oh boy, big time job offer, need a little help

[Section_31]

So, I find out im due to be laid off end of the month. Im trying to be proactive, putting out resumes, assessing finances, just preparing. Not really stressed because I saw it coming so I had time to be ready.

Anyway,

Monday, I get an interview from a recruiting agency I submitted my resume to, basically theyre an IT head hunter and they help people find IT work with their client companies. Ive used something like this before and its helped me.

So I go a little overboard Monday for that interview because its way downtown and I don't know what type of environment im getting into. Very nice tailored suit, done to the nines, I felt good and ready. A little nervous but I did some relaxation beforehand and I actually felt pretty good walking in there.

So long story short, they said right off that I fit the profile for 2 or 3 positions available with different client companies, and they would forward my resume along to them for a secondary interview. That parts fine.

Then the curveball.

My interviewer asked if id ever consider an internal position with the recruiting company itself. At first I thought he was talking about an internal IT position with them, but no, due to my 5 years of experience and technical background, and people skills (what? me? people skills???) he thinks I would be an excellent recruiting manager with their firm, because id be in the technology division I would be able to assess due to my experience an potential candidates suitability for a position with one of their clients. He has no IT background and hes doing good with the job. Even though I have no real sales experiences he still thinks I can do this, and wants me to come in for a job shadow next Monday to see what its all about before committing or deciding.

Now the kicker.

The salary just to start on their low end is a 20 k a year jump for me . I nearly fell over when I read the email with all these details. On top of that you get bonuses for placing people. So its in your best interest to be driven to help people find the best positions theyre suited for. He said its very common to make well over 20 k on top of your yearly salary just in bonuses alone. So suffice to say the financial opportunities here are just way too large to ignore. This is more than ive ever seen my whole life.

The other side of it is too, I would need to sell our services to client companies, go visit them in person if they say theyed like our help, and get a feel for their business. Now im going to be honest, this is all a huge leap for me to consider, waaaaaay outside my normal ballpark or comfort zone. But at the same time, I want to grow, I want to challenge myself. And doing what ive been doing for 5 years, ive kind of reached a dead end. Theres just no real growth to be had. This could be something really amazing, im just feeling overwhelmed, and not really sure what to do or think. Thing is with S/A, its weird, on a work front, I have absolutely almost zero issue talking to strangers because theyre not talking to "me", theyre talking to the company through me. Ive always felt that way. Its when I run into people I know from work outside of work that I feel totally different and awkward and don't know how to act. So I think in that regard id actually be ok with this.

Im a little scared. Ok maybe more than a little. But excited too. And on one hand this could be the best decision ive made, because honestly id been thinking about a serious career change the last couple months, I just hadn't figure out what to get into.

Or this could be a ginormous fail.....

So im stuck with....do I go for it, do my best and see what happens?.

Or do I give into the instinct that this is way beyond me because its something ive never done, and stick with what I know?.

It goes back to wanting to grow. Wanting to do better. But im pretty damned nervous about all this. Im doing a good job at hiding it but.......ehhhh.....it just chases its own tail lol. Excitement and happy mixed with unease and uncertainty and irratible bowel syndrome.

That, and im also concerned that my paruresis could be a problem. I have no idea how that will affect me here, but really I WONT know until I get into this and see how it all is.

Id appreciate any feedback and thoughts on how to process and handle all this! feeling way out of my league and overwhelmed!. But my interviewer said hed be happy to take me under his wing for a few months and show me all I need to know. He also wants to introduce me Monday to a couple guys who, like me, when they started had absolutely no sales experience but lots of IT experience and apparently are doing very well.....

Fingers crossed. Feedback and advice seriously welcomed.

 

[Stressball]

That's really impressive, congrats! And hell yeah, go for it. Even if it ends up one big screw up, at least you tried. Sorry I don't have much in the way of detailed advice, I'm not very knowledgeable about I.T, just the way I see it is its a very good opportunity for you and you shouldn't pass it up.

