Career Doubts?
Puff_Dougie
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,182
Ever had 'em?
After being in pastoral ministry for 16 years, but having to make a change for family health reasons, I've found myself in the unlikely field of insurance and financial services. Unlikely, because it's not a career path I ever would have chosen for myself, but the opportunities were there and I seemed to have a knack for it.
Scary part is that it's a 100% commission gig, which means constant prospecting and the ever-present fear that a lag in sales will result in the absence of a paycheck. Fortunately, and by God's grace, things have been very consistent for the better part of 3 years. But this year has been rough, and I'm finding myself doubting my abilities. I love many parts of my job, but I don't like prospecting (scrounging for new people to talk to), and I don't think I'm very good at it.
So, this weekend I decided to mess around online with some sites that measure skills and aptitudes and match them with careers you are supposedly most suited to. The most fascinating one was pymetrics.com, which runs you through about 19 different tests, ranks your strengths, and points to careers that fit you best. My number one fit was... Corporate Finance, followed by Entrepreneur and Accounting. Totally stunned me because I expected the results to point toward something more relational and less analytical. But, in a way, it gave me more hope that I might, in fact, be in the right place after all. At least, I seem to have the right skill set to do my job well... Just wish I could figure out how to be better at the marketing and prospecting part.
Anyway... just wanted to get that off my chest. If you've read all of this, you need to get a hobby. :^)
Anybody else ever struggle with career doubts?
After being in pastoral ministry for 16 years, but having to make a change for family health reasons, I've found myself in the unlikely field of insurance and financial services. Unlikely, because it's not a career path I ever would have chosen for myself, but the opportunities were there and I seemed to have a knack for it.
Scary part is that it's a 100% commission gig, which means constant prospecting and the ever-present fear that a lag in sales will result in the absence of a paycheck. Fortunately, and by God's grace, things have been very consistent for the better part of 3 years. But this year has been rough, and I'm finding myself doubting my abilities. I love many parts of my job, but I don't like prospecting (scrounging for new people to talk to), and I don't think I'm very good at it.
So, this weekend I decided to mess around online with some sites that measure skills and aptitudes and match them with careers you are supposedly most suited to. The most fascinating one was pymetrics.com, which runs you through about 19 different tests, ranks your strengths, and points to careers that fit you best. My number one fit was... Corporate Finance, followed by Entrepreneur and Accounting. Totally stunned me because I expected the results to point toward something more relational and less analytical. But, in a way, it gave me more hope that I might, in fact, be in the right place after all. At least, I seem to have the right skill set to do my job well... Just wish I could figure out how to be better at the marketing and prospecting part.
Anyway... just wanted to get that off my chest. If you've read all of this, you need to get a hobby. :^)
Anybody else ever struggle with career doubts?
Comments
There are always the doubts here and there. I have worked at jobs ranging from walmart customer Service to a library aid. five years ago i left a decent job in banking to pursue a career in magic. Took four months off on a leap of faith to work on a 10 year on and Off Hobby. then got a part time job at Starbucks for benefits, and went from there. Worked up to shift supervisor and work as a sort of house magicianBatista to practice and increase tips, and using the connections i made there to network and work gigs.
There have been rough months here and there, and some really great months. Even now sometimes I wonder about the risk of following a passion. Especially getting ready to start a marriage and a family soon enough, but my girl has been,very supportive and family as well. I cant really think,of anything else I would rather be doing. It really is a passion and has supported me so far in life. Iv had many amazing experiences. But like you said there is the possibility of months with no pay, benefits issues Etc etc. Iv even been toying with a old idea of finishing my business and,entrepreneurship degree and opening a coffee shopmagic cigar bar style place. That too has its doubts, but I'v so far decided to take another leap of faith follow my passion and take my magic and family to a whole new city which will have better opportunities . Sometimes you have to find what you love to do, to make what you do worth doing.
