So I've got a dilemma and this time its not about a lack of employment, but rather whether or not to take a job I've been offered.
I've spent the last month courting and being courted by a company called First Investors Corporation and I went for two 4 hour interviews for this job. Basically they are a place that provides financial services to regular Americans. I applied to be a financial services representative, where I make house calls with my personal clients and advise them on retirement plans, college funding, health/life insurance plans, and investments. These plans are all First Investors products (they have their own insurance, investment companies, and stuff). The job sounds exciting. Financial services is one of the few sectors that is showing growth. First Investors has been around since the Great Depression and they are NEVER in the red. The office I applied to is in Edina, 10 minutes from my house. The average age of their workers there is 28. The median income at that office is $80,000-$90,000. Holy shit. Plus within 3 years you can move to a management position. The schedule is flexible and you can take vacations when you want. All the people who work at that office are very personable, and friendly.
However, to be a representative you need to pass some state liscensing exams and you have to go through 2-3 months of training to do so. The pay is SOLELY commission based. So only successful sales = money. You receive all sorts of bonuses based on your sales, but the idea that it might take me a while to actually make ANY money is a little daunting. Also, when you're a representative you're listed legally as an "independent contractor" by the state...meaning you do not receive group health benefits. Eeek. The last thing I want is to be working for them for free for 6 months.
The site director called me today and offered me the job. I have until Thursday to say yes or no to this job.
The problem is that I've stumbled across some pretty sweet jobs in my recent searching. I certainly won't hear back from them in 3 days though. One of the jobs is to work at Coffee House Press in Minneapolis--one of the leading nonprofit literary publishers in the United States. Income around $35,000-$40,0000.
So what do I do? Say no to the job I can have in favor of some awesome ones I MIGHT get? Or go with a job that has the POTENTIAL to be very beneficial but without the guarantee that I can get my life going immediately?
I certainly didn't see a decision like this one coming.
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hmm, that is a tricky situation... and to give you only until thursday! i'm sure you'd be great at financial services. what does your dad say? it seems like he'd have some pretty good comments. about working for 6 months for free...i highly doubt you'd not make any sales, esp if you believe in what you're selling. though, things like commission only jobs do seem somewhat dubious. did you get a chance to talk to any of the employees who had to go through the same thing? do they automatically hire everyone who goes through the training regardless of their commission sales?
ReplyDeleteabout the coffee house press...that's sooo cool!! I remember picking up a few books at carleton that that company'd printed. question: publishing is uber difficult to get into. Have you already gotten an interview with them? if not, it might mean a lot more waiting around..
basically, this looong comment dwindles to: if you think you'll like financial services, GO FOR IT NOW! if you think you'll hate it, wait for the other jobs. sometimes you just get that feeling. i.e. if they called and said, just kidding we don't need you, would you feel really sad? if so, then you just defs take it now. and you'll be on your way to getting that house on lake of the isles/gold nuggets/or whatever it's called.
GOOD LUCK!! keep us updated, k?
I think the deadline already passed for commenting on this, but I say seize the moment. It might seem like the other potential jobs are the ideal but there´s really no way to tell. If you recall, Bolivia was not my first choice but I think I´m maybe happier than I´ve ever been (except when in all of your company of course), so you can´t really forsee how the situation will turn out. At the very least the offer you´ve had is something concrete and a good learning opportunity. And maybe a sweet spot to gather blog-worthy stories...
ReplyDeleteGood luck Briana, I´m sure you´ll figure it out!
Hey guys-
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice! :]
At first I was thinking I'd take the job for the meantime, and then if I found something better I'd leave.
However, I did some research and what I found really changed my mind. I looked around on the internet and found some sites where employees rate their jobs/employers. Turns out this place conducts some kind of pyramid scheme. They want your $1000 fee up front, and on your first day of TRAINING want a list of all your potential clients. This is before you can even start working. There are no benefits, and they do not reimburse your travel expenses (its a job where all you do is drive all over the state to meet with clients). You're not legally an employee to them, but they still make you come in to the office all the time and you end up working 9am-11pm every day. The products you're selling are not very good. And you only make around $10,000 in your first year. A lot of complaints were about how poorly representatives are treated and that management just wants to squeeze as many clients out of their workers as possible before they quit. And when you do leave the license you do have is not one that ends up being very useful.
Plus, when I looked at their corporate website their president posted a letter with the following title "in response to 'scam' accusations." It was posted that very day and certainly did not answer anything.
Sooooo yeah. I decided against taking the job. It could have been cool, and maybe some people do well...but at this point I don't want to work for free. :/