 

[kilojoule]

Hey E

This sounds like an amazing opportunity and actually I think you'd be great in it, youre so approachable and friendly, no better man for the job.congratulations! And even if you decide you dont want it make sure you take a min to step back and appreciate the progress you've made. Can you imagine even considering this a couple years ago?! I think this is so great and you know what if you hate it you can leave, yay for not being self employed, hurrah. How great is this to get to try something new. I see absolutely no downside in giving this a go.


I'm so glad to hear good things are happening

 

[Hoppy]

Go for it.

I have been following you with interest on SPW the last few years and I really believe you can do it.

 

[jaim38]

Congrats! I was a humble web admin a while back and was suddenly ushered into a role that requires me to display people skills and leadership, which was a nightmare for me at first. I was forced to grow into the role and learn so much along the way. I also started to enjoy the challenges and learning opportunities that it brings. I'm sure if you accept the job, you would end up learning a lot. Good luck!

 

[Psychedelicious]

goo for it

Sounds like an awesome but potentially scary opportunity waiting for you there. It sounds totally worth it though! Good luck

 

[BlueDays]

I agree with the others, you should go for it. It sounds like too much of a brilliant opportunity to miss.:thumbup: Good luck!

 

[Lilly789]

I used to be a recruitment consultant in an IT recruitment company (In Australia and NYC). I recruited mostly high end roles - from solutions architect to CIO (about $85k to $350k pa)

a few things just so you know -

1. This industry is cutthroat. The base salary is GREAT, but there are reasons for it - they don't just give it to you for nothing. You MUST make good commission to make up for it, otherwise the general idea is they make work miserable until you quit - this is easier because its very difficult for a private recruitment agency to fire for poor performance, because their idea of "poor performance" is much higher than elsewhere. This is typical in any recruitment agency that recruit spe******e industries or high paying positions. Its much easier when you are recruiting low paying positions.

2. You wont get a great deal of respect from other employers when /if you leave. Agency recruitment consultants are considered low in the pack, much like telemarketers. While you may have IT certificates, the job is NOT an IT job and its completely unskilled. This is the type of job people do when they don't have much else to do, or they "fall into it". Its not a career choice.

3. your job as a IT recruitment consultant has NOTHING to do with IT - its pure sales and business development. This is why the guy you spoke to is doing well. The IT part only comes in to it to understand the technical terms employers are talking about and how they relate, and anyone working at McDonalds can use Google. This is a SALES position. Also, the longer you are in this position, the longer you are away from IT. This time period will make you less employable in IT when you leave because technology changes so fast - "knowing" about it isn't enough, employers want experience, and you would have had none during this time.

4. Don't expect to turn your phone off on the weekends or when you go home... you will generally still get calls & emails, and be expected to answer them.

It ISNT a case of talking to potential clients and seeing if they want stuff. They almost NEVER want to hear from recruitment agents.. its hard work and you need to convince them they need you. You need to cold call companies, go out and get them to give you a job to fill, then you have to fill it. That means - lets say you call 100 companies a week, 20 of those might talk to you, 10 of those might give you a job, and a job fill rate of %40 or over is considered good. That gives you an idea of actual work youll be doing - most of it is business development and convincing strangers to buy a product they don't really need (hence the telemarketer or vaccuum salesman comparisons youll get). This is unless your company is mostly existing clients, which all recruitment companies say they are, which is generally not true (Ive never seen ONE in my entire career that had any more than 20% existing clients. They general tell people this to make the company look more prestigious and get people to work with them, because the industry has an extremely high turnover).

I resigned because of the bullying that occurs within the industry (my managers were taking work, hence commission, away from their subordinates, which is common), and I realised after working there for a while it was a bit like door to door sales people, and there wasn't much respect for recruitment agentsand it wasn't really getting me anywhere - they sell it to you as high flying, great money etc because that's the only way they can get people in.

We had KPI's, that included numbers of phone calls and personal visits per week (around 50 calls per day and maybe 5 personal visits a week) minimum, plus the amount of sales, and value).

iIts a steep learning curve in business development (if you don't have any experience in that you will struggle to begin with) and good money... but it also has one of the highest turnovers of any industry. Most people quit by 12 months.