Anyway idk didnt mean to hijack your thread I just cant do something I don't love. I say look at some books maybe take a course or two at a local community college. They can be relatively inexpensive. There are tons,of good(and bad) free advice online, and your local library can get almost any book if you if ask. I think its def worth a try. I think if we put our minds to it as human beings we can make almost anything happen if we really want it.Even more so if you have a aptitude for it. Best of luck my friend i look forward to hearing updates if you decide to make a change! Hope I didnt ramble too much.
I say if you want to give it a try do it, you have a skill set now to fall back on if it doesn't work out. All the things you have learned and done have added to your resume. Any new learned skill/experience will add to your resume as well and will apply to something down the road. Biggest problem is the unknown though, takes courage.
If you never try it you will always wonder what if?
the biggest downside of being in a sales job....there's some people who can chat 8 hours a day with strangers .... and not get bummed out when you only get 1 "Yes" for every 10 "No's".
But for me it takes some real effort...can be a downer sometimes.
figured i could go back to school in the computer science/programming field --- then i wouldn't ever have to talk to anybody LOL.
going to check out that website you posted above, thanks puff.
I will say that some aptitude tests are asked in such a way that they'll emphasize the skills you're currently using over other skills, which may account for your results if you feel they're off. I'm not saying this is the case, but it can happen, and I'm unfamiliar with that website. I hope you get energized by what you do, again, soon. I would struggle with the same things you're talking about in this post. The stress of commission, the constant prospecting. Sounds like you are pretty good at it, though. Maybe this is just a season. I know people may be reluctant to buy insurance and other financial products with the current climate of uncertainty all around. Praying things get better.
Having worked in the financial industry (in marketing) for the last 20 years, I'd say that having a pastoral background should be a competitive differentiator for you. Brokers in particular have a very poor reputation as commission chasers, churners, and people who take advantage of investors' lack of knowledge. 90% of them are obviously not this way, but the remaining make the profession look bad.
But your background gives you something you can use in your career. Counseling people about their financial goals and helping them find appropriate solutions that give them greater confidence in their future isn't that different than counseling them on personal matters. Indeed, financial security and personal well being are closely intertwined.
You are not alone. I've done a lot of research on advisors, and prospecting is the one thing that most of them absolutely hate doing.
One advantage that you may have is that, as a minister, I would assume that you have a network of parishioners who could serve as referral sources. Most successful advisors get new clients through referrals from existing clients or from friends, family and people they know. You probably know this already, but I always find it amazing how many advisors would rather spend thousands of dollars on developing ineffective web sites and direct mail campaigns--which rarely are successful--than simply ask their best clients or friends to be introduced to people in their network.
Another avenue you might want to consider is to become an investment adviser, rather than a broker. Or a combination of both. The difference is that an investment adviser gets paid a percentage of client's assets, rather than commission. Because of this, a IA is required to act as a fiduciary for their clients, meaning they must act in their client's best interests, and cannot let potential conflicts of interest (such as commissions) affect their recommendations and advice.
For a person from a pastoral background, being an investment adviser would tie more closely into your moral beliefs of working on behalf of clients without being "swayed" by products that offer higher payouts.
Again, the idea of "imposition" is also a common concern among advisors. But consider this: If you've worked with a great painter, plumber, electrician, accountant, personal trainer or any other professional, would you consider it an imposition if they asked you to recommend them to your friends or network? Probably not. When people get great service, they're naturally inclined to recommend that professional to others.
One strategy I recommend for advisors looking for more clients is to connect with their existing clients (and friends and coworkers) on LinkedIn. Once you connect with them, you'll be able to see other people in their network. These other "connections" could become leads for you if you a little upfront research first. This makes it easier for you to ask for that referral. So, for example, instead of going to your client Joe Smith and saying, "Would you mind recommending me to your friends who might need an advisor" you can be more directed and say, "Would you mind introducing me via email or a call to your network contact Bob Brown, who I see is a startup business owner in our town and might benefit from some of the retirement planning services I offer?"
It's not easy, especially if you're not an extrovert, but it's alas a requirement of the field.
PS, if you're looking for some free resources to help you in your prospecting efforts, PM me and I can provide them to you (this is not a sales pitch, and no payment of any kind will be asked for).