making people happy, and I would never have to check email or voicemail as soon as I wake up and before I go to sleep. I guess if I could become a VIP Guest Guide for Disney, that would be ideal.

I should have better answers for these questions, I know; but I don’t.

I lost my job after 11 years at one company. True, it was a career that I didn’t go looking for, but it was a company that I was committed to, and I was good at it, so I had decided long ago that this was my career path. Now that it is gone, I am leaving that career (for many reasons). The marketable skill from that experience would most easily be translated to Sales in any field. I am not a huge fan of the sleazier side of sales (see Why I Won’t be a Car Salesman), so of all of the applications I have sent out, sales positions probably represented a bit less than a third. Today, I had an interview for an Events position. For the past 20 years, I have been coordinating events on both a local and global scale, but if you just read what’s on my resume, that might be missed. I was granted the interview for political reasons, but otherwise, I wouldn’t have been brought in. Even if I explain in detail on my cover letter why I think I’m qualified for a particular job, there is no guarantee that it will be read or believed. The interview is where my real skills shine through, not on paper, at least according to the last few interviewers.

So, I guess I’ll still keep searching and thinking about all this. Maybe next time you ask, I’ll have answers for you.

But don’t feel like you have to ask.

When you look at my resume, it is clear to recruiters that my easiest and most recent marketable skills are in Sales. This is not my happy place, but I know that it is what I have going for me right now. In thinking about Sales positions to apply for, I have run through them all: Real Estate (I start classes today!), inside sales, Pharmaceutical, Tech, Auto, etc. I determined early-on that I definitely did not want to be a car salesman. The culture is not for me. That feeling was reinforced this week.

We are in a unique situation that we have never been in before, my husband and I. For the first time in our lives, we own our cars outright. I am currently on my third car. I still owed money on the financing of my first car (a black Dodge Neon named Effie) when I traded her in to buy my second car (silver Hyundai Elantra), and did the same with that one to get this one (dark grey Hyundai Elantra). My first and second cars had been run into the ground with some major problems, so it made more sense to trade-in than fix them. This one is in much better shape, it is paid off, and I hold the title (not the bank). I can see myself trading this one in within the next year or so for an AWD (Hello, New England Winters!) Hyundai Tucson. I would have chosen that last time, but for the color (white with gold trim) and the cost at the time. I am also in the enviable position of having paid my car insurance premiums before they were due, so I don’t have any car-related bills (other than gas) until 2017. This is a blessing during unemployment, believe me!

However, my husband has been bitten by the bug already, and he is also interested in the Tucson. As I am still unemployed, I don’t think this is the best time to be adding to our monthly expenses, but we went to a few dealerships to check them out anyway.

The first one we went to was the new location of the dealership we bought our last 4 cars from. They were courteous, knowledgeable, and appreciated our loyalty. The showroom was clean and well-ordered as was the lot, and the salesman came out to meet us after we had looked through the lot for a few minutes. We went for a test drive, we talked numbers and specs, we learned about the different features, and were not given the hard-sell by the manager. When it is time for my car, I’m going back there.

The second one we went to will never see my business, and it won’t see my husband’s if I can help it. We walked around the lot for a long time trying to see what they had. Where the other one had the cars parked together by model and year, this one was chaos. The 2016’s were mixed in with the 2017’s, the used cars with the new, and the different models all over the place. Service workers drove through with no regard for our safety, and no one came to talk to us, though we were out there for far longer than we were at the other place. When we walked into the showroom, do you think they jumped up to talk to us? No. My husband had to walk up to a guy in the back of the showroom to ask if someone could help him. That guy said that he was busy, but didn’t offer anyone else. There was a woman sitting at her computer watching us the whole time, but not volunteering. Only when both my husband and the other salesmen looked at her did she say she could help. We came to find out (in an very unprofessional conversation later) that she had had a bad experience with a trashy man at the end of her shift the night before, and when she saw us walk in, she “thought: Hell no! Not again!” Way to win-us-over, lady… Anyway, she talked in circles and a vagueness that wouldn’t have been noticeable if we hadn’t already been talking to other salespeople about the same models. She seemed distracted and not very interested in selling anything to us, though we were friendly and affable. She continued her tact of not caring and pretending to be ‘on our side.’ Given the other stories she told us, and the way she interacted with the manager as we were driving away, that was obviously an act. I’m sure there are people that feel that they can trust her and feel comfortable with her, but I was not one of those people. The showroom was messy and they didn’t have any brochures for the car we wanted. The brochure racks were half-full and disorganized, like everything else in this place.

Did I mention that my husband told her exactly what he wanted? No? He did. When we told her the second time what we were looking for and referenced cars we had seen in her lot, she got frustrated and made us go back outside to look at the models. Even she didn’t know where they were and couldn’t find them. She took the number off of one of the cars (not one that we would have bought, mind you), just to “run the numbers on the financing.” My husband had shown up with credit score and loan pre-approval with APR in hand, but they didn’t seem to believe any of it. We made sure they did not run a check, risking a hit to the score. They went into the manager’s office and she came back with $2800 off the sticker price. When we asked what that was, she said she didn’t know, but it included the trade-in and “some rebates.” We made her go back and find out what those were, knowing the deals that the other dealerships were doing, and knowing the resale value of the trade-in. She came back to say the trade-in was $1500 and the rest were “rebates.” We told her that we knew there was a $500 loyalty rebate and a $500 summer sale rebate, so really he was discounting the sticker price by $300. Also, the resale value of the car was nearly 5 times what they were offering.

The manager came out (I forgot to mention that she was in jeans and a casual top, and the manager was in a too-tight red polo shirt and jeans. I saw one man in a shirt and tie.) to see how we were doing. I was done being there, and it was time for lunch, so I told him that we knew what the rebates were, and that the trade-in was worth more. He blustered that he used to be a cop, so he was always clear and transparent with everything. Right. We had to go back out to the parking lot to find the actual car that my husband would consider, which was $2500 less. So they went back to his office to talk some more and go through those numbers. After a few minutes, they came back out and told my husband that they would sell him that car for $— per month. Period. No discussion. He was happy, because that’s what he wanted. I, of course, would have none of that.

“How did you come up with that number?” I asked the manager. “Well, I moved some numbers around, and I gave you some other rebates and discounts.” he said, not answering my question. I pressed him, but he would give the same answer. “So you gave us more for the trade-in, or you found other rebates?” I asked, knowing he didn’t, and he admitted that he was giving us 1800 for the car, and the two 500 rebates. So… the same deal. Anyway, the answer was enough for my husband, so they promised to hold that offer for 24 hours. The saleswoman told us that she was off the next day, so it would really be held for 48 hours. That’s when she took us outside for her unprofessional stories.

Here’s what the manager was doing: He refused to commit to a price, and that is where I knew he was not dealing fairly. If he guarantees what your monthly payments are (in this case, 72 months), he controls what the final price of the car will be after you’ve already agreed. If you take this deal, he will work to get the lowest % on your financing, because then he can declare a higher cost on your car, giving them more profit and higher commission. It could turn out that we get 2.5%, which would mean that we are essentially paying the sticker price for the car, and not getting any trade-in value or discounts at all. That, to me, is crooked dealing. If he was as honest and transparent as he says he is, then he would have answered my questions and told us what the new deal price would be, not take us for suckers.

As we were driving away, they watched us, talking and laughing with each other.

So I would be happy to be in a Sales position, but not at the cost of my integrity or soul. Car dealerships, being naturally much more competitive than other industries, tend to breed a culture that is sickening to me.

Category: Work

Why I won’t be a car salesman…