Category: Career Advice

Would You Ever Work in Sales?

Would you ever work in Sales?

Back in my misspent youth, I remember reading Death of a Salesman and swearing that I would never work in sales. It was such a depressing take on the whole profession, I didn’t want to have any part of it.

In international development, we use code words to refer to sales roles: Business Development, Program Development, Fundraising, Partnerships, etc. Now we might be selling services to a government or foundation, or an emotional response to an individual donor, but its all the same, really. Its sales.
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How Much Do You Want to Get Paid?

How much do you want to get paid?

That’s always a tricky question, eh? So much of our self-worth in the USA is tied to how much money we make, yet we never talk about real numbers. In fact, some people think its illegal to publicly state your wage. Yet the top staff salaries at NGOs and public companies are a matter of public record.
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Leave A Job In Style

How to leave a job in style?

Let's be honest. You will not retire in the job you have now with the company you work for now. Or at least we all hope you will not! So at some point soon, you will need to say goodbye, most likely to leave for a new job with another company.

What should you do?

Now there's much advice on this, but I think Melody Kramer has a great multistage process you should read through. Don't worry, its a quick read.
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If You Don’t Love Your Job, Why Are You Doing It?

In any given week, you spend 1/3 of your life at work, 1/3 of your life asleep, and 1/3 enjoying life. So if you spend 1/2 of your waking hours at work, or commuting to and from it, shouldn't you love what you do?

If you don't love your work, why are you doing it?

Seriously. Life is short, why waste it on a job you don't love? This is a question I always ask people who complain about their career. The responses are always some mixture of fear, uncertainly, or doubt.
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