Would i be mad to change my career whilst were in this recession?

makershaker

*Scarlett wrote: »

Hi

Just a bit of input from someone who went from a purely admin background to telesales / cold calling in a call centre.

It sounds to me that it will be a sales job and hopefully they will give you adequate training and support. You should ask about this. They will hopefully give you a grace period to settle into the job where sales volume will be considered along with your quality results and productivity.

Although after a while (perhaps probation period) you will be expected to produce results.

The downsides of this type of employment are the monotony of the role, high targets and the feeling of being "chained to a desk"!!

The upsides are that you are usually working with a lot of other great people that you can moan to (eveybody has been through the same pain of a really bad day) and if you do peform well you can earn great bonuses, depending on the company.

If you have a real sales drive and a lot of resilience, I would go for this - it could really work out better financially for you.

Good luck either way

Yes well theres 4 weeks classroom training then 8 weeks in the 'graduation bay' where your eased into the job apparantly. Theres exams that have to be passed though too.

inmypocketnottheirs

TBH bearing in mind all the comments you have made, if it were me I would probably make the swap.

Will you lose tax credits though by swapping?

makershaker

No, dont think so.

makershaker

anyone else any info on this type of work?

piggeh

TBH, we all know people affected by the recession job-wise (I lost my job from the credit crunch), but ultimately the majority of people will go through a recession keeping their jobs and living life almost as normal. Insurance sector is pretty stable.

Put the recession aside and just deliberate over whether it's a job you want to give a go, and if so, then go for it.

anotherginger

my partner worked in the mortgage section for a banks call centre for a couple of years, and to be honest he found it soul destroying. he said it started off well cos they always talk a good talk about the job, and it was slightly more money than he was on before.

however he was chained to his desk pretty much all day every day - do take this literally, he was plugged into his headset for calls. and a log on the computer is kept of when you sign in, sign out, take a !!!!...everything. needless to say my previous fairly active partner put on two stone!

he has since taken a pay cut for a more enjoyable job.

*Scarlett

I totally agree with the above post from anotherginger The chained to a desk thing rings true for me. You have to have a special mindset or have a particular personality to thrive in a call centre environment (although anyone one could do it for a while). Some people can be there for many years and it's great for them. Most call centres have a low rate of staff retention. Many people can't cope with the targets and expectations.

Saying that, the good companies willl try to keep their most productive staff (and will provide training and support to do so,-it's cheaper to keep someone than to recruit someone new.) So if they have said they want you, they will invest some training and support in your future with the company - you need to ask about this.

makershaker

So are target driven jobs a complete no-no then?

inmypocketnottheirs

makershaker wrote: »

So are target driven jobs a complete no-no then?

It all depends. On you!

What if you have to make xxx sales or yyy conversions or zzz upgrades to make a bonus - or even to meet minimum standards to keep your job?

Can you live with that?

Many people (myself included) thrive on it.

Only you can decide.

getmore4less

makershaker wrote: »

Been in my driving job now with the same company for 13 years. I left for a brief 4 month spell in another driving job 3 years ago but hated the shifts in the new job and luckily managed to get my old job back

Now though, things have been really quiet for 2 years, we are no longer allowed to do any overtime that we were guaranteed every week and to put the icing on the cake we've just been told we wont be getting a wage rise for the 3rd year in a row. My wages have stood still while all my bills have risen.


What do you think?

Opinions please?!!!

If things are so slow you are all not working to full capacity would they be OK with cover if you left?

If you get the job offer I would have a chat with the boss, to pave the way for a return, second time might not be so willing, paint the you are helping them picture while things are slow, reduce costs give more work to the other to help them etc.

Then hope that things pick up enough so they can take you back if you hate the new job.


I guess that driving is something you can just go back to unlike some jobs where if you step off/out of the sector it is hard to get back in.