Education and Employment 2

From the Examiner:


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Last time, we met with "Bob," an IT professional who learned the need for having the right training listed on his resume. Bob learned first hand how important it is to have the right education to get past the screening process.

So lets assume you have the right education for the screening, and you can ace the interview, but you do not have the right knowledge for the job at hand. Everyone knows that at any job, there is a learning curve. In some positions, it is simply a matter of learning how this company wants a report done, or what processes they prefer. Other positions require you to learn something for them.

Or perhaps, you wish to gain knowledge or training that will be used daily in your employment. Specifically, you want to gain knowledge or learn skills that you do not currently have, that are needed for a job you have or want to perform. This is education for the job and it is critical in every position.

Enter Jeff.* Jeff is an accomplished nurse. Jeff has a master's degree in nursing, and has been employed as a nurse for over a dozen years. He has passed all necessary state board licensing requirements, and takes his continuing education very seriously.

Jeff was recently approached by a medical device company. They wanted a sales rep with direct industry experience. Jeff has extensive experience using this company's product, and he really believes in it. Jeff knows a lot of the people he will be selling to, and he has key contacts for other prospective clients. Jeff is the perfect candidate, and gets hired. But Jeff has one problem: he has never been in sales!

The new employer puts Jeff through their routine training program. Jeff learns how to enter reports in the computer system, write up a sales order, and follow up on delivery. About the only thing the company does not teach Jeff is how to sell the product.

Jeff's first few sales calls are miserable. He feels comfortable talking about the device he sells and what it will do, but he has great reluctance in actually selling the product. He feels he will come across as pushy.

So Jeff takes the initiative - he invests his own time and money into sales training materials. Books, CDs, videos, and all types of media. Jeff attends seminars and professional development meetings. Over his first year, he makes enough sales by simply being honest with his clients and having superior product knowledge.

Jeff nearly makes his quota. His boss is happy with his first year. But inside, Jeff is making a change. He is feeling more and more comfortable every day in the field. He starts seeing opportunities to ask open-ended questions to determine his client's needs and motivations. Jeff no longer feels as though he is being pushy when he is in fact guiding his client to the conclusion they want, but simply do not have the wherewithal to express their desires.

Jeff is becoming a master salesman. He negotiates deals without management influence these days. He has an outstanding customer retention ratio. His sales are almost never returned. His performance in his second year is at the top of his company.

Jeff learned how to do something his job required.

How about you? What knowledge do you need to land that dream job, or to do your current job more effectively? What steps are you taking to make that happen?


* not his real name.