Death of a Salesman

One may have noticed that I appeared to have taken a leave of absence from my blog; a sabbatical if you will. Equally, you may not have, but a quick glance to the bar on the right will show you that this is my first post since October of last year.

The reason for this 6 month gap in my writing can be answered very simply. It's no coincidence that I started a new job in that very same month of October, and it's no coincidence that I find myself writing again now. You see, I have the time to write again, and what a liberty it is, because I no longer work there (there, being business to business sales for an events company.)

The reasons why I chose to move on are many. Most importantly I saw the opportunity of new horizons. When I started working in the company, I had envisioned myself earning a great deal more commission than I actually did. Not to say that I wasn't good at it or that I didn't work hard enough. Quite to the contrary, I consistently worked harder that almost anyone in my division, and I think it is also safe to say that I sold better than most. Indeed I was offered the option to take up my position again; as my former sales director said, should I ever wish to "dip my toes" again.

However, the fact remains that I did not take home enough each month to justify the hours that I found myself working each week, which were considerable, mainly due to the fact that my base salary was very basic, and the sales commission was not generous enough to make the job competitive. Indeed it was so uncompetitive, as to make it more worthwhile for me to leave the job market entirely for a year, study Swedish full time, and further a career as a Swedish lawyer. In short there were too many pockets before mine.

Nevertheless that is not to say that I view the time there as wasted. Quite the contrary, I feel that the work offered me a great deal in terms of experience and confidence that only working with senior level decision makers can provide. But alas, that ship has run it's course; like the proverbial Willy Loman, there has been a death of a salesman, but in his stead was born a student in intensivsvenska för akademiker, and very happy he is.