Hi there, welcome back! This week we'll be discussing cardinal business mistakes that I've made recently and a life gamble I'm currently debating internally. The business mistakes are fun, so I'll talk about those first and you, the illustrious reader, can decide if you'd like to join the life debate. Here goes.
Mistakes and Musings:
"Modeling" has been quite the mental trip. I've done three "extras" roles so far on Neighbours. The first was a "passerby", the next was a "bartender" (irony duly noted), and the last was a person on a date. As I was a bartender, the other extra I was "serving" had a - in honor of Janet Jackson - "wardrobe malfunction"...otherwise known as: her boob fell out of her dress. Did I see it? Yes. Did I awkwardly try to console her? Yes. Life doesn't prepare you for things like this. Her: "do you think anyone saw?" Me: "No. And if they did they'd be jealous" (what does that even mean!?) Her: "They'd be jealous?" Me: "Um...well yeah, because they'd want to see more, they were very good." Her: "So you saw!?" Me: "Er...only a little. But I don't think anyone else did. Don't worry. Oh! It looks like the scene is starting." Good job Nick, well played. Side note: They almost certainly saw and what's more? I'm fairly sure it was caught on camera as they were rolling...at least I left that part out in my consoling? Right?
Anyway, my big mistake which I know FAR better than to make: I took the "rate" that the agency told me at face value. What do I mean? When they told me it's $1500 each time I go for a gig, I didn't ask if that was true for EVERY gig. It is not...as I recently found out from the first check I received...for $100. Am I upset with them for being misleading? Yes...but I'm MUCH more upset with myself. Really Nick? You thought you'd get $1500 for walking in front of a camera? Sigh, I desperately wanted to believe...
In other news, I had an interview today. The position is: Business Development Manager. Wow, well that sounds fancy, eh? It isn't, but we'll get to that. Basically, I wondered just how legit the company was, or rather, how likely they were to pay me for any work I put in. So...I kinda came across as a dick...in the interview...when this is the first actual interview I've had here. To be fair, I needed to establish credibility, but, I certainly didn't need to do it like that! Me: "Why do you have such a high turnover in this position? Why don't people want to work for you? How long is the longest someone has done this position? What is your pay structure?" Yes, I asked all of those questions, roughly in that order too. I had just gotten burned by the modeling company, I was NOT getting burned by someone else. Well, he had rather legit answers for all of those things and was fully ready to talk compensation...so I probably didn't need to be an ass. At all. This leads to the life debate/gamble.
Life Debate:
This BDM role is more like a "sales" role. It's a legit company, but the role is...well, I'm way over qualified. And this isn't me being egotistical (which, I hope I'm not...but would one know if they were?), I'm really overqualified for this (second disclaimer, consider it noted that I understand my current position in life - ie "none" - does not afford me to make statements such as "being overqualified", however in this instance I'm arrogantly doing so anyway). The role is selling a mobile app, door-to-door to businesses (cafes, restaurants, hardware stores, etc).
Pros:
- It pays decent and perhaps even very well
- It could (stay tuned, I'll find out tomorrow) lead to a permanent resident visa
- My background in software (re: PMX at Raytheon) would afford me doing a much better job with this
- I can see a lot of opportunity for "growing" the role into something much more and helping this company be successful as a startup
- They flat out said I could pick my own title, as long as it's relevant to what I'm doing (I may have said the job was NOT a BDM role in the interview)
Cons:
- It's door-to-door sales
- Would I be able to frame what I do for this company on my resume in a way that would cause other companies to hire me?
- The pay structure is partly commission based, meaning if I bail after a month I don't get paid well (because the commission comes through monthly)
- It's roughly a telemarketing gig...without the tele part. We all know the gross amounts of turnover involved with that...and there's a reason for it: it sucks
So, after a brief conversation with a good friend, I was helped to put it in perspective. "What are your goals?" Well put. My goals, in order, are to: get a job that builds my professional experience (aka I can put it on my resume and it's a logical progression), make a wage I can live off of, and to get sponsored so I can stay in the country. Understanding my goals as such, you're free to hate me for this: the post will inevitably be a cliffhanger ending. I can't say which way I'll go...just yet.
Cheers and let me know how you're all doing!
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