What do I want to be when I grow up??? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself since I was about 4 years old! When I was a kid I always wanted to be a veterinarian (since I’ve always LOVED animals). Well…when I was about 10 I realized that you actually would have to deal with blood, vomit, and worst of all putting animals down. I decided that was definitely not the career path for me! I decided to just have pets when I grew up...now, with two dogs and two cats, I think I’ve definitely achieved that!
Going through high school I briefly wanted to be a flight attendant, but then read that most airlines don’t like to employ flight attendants taller than 5’9”. Being almost 6” I realized that was out! After flying on the small Embraer planes with Delta and American, I am glad about that! I can’t even stand up straight on those planes!
When I got to Ohio University, I majored in Communications with a Business (Human Resources) minor. When I got close to graduating I decided to try and find a job as a recruiter. For me, it seemed that every HR related job required ‘X’ years of experience. Hmm….I just graduated college; I have exactly 0 years experience! So, I took a job with Enterprise Rent-A-Car in their “Management Trainee” program (whom I had interned with the summer between my junior and senior year of college). I started full time in Baltimore, MD and lived with my best friend Danielle. After working there for a few months, I realized that this was definitely NOT the career path I wanted to take! To put it in perspective, this was a typical day: wake up and get into work between 7 and 7:30 (offices opened at 8), spend the day picking up grouchy people from body shops and dealerships, get your butt chewed out by at least 5 customers a day, and then get chewed out by your manager about not selling enough damage waiver (aka: car rental insurance coverage), leave work at about 7PM and do it all over again the next day. It was an exhausting job, but I managed to stick it out in Baltimore and Columbus for almost four years overall. (Kevin and I met there, so it wasn’t all bad!)
When I left there, I had gotten a job with BMW Financial Services as a Learning and Development Coordinator. I had finally gotten a contract job in an HR field (albeit training…but it was close enough for me!) At first it took a whole lot of getting used to. I was working shorter hours, and was in a typical office setting. I think I would have loved that job from the beginning, but there was one girl I worked with who was a total know-it-all “biz-natch” that made me dread going to work. Once she left (was canned) I LOVED it. I got to coordinate all the internal training sessions, helped set up and implement the training database, and scheduled employees for internal and external training. To this day, it was the best job I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, since it was a contract job, they really didn’t like you to stay in the same position for more than a year. After 7 months, my managers started pushing me to apply to get hired on full time with BMW. The bad part about this was the fact that all entry level full-time jobs were in the call center. I KNEW taking a call center job was going to be horrible, but if I could stick it out for a year, they told me to start applying for jobs in different departments. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stick it out for a year. I hated it so much I interviewed for another job about two weeks after I started. I got hired at L-3 (my current employer) about 8 months later as an Engineering Aide / Project Coordinator.
I have been at L-3 for almost 4½ years now. I like aspects of my job, and I dislike a lot too. It’s ok, just not what I envisioned myself doing (ever). When I was in school, my dad wanted me to major in MIS or IT, and I told him that I didn’t want to be sitting behind a computer in a cubicle 5 days a week. Welcome to my reality!
I know I would love to get into full-time event planning (wedding / corporate events) because I love doing that kind of stuff, and it’s something I know I have a knack for. This is the fourth year I have been on the Employee Appreciation team at L-3, and I love doing that. I get to plan all the outside events for our office…and it’s a lot of fun! I know in order to be truly happy, I would have to bite the bullet and actually start a business of my own. It’s been something I’ve been talking about forever, so here’s hoping I actually get the courage to do it someday! So, yes, I actually do know what I want to do when I grow up…maybe putting it out here will give me the push I need to start!
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3 comments:
Remember, a very smart man once said "If you can dream it, you can do it." GO FOR IT! You know you've got 100% of my support in whatever you do :)
I have to say though...in this post, you really made Enterprise sound terrible! You mean to tell me that you didn't enjoy "operating your very own profit center?"
Here is the actual job description from their website...I'll translate it to plain English afterward:
Whether you’re right out of school or looking for something more out of your career, the Enterprise Management Training Program will put you in a position to succeed immediately. You’ll learn how to run a million-dollar business, maximize profits and motivate a team of professionals, while having fun along the way.
Translated, that actually means:
Ever dreamed of working in a strip mall or cracked out looking old building that your employer rented? We base our locations strictly off of where we can find extremely cheap rent. Typically, this means your office will be located in a dangerous or less-than-desireable part of town.
Whether you're right out of school or looking for something more out of your career, we guarantee to overpromise on what you can expect from your position at Enterprise, then liberally under-deliver on those promises.
Our Management Training Program will put you in a position to be over-worked, under-paid and stripped of any dignity you once had. No worries though, you'll be dressed in business formal attire. We think that will make you feel more important. After all, our primary concern is your self-esteem (hehehe).
You'll learn how to run a million-dollar business....wait....scratch that.
You'll never be taught how to balance a cash box, effectively collect on accounts-receivables and enhance relationships with key accounts...but believe you me, you'll be held responsible for all three. Your career path within the company will be based solely on your ability to sell a product that no one wants, needs or cares to discuss. In other words...con artists are strongly encouraged to apply. On the other hand, once this product is sold, it opens you up to tremendous, potential losses (professionally and personally). The better your staff does at selling this product, the more financially at-risk you become as a manager. Sounding great so far...huh?
You'll learn to motivate a team of professionals...uh...scrath that again.
You'll learn how to help a team of 23 year old, "fresh-out-of-college" kids work through the pains of a hangover from a crazy Tuesday night out.
So take your first steps to success. Apply now! Your future (lack of self-esteem, enthusiasm and dignity) is just a click away!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I couldn't have nailed it on the head anymore than that!! The final straw for me was KF getting the branch manager job over me after I had run that darn office by myself for 6 months! Thanks KI ("hey buddy". It was some consolation that he got canned a few months later.
But KF is still with the company so maybe they did get the right sucker for that job! ;-)
Oooh, I'd love to be an event planner, too! I'm planning a baby shower right now, and it'll be over-the-top, like most of my events are. My annual summer CornFest takes an entire week to get ready - and that's not including designing and getting out the invitations, shopping, and coordinating the menu!
I think the first thing I wanted to be was a fashion designer, then a meterologist. For a long, long time, I wanted to do architectural design. Then I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. And midwife. Never, EVER did I want to do what I ended up doing - carrying heavy packages from point A to point B all night long at the post office!
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