I thought I'd reach out to BBI for some advice. I live in the Tampa Bay area and trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Some background - Early 30's, I recently obtained my Bachelors in Finance from USF, have been running my own personal training the last 5 years, and a few years in the Navy before that. Sales/Client Relationship seems like a good fit for me, but I'm reticent if things don't work out because I won't be able to go back to training.
Have had a few phone interviews and it seems like the work expectation is 50 hours a week for low pay and very high turnover. Is this typical? Does it get better? Are there specific industries I should be targeting as far as specialization? My roommate is a tech recruiter and he says that is the way to go, but what about Finance/Accounting or Healthcare? Also I can't really think of what to do after if I end up failing as a recruiter, so if we had any people make a transition after I would love to know how the skill set transfers. I've seen BBI with some great advice over the years so if anyone can help me out I'd be greatly appreciative.
It is VERY churn and burn. They say it's 8-5 or 8-6 but everyone was in the office by 7am and no one left before 7pm.
It wasn't a great fit for me because you're trained to view people as currency and give them "advice" on a big career move yet you're only suppsoed to care about your bottom line.
Those who make it can do very well, but that's a small percentage.
It is VERY churn and burn. They say it's 8-5 or 8-6 but everyone was in the office by 7am and no one left before 7pm.
It wasn't a great fit for me because you're trained to view people as currency and give them "advice" on a big career move yet you're only suppsoed to care about your bottom line.
Those who make it can do very well, but that's a small percentage.
Where you able to use the recruiting experience to jump to your next job and if so what did you end up transitioning into?
Recruiting is an absolute grind, and there’s so many variables that are out of your control. Think long and hard before going that route.
Why give up on training?
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but I did recruiting for about 10 months specializing in niche tech (can talk more via email if you'd like).
It is VERY churn and burn. They say it's 8-5 or 8-6 but everyone was in the office by 7am and no one left before 7pm.
It wasn't a great fit for me because you're trained to view people as currency and give them "advice" on a big career move yet you're only suppsoed to care about your bottom line.
Those who make it can do very well, but that's a small percentage.
Where you able to use the recruiting experience to jump to your next job and if so what did you end up transitioning into?
Not really. I transitioned to a Travel Management Company - basically we're travel agents who look after other companies' travel programs. We book the trips, assist with travel disruption like you get with this lovely weather today, make sure policy is being adhered to, provide reporting and cost analysis etc.
That being said, it's not for everyone. If you are going to go into recruiting, expect to work 50 hrs a week(at least for the first year). Expect to fail until you succeed. Expect to be uncomfortable. Expect to work on your own. No one is holding your hand, so they expect for you to sink or swim. Those who swim can make a lot of money and work 35 hr a week.
You will learn certain skills...
Telemarketing
email marketing
persuasion techniques
and sales closing skills.
Good luck
UConn - What type of sales are you in? Leaving training because while I am my own boss I am living paycheck to paycheck and really need to start making more money so I can do the things I want to in life. One problem I see is a lot of entry level pay is practically poverty level. I'm not someone that even lives high on the hog and anything short of 35k here in Tampa Bay I just can't do. I'm currently debating whether or not I want to do some sort of B2B sales job or recruiting. The issue is getting into a decent sales job to begin with. Financial Advising seems like an ideal fit, but I need to create a professional network first and that is something I may look at to down the line.
I got into sales right after working for Yahoo selling ad space and recruitment solutions (HotJobs which no longer exists). We got bought out so I moved over to the new company and did that for 4 years. It was fun, made a lot of money and didn’t really have to do any workout side of business hours.
I eventually got tired of sales and moved into marketing, still in the ad space so it was applicable. I then left the industry completely in 2017 and now in construction tech.
Which brings me to construction - it’s booming in Florida. Was just down there for work on both coasts, new job starting up next week in Sarasota and then again in Miami. It’s a fun industry especially on the tech side. Might be worth looking into.
Yeah, it's a tougher field to break into but don't give up on your dreams.
So, I would say, keep your personal training business and go full bore after a job in finance even if you have to start low. Set yourself a limit like 4 years. If you still have not broken into finance, then go into recruitment.
You only have one life. Don't use it up pursuing a field you are not that excited about.
Vanzetti - I started out as an accounting student because it seemed like the right move. Was going to have my 150 credits by the time I graduated and figured I'd do something in client relationship at one of the bigger firms. Set up my own shop down the road. I hate working for other people. The issue became I hated accounting and it's subjective rules. Switched to finance and graduated a year later. I'd love to work as a trader or working at Raymond James in a client relationship aspect, but that is unreachable for me. The only thing that is realistic is if I become a financial advisor down the road after building a professional network. I want to get into something in sales because that is where the money is, most "finance" jobs don't pay that well and are just accounting under a different name.
Hot tech right now in construction are wearables, drone imaging, virtual design, communications, etc. Its the 2nd least digitized industry in the world and the money being invested to catch up is enormous.
One bit of advice if you go this route... put together a general resume to post on the site, but UPDATE this general resume EVERY TIME you apply, based on the job you apply for. Use the EXACT language in the job description to define your experience. The reason is that the HR people are lazy as hell and don't know, or care to know the position that's being advertised. They pluck candidates based on the frequency of key words.
One bit of advice if you go this route... put together a general resume to post on the site, but UPDATE this general resume EVERY TIME you apply, based on the job you apply for. Use the EXACT language in the job description to define your experience. The reason is that the HR people are lazy as hell and don't know, or care to know the position that's being advertised. They pluck candidates based on the frequency of key words.
Ben I've looked on USAJobs the past two years and I have yet to find a position that will take my schooling as experience. Even then we are talking about gs 5-7 jobs. GS 9 is mid-level employee. I applied to a VSR position at Bay Pines here and still didn't get an interview. A ton of those jobs are only open internal to agency. It is practically impossible to get in unless you have an inside referral.
I recruit construction, and it's hot, but the companies out there really are having a hard time wrapping there heads with not taking the ideal candidates for certain positions, and you have to convince them too because there isn't a bunch of good talent out there, and other companies are sweetening their deals with employees where they currently are. It makes it harder to pull people out of their current positions.
Construction employment shortage isn't going anywhere, that is for sure.
Whats great about IT recruitment is that you can take your lumps at an Agency, and then move on to be an internal recruiter for Google or Amazon or something like that.
Construction there are a couple of those opportunities, but not as many.
People they stink, and as a recruiter you learn it all the time!
The massive issue I see is the developers crying they can't fill the roles and want to bring in foreign workers. Yeah because the pay isn't all that great, especially with no unions down here. I find this absolutely interesting, skilled trades and construction wages should be rising with the increase of people unwilling or unable to do the work, but they won't. I live in a resort beach community and they just had construction here on the roads in the height of tourist season because they can't get anyone.
How do you like the construction vertical? I've heard it can be tougher with non professional types because of reasons just like you stated. My roommate does IT and he loves to tell the story of the guy that showed up in white socks in his suit and now tells all his clients to make sure to wear dress socks. The company I have an interview with next week has verts in healthcare, resources (which includes construction), IT, and Travel Health.