Another wacky hiring practice

Back during my recent span of involuntary unemployment, I interviewed with a number of companies.

Most were legitimate operations with good positions. Some were not.

Here's a tale of one that was a bit of both.

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The company, a Tennessee based firm that has been in business for a few decades and does quite well, was looking for an inside sales position. I applied, even though I've never done inside sales, because the intangibles they listed were quite alright, and the salary & commissions were close to what I was seeking.

The sales manager was one that seemed OK - not the best manager I'd ever met, but a man I knew how to deal with. I had a good interview with him. He also let me sit with two people who would be my coworkers.

At the end, he mentioned he would contact me after calling my references. His only noted reservation, was that I'd never worked in inside sales and I might "have too much energy to be cooped up."

I followed up with him a little over a week later. He seemed not to remember me on the phone, but then he did when I got there. He remembered having reservations about me because of "energy level."

>> At this point, I must mention that folks who know me talk openly of my very calm demeanor. I am laid back - almost to a fault.

The man offered to let me work on a trial basis:
"You work for free for a month. If you like it, we will hire you on full time. At that time, we will pay you (an amount that was 30% less than advertised on their ad, and what they'd said previously). If you don't like it, you can go work somewhere else - there's no unemployment, no bad feelings, no problems."

"For you or for me?" I asked. I walked out at that point.

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I saw the man at a restaurant, a few months after starting with my current employer. Note - my current position is 90% inside sales, 10% outside sales.

I said hi, and we had a brief conversation. He asked about my new job and I told him. He looked down to his feet when I advised him that after only a few months on the job, I was consistently at 120% of quota. He actually did not say anything else other than, "Boy, was I wrong."