In hindsight I'm glad I did it - it gave me some amazing business knowledge and great industry contacts, but it didn't directly help my life or career at all, and I got really sick - it certainly taught me what real stress is about.

My advice would be - if you have an anxiety disorder or depression or social self esteem issues, DONT DO IT. This is ALL about social interaction, schmoozing upper management people and creating AND maintaining relationships. This is not a business "Transactional" type job. Its relationship building and maintaining. There's zero choice in that.

OTHERWISE, As long as you're exactly aware of what you're getting yourself into, then GO FOR IT! Use the extra money to save and look at it as a way of getting some amazing IT contacts/ relationships with high end people who make decisions in great places so you can leave when you're sick of it. Use it to get you somewhere, don't just sit there and think that's it (because its very unlikely to be).

Sorry, not trying to be negative, just very realistic! Ive sat in on interviews recruiting new recruitment agents and they are generally "misled" on purpose and don't know what the job actually involves or what its like day to day.

 

[Lilly789]

and they aren't going to make someone with zero experience a manager. What they mean is a client or portfolio manager, which is exactly what I explained above - basically what all recruitment agents are. You wont be looking after a team or responsible for company decisions. They call it "manager" because you "manage" your own work (under the supervision of a division or team manager). more or less..

 

[Section_31]

Hey Lilly,

I appreciate your insight. Honestly, having no real experience in this its good to get all opinions.

I spoke at length with my would-be boss last night. He spent an hour on the phone with me listening to my concerns and questions and answered everything in straight detail, no run arounds. He was honest about the good and bad parts of the job, and honestly I think this may be one of the better places to work for. I found out more specifics which make me feel more comfortable with the position tbh. Theres no working weekends or long weekends, this is specifically to avoid burnout and overworking of the recruiters. Some OT during the week if you feel its necessary, there ARE deadlines to meet. you DO meet client companies after a call or two, and they have regulars they deal with. it IS a heavy workload, but the rewards are quite substantial. And yes im aware I wouldn't be an actual "manager" manager, lol, but im good with that. The benefits with this particular company are quite good too, better than ive seen with most. Yes, theres obviously a reason for that, but im willing to give it my best and see. You never know unless you try!. Honestly I do think I can handle it, and my anxiety is fine in the workplace. And the other side of it is I was looking for a career change out of IT anyway, I just hadn't figure out what to get into yet. This may be just the ticket I need. I even said what happens if after 3 or 4 months im feeling its just not for me? and he in turn replied they would absolutely assist me with placement in another position somewhere. And seeing as im about to be laid off anyway, really, at this point I don't feel I have much to lose.

I think Monday will be very insightful as a job shadowing day. They were also talking about sending me to seattle for a week to meet the staff there and do some training with then. Should be interesting!!

Im going to give it a go and see how it is.

 

[BlueDays]

Theres no working weekends or long weekends, this is specifically to avoid burnout and overworking of the recruiters.

^ I have heard potential bosses tell people there is no work on the weekends but then make up all sorts of excuses to squeeze some in.:thumbdown:
It's kind of like a Real Estate sales person describing an old house as being in a liveable state only to discover the electrical wiring needs repairing, the roof has multiple leaks and the staircase is not safe.
After reading Lilly's post I might have to retract my previous enthusiastic post and change it to; Good luck, and make sure you protect yourself.:thumbup:

 

[Section_31]

lilly has some very good points!

for me it comes down to this. If they aren't willing to put your conditions in writing, theyre lying.

We'll see what comes of it . Im going to do the shadowing Monday, just to see. No harm, no foul. See what my gut instinct is from there for sure , both eyes open!

 

[BlueDays]

lilly has some very good points!

for me it comes down to this. If they aren't willing to put your conditions in writing, theyre lying.

We'll see what comes of it . Im going to do the shadowing Monday, just to see. No harm, no foul. See what my gut instinct is from there for sure , both eyes open!

