This is my first blog posting. From the title, you may ascertain that this article is about the choices that we make. As you read this post, you may keep thinking to yourself, where is the punch line? The truth is, there is not punch line. You have been warned!
<<<Time Warp>>>
It is the winter of 2007, and I have put my entire heart and soul into my “insurance” business. After the continual process of analyzing the market and my data, I make a heart wrenching decision that I have failed-well not really, it was just becoming too much financially to continue to float without earning a paycheck. At the end of 2007 I officially sell all my policies back to the parent company. I begin to look for work. It should be easy, right? I have been a sales manager/director of sales, a business owner, and a sales rep. The market begins to implode. People are losing their jobs left and right. The market is flooded with qualified people, and over qualified people that are willing to take any job. I am not one of those over qualified people. I did not obtain any formal educational degree so I was passed over for many opportunities. I went on over 50 interviews in just 3 months. Finally I land a job as a “copier” sales rep. It was something to pay the bills. I sell my home, move the family out of state and we start over. Three years in and I realize I do not want to do this anymore, it’s time I get my degree.
<<<Time Warp>>>
It’s now 2011, I get an offer to move back to our home state. We take it, with a hefty pay increase to boot. I begin my “formal” education. The job offer was still a “copier” sales rep.
In December or 2012 I earn my BS degree, hoping that this is the key to allow me to move out of being a “copier” rep. I land a job with a prominent printer company in 2013. The pay is great, and I start to find enjoyment in what I do. Shortly after taking the job, a colleague who was a former employee at this company warned me that it isn’t a matter of IF you get laid off, but a matter of WHEN. I go back to school to earn my MBA thinking surely this will get me where I want to be. In just 5 short months I earn my MBA, this is now August of 2014. I begin to test the waters, I apply for position after position to move out of sales and into a more definitive leadership role. A good number of resumes are sent out over a period of a year. I am not actively seeking to move as I enjoy my job and I am being rewarded financially pretty well. Then October of 2015 hits, the company lowers the hammer and my team, including myself, are laid off. Bummer, but with a decent severance package it allows me to take a breath and begin to analyze what I like to do and what I am passionate about.
I realize that I love data. Every position I have had has been about analyzing data and presenting a solution to the data provided. Why shouldn’t I seek a Business Analyst position? I begin to attend a certification program that is in Business Analytics. This should get me where I want to be. Will I have to take a pay cut? Absolutely, but financially we can still make it work. 200 resumes later and just 2 sit down interviews, nothing. Nobody wants to see the potential that I have-for pete’s sake I earned a BS and an MBA in 20 months-the normal person would have taken 60-72 months to complete. The only thing that’s left? A “copier” sales rep opportunity making the same amount I was before I went to school and spent $22K for student loans.
What’s the answer? Can a Tiger Change his stripes? Absolutely not. No matter what he does he will always be a tiger. Now, he can roll around in the dirt and attempt to hide his stripes and maybe blend in with the Lions, but down deep the tiger will always be a tiger, and maybe that's a good thing since the tiger may blend in but it his unique experience as being a tiger that will allow him to be the best "Liger" in the world. My advice to all those reading this is to find out what makes you happy and what you are good at. Having your rudder in the water will allow you to not be blown around by the winds of the world, even if you run into a corral reef and you scrape up your rudder. Otherwise it may be too late to make any significant changes in your world as your future obligations depend upon the choices you make today.
<<<Time Warp>>>
It is the winter of 2007, and I have put my entire heart and soul into my “insurance” business. After the continual process of analyzing the market and my data, I make a heart wrenching decision that I have failed-well not really, it was just becoming too much financially to continue to float without earning a paycheck. At the end of 2007 I officially sell all my policies back to the parent company. I begin to look for work. It should be easy, right? I have been a sales manager/director of sales, a business owner, and a sales rep. The market begins to implode. People are losing their jobs left and right. The market is flooded with qualified people, and over qualified people that are willing to take any job. I am not one of those over qualified people. I did not obtain any formal educational degree so I was passed over for many opportunities. I went on over 50 interviews in just 3 months. Finally I land a job as a “copier” sales rep. It was something to pay the bills. I sell my home, move the family out of state and we start over. Three years in and I realize I do not want to do this anymore, it’s time I get my degree.
<<<Time Warp>>>
It’s now 2011, I get an offer to move back to our home state. We take it, with a hefty pay increase to boot. I begin my “formal” education. The job offer was still a “copier” sales rep.
In December or 2012 I earn my BS degree, hoping that this is the key to allow me to move out of being a “copier” rep. I land a job with a prominent printer company in 2013. The pay is great, and I start to find enjoyment in what I do. Shortly after taking the job, a colleague who was a former employee at this company warned me that it isn’t a matter of IF you get laid off, but a matter of WHEN. I go back to school to earn my MBA thinking surely this will get me where I want to be. In just 5 short months I earn my MBA, this is now August of 2014. I begin to test the waters, I apply for position after position to move out of sales and into a more definitive leadership role. A good number of resumes are sent out over a period of a year. I am not actively seeking to move as I enjoy my job and I am being rewarded financially pretty well. Then October of 2015 hits, the company lowers the hammer and my team, including myself, are laid off. Bummer, but with a decent severance package it allows me to take a breath and begin to analyze what I like to do and what I am passionate about.
I realize that I love data. Every position I have had has been about analyzing data and presenting a solution to the data provided. Why shouldn’t I seek a Business Analyst position? I begin to attend a certification program that is in Business Analytics. This should get me where I want to be. Will I have to take a pay cut? Absolutely, but financially we can still make it work. 200 resumes later and just 2 sit down interviews, nothing. Nobody wants to see the potential that I have-for pete’s sake I earned a BS and an MBA in 20 months-the normal person would have taken 60-72 months to complete. The only thing that’s left? A “copier” sales rep opportunity making the same amount I was before I went to school and spent $22K for student loans.
What’s the answer? Can a Tiger Change his stripes? Absolutely not. No matter what he does he will always be a tiger. Now, he can roll around in the dirt and attempt to hide his stripes and maybe blend in with the Lions, but down deep the tiger will always be a tiger, and maybe that's a good thing since the tiger may blend in but it his unique experience as being a tiger that will allow him to be the best "Liger" in the world. My advice to all those reading this is to find out what makes you happy and what you are good at. Having your rudder in the water will allow you to not be blown around by the winds of the world, even if you run into a corral reef and you scrape up your rudder. Otherwise it may be too late to make any significant changes in your world as your future obligations depend upon the choices you make today.
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