Sales are all I have known for five years. But what do I really know about where I am going, my strengths and weaknesses, and importantly, where do I know I need to take my skills and experience? I need more than just recruitment advice - I need career advice. I need someone to sit down with me and look at my record, and give me some impartial advice and guidance on where to take it.
Formal and informal meetings with my line manager are fine. They take the time to give, often invaluable, advice. But at the end of the day that kind of advice and guidance, no matter how well intended is going to be based on what my company's interests are.
There is no point in just seeking the advice of just any career consultant. I have specialist sales experience, in a variety of fields, with a range of product types. I need to go through this with a careers adviser with expert knowledge of the many sectors I have worked in.
So far I have found searching for advice online and through conventional walk in recruitment agencies to be varied. Most seem useful, and some are very geared up to providing the latest in specialist advice. My experience is that those recruitment consultants that are the most beneficial are those who keep up to date on developments in the sales sector, and don't just take your CV and try and match it with any old job that comes up.
As a sales professional, I need to be given advice on getting a sales job, from real people who can take the time to understand what I have to offer, and translate that into what I could offer in a more challenging position.
In the past year, I have been taking on more specialist sales work. So I will need to talk to a recruitment professional who will know and understand key factors in my experience and skills, and be able to identify how much of these could be transferred and developed in a new role. I don't need the advice of someone who will know less about this than me.
I need someone who will understand that as a
sales jobs candidate, I will have aspirations, and work with me to realise those. I find it difficult, and I am sure I am no exception, to actually look at my own track record, skills and experiences and work out what direction to take them. Of course, I have an idea, and a focus on where I want to go. But it is so advantageous to have someone else, coming in fresh from outside, and looking at all these attributes from a new angle.
The great thing about getting specialist recruitment advice when considering applying for a sales job, possibly in a totally new sales environment, is that you aren't saying you're definitely looking for a new job, just finding out more about yourself.
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Jesse writing about
sales jobs
