So really bad day yesterday. Not the greatest today, but not
as bad as yesterday. Only a small amount of residual anger flowed over.
I’m taking yet another assessment test for the potential new
job at Northwestern Mutual tomorrow and have my third interview Thursday. (Did
I mention there are SIX interviews? The fourth one, to my understanding, is
where a formal job offer is given.)
I’m really noivousss. Today I received my annual salary
trajectory and it will be $66-80k the first year, the higher earning IF I work
my ass off in sales. But that’s well over triple what I’m making now so I’m quite
happy with that earning potential. I can’t stop thinking about it. I was
speaking with Matt’s financial advisor (the man who referred me to NWM) and in
six months he’s surpassed the $45k mark, with little over 40 clients. I invited
that many people to my wedding.
Read a ton of reviews on
glassdoor.com, and overall I’m reading a lot
of great employee reviews. They are over-all pretty satisfied. Though, I
did see a high turn over in female employees. Geez, what does that mean?
I’m trying to be realistic about my expectations but I
already know they’re too high. Or maybe they aren’t, and I just don’t know what
kind of work load I’m signing up for…
I have finally made the time to read Keith Ferrazi’s Never Eat Alone and though I’m not quite
finished I have learned so much. Humbling, honest-to-goodness advice on
building and solidifying relationships that
I find to be invaluable. Life lessons to get rid of this slap-happy sales
mentality and to learn to connect with
people instead of network… I love
this concept. It is so deep and human… It’s blowing my mind. Ferrazi teaches generosity not reciprocity. To forget “keeping
score” of favors people owe you, or how many times you can call someone to ask
them for an introduction or a phone number, but rather to seek to help everyone
you come into contact to, to go above and beyond to listen to their needs and
desires. All based on this “no duh” idea that if you are good to people, they
are generally good back. A 300 page book outlining
how to practice the golden rule and
to connect with people on a more genuine and human level.
Matt always teaches that the opposite of speaking, is waiting to speak - NOT “listening” as
you might have originally thought like I did. If instead of waiting to speak, I
listened and heard more of what people said around me, I would understand them
deeper, I would hear them with more than my ears, and I would react in a manner
according to their needs.
I think this book will be applicable to all areas of my
life, not just success in sales. And I have decided it will be a staple among
my list of books I read at least once a year.
I would like to think that I am a
goal-oriented individual, but this book has shown me the failings in my
character to the opposite. Not terribly extreme opposite, but I have never
planned, executed and accomplished any real career goals for myself, and that
is something I know that I must change. Ferrazi teaches that without a course,
it is easy to find ourselves in positions where we are doing what we “should”
rather than what makes us “happy”… a total understatement in my case, if you
were to look at my resume.
Last night I was watching a new favorite show, 666 Park Avenue and feeling like my body might explode
with rage as it was, a completely infuriating and terrifying scene came on
where the star wife & husband were going to a political gala, he, trying to
“network” his way into a job and she, the building property manager. All
dressed up in her glitziest dress there to support
his success and blooming career. It made me angry to be a woman.
I am often at networking and political events with Matt,
well before I even started working for his company. I enjoy meeting new people
and I’ve met some really, really nice
people that are now MY friends too.
But this scene made me angry. I hate being arm-candy. Not that Matt has ever made me feel like
that, don’t get me wrong. I make me feel like that, because of
my lack of education, lack of career, general lack of self-success.
I don’t want to be this any more, I don’t want to be a wife
with a job. I want to be a financial partner.
I want to be able to make the mortgage if things are tight with Matt’s
business. I want to be able to help save for our retirement, not just get the
groceries because that’s what I can afford. I want to take him on a three week SCUBA vacation for his birthday. I want to make a decision about having children
because I have a stable career and
have saved enough money to decide whether or not I want to be a stay at home
mom for a while. I don’t want to rely on one income to make our future, to
struggle to put kids through college if we have them. Not that we struggle now,
Matt makes more than a lot of dual income homes, but call me selfish I want more financial freedom, and I want to be the one to make it happen. A
degree is a small stepping stone to making that happen, I know so many people
who I worked with in Target with bachelors. Yes, a degree would be nice but it
doesn’t guarantee me the kind of income I am becoming hungry for. And now I’m
wondering if I sound like a completely money-is-all-that-matters typical chick.
Well. Wish me luck on the job interview.
- wishing to dig my own gold.
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