^Yes! Good idea to use your instinct. I believe humans frequently underestimate its power.:thumbup:
Let us know how Monday's shadowing goes. I do hope it works out for you. That is a bummer you're losing your other job soon.:thumbdown:

 

[Section_31]

I know . im sad about it. Ive gotten pretty close with a lot of the ppl here, were like a small family. I cant believe ive been here 5 years already!!

But, I said wanted to grow. Maybe this is part of that. Trying to turn it into something positive. We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are, right?.

Fingers crossed!

Also, Lilly, if you read this I want to say I really do appreciate your insight into this. Maybe things will be different, maybe they wont, but its good to hear it from someone whos working in this type of role before. Any and all intelligence on it is good. I actually saved your post and memorized certain thing to watch for on Monday .

 

[Section_31]

Well! I have to say today has gone really well!!

I did the shadowing. Asked lots of questions. My recruiter whom I was shadowing really took the time to show me things and answered my questions in detail. I got to speak at great length with a guy who started out just like me, also from the IT field, no real experience, and 5 yrs later hes doing really well. They were honest about the downsides of the job. You DO do a lot of calling. and interviewing. But hey I really genuinely feel I can do good at this!. I came away from the shadowing with a really great feeling. And suffice to say I want to give this a shot and see what happens.

The only stipulation I had that I brought up, is I wanted to wait until after my layoff so I could collect my severance, because I wanted to have something to fall back on if things didn't work out, ect ect. My soon to be boss was super awesome about it, said theres no need to explain, he'd do the exact same in my position, and considering how he would insist I give notice anyway, an extra week to wait for them isn't a problem. So I get my severance, and I have something lined up right away, im feeling good!.

Maybe this will be great. maybe it wont. But al too often in the past ive left my anxiety scare me away from trying something new. And I feel maybe this is just what ive been looking for. Time will tell .

Thank you for all the opinions guys, I really appreciate. I wanted honesty and I got it in droves . I'll keep you all posted on how this goes.

 

[Tung]

I think your attitude going into all this is perfect! Keep that up, and you're going to get a lot out of this experience. No matter how it all turns out in the end!

The fact that the base salary is more than enough, basically means you're gonna get paid to learn and try out a new career for yourself. The only thing you have to lose is your time. So, unless you've got better on the table besides this, you're good to go bro!

 

[Section_31]

so O....M....GGGGGGG

the interview with the big big big boss in seattle over Skype went waaaaay better than I anticipated. She really likes my personality, and thinks I would be an excellent addition to the team. I guess ill be my recruiters partner. I didn't realize it but during my initial phone interview with him when he contacted me she was visiting this office and listened in on the whole thing. Apparently I stood out!.

So not only do they think I can do well at this. But I made an offhand comment about the cost of parking during the interview. It cost me 40 bucks to park for 3 hours this morning, ooof!!!. I just made a joking comment asking if I get my own parking spot. She laughed and I saw her write something down on the webcam but I didn't think anything of it at the time.

So interview over Skype ends, few minutes later my recruiter/partner/boss comes in, and says they cant offer me a spot because theyre garage is full, and because ill need to go meet some client companies I NEED to drive, I cant take the train downtown. So to offset this, they increased my salary by 4 k to offset the annual cost of parking down there....AND theyre waiting until the end of month so I get my severance from my current job....that's almost 15 k more than I make now.....

I swear I have to be dreaming this. There is no way my luck is this good. Seriously.

Someone wake me up now!

 

[kilojoule]

I'm really glad it goes well

And just to give you the other side of the coin, what lilly said in her 2nd point, I disagree. I've seen more than a few of my friends and relatives make the move from the recruitment companys to the internet giants.

All jobs have their downsides...if they didn't it wouldnt be work.

But to be fair, maybe recruitment companies are different abroad but here they are very respected firms and the staff are often headhunted as happened to my sister.

 

[Hoppy]

I swear I have to be dreaming this. There is no way my luck is this good. Seriously.

Someone wake me up now!

Since it is going so well, will you lend me some money?raying:

I hope it gets better for you.

 

[Section_31]

Since it is going so well, will you lend me some money?raying:

I hope it gets better for you.

Absolutely hoppy!