What I Have Learned from My First Job
What I learned from doing an uncomfortable job, asking people money over the phone.
Just a week after I received my high school graduation letter, a good friend of mine offered me a full-time job as a telemarketer for one of the biggest telecommunication company in Indonesia.
Long story short, I took the job. Despite the fact that I did not need the money. Also, I do not enjoy talking to people, especially over the phone, let alone asking for money. To rub salt into the wound, the majority of people whom I know really look down on telemarketers and against me from taking the job.
My exact thoughts at the time were “College is 3 months away, what am I gonna do? Why the heck not?”
It’s a tough job, it did not pay much, but what I have learned from this job is priceless. I’m glad I took it.
Be Polite, Be Patient
People who know me know that I am extremely impatient. When my job involves constant communication with strangers, I have to learn to be patient.
People are not always happy when I call them. I’ve been insulted, sworn at, and have been treated very rudely, but as a “professional”, I have to be polite to them in return.
It can be very tempting to yell back at people when they yell at me and lose my job as I have nothing to lose anyway.
But I tried to be helpful and kind as possible. I’m still trying to apply this to my life as well. Still trying.. hard.
Handling Rejection
For every 10 rejection, you get 1 acceptance.
I never realize how often I’ll be rejected and how frustrating it can be. I have made 100 calls in a day and got no sales. Sometimes you can make just 20 calls and got a sale.
You’ll never know what will happen, the only thing that kept me going is the thought that the more rejections I get, the closer I am to making sales. This job has taught me to handle rejection gracefully, which is a hard and painful lesson to learn. Rejection is scary, but I am no longer afraid of it, and the only way I could have gotten this comfortable with rejection is through telemarketing.
Don’t Be a Pussy
In telemarketing, you will be rejected, no matter how good the offer or how strong the pitch. At first, I feel bad every time I was rejected, even depressed.
Sometimes you can be so close to making sales, but ended up saying something stupid and mess it up. Despite these challenges, telemarketers are expected to be at their best on every call.
After some time, I finally learned from my screw-ups, quit feeling sorry for myself, and moved on to next call. There was no time for being too sensitive, it’s purely business.
I hope you find this useful. If you think my article can be helpful to your friends, please consider sharing it with them. I would really appreciate it. Thank you for reading.
