Have you ever tried finding a job? If you're lucky you won't have to look too long, but it seems that now days, you have to watch how you are presented to an employer. This is the age of the self made and, yet, so many of us are still swimming in shark infested waters trying to get a piece of the proverbial pie. In any given moment, our lifeline could get pulled at any time with the remark of, "well, we may not be what you're looking for." I.E. "We don't want to pay you that much." It amazes me that so many companies are searching for quality, yet only think quantity. Let me explain what I mean.
I'm an entrepreneur looking for a job in today's market. Yes, just as Michael Jordan tried to hit a home run, I realized this isn't for me. Yet, it took this situation to get it through my head. I recently went through a two week ordeal with a local gym owner who, himself, was an entrepreneur. I saw that he was looking for a Membership Sales Director for his gym and the pay was within the $24-$27k/year range so I applied. Naturally, I got a call immediately given the extent experience my resume showed. We marveled in hour long discussions regarding business, customers, marketing strategies and so forth which, in all honesty, I loved yet felt I was short changing myself by giving away all of my insight for free. If Tony Robbins can charge his rate for his insight, why can't I? Right? Well .... Maybe that was a bad example. However! What did the Joker say? "If you're good at something, never do it for free!". Better example.
This particular gym owner informed me that he was so impressed with my knowledge and experience that he decided he wanted to actually create a position specifically for me. Think of Boss/Leader all rolled into one. I was to help with: Marketing/Events, Promo, Sales, Personal Training and bringing value to the brand and emphasizing the experience. Now, I'm not against working but I wasn't interested in working for cheap either. I've had the pleasure of working with a different gym owner and his lovely wife who understood supply and demand a little better than the latter. (To which I am incredibly sorry I let him and his wife down. I wasn't in the right head space for that job and I wish things had went differently, but the experience was worth its weight in golden knowledge. And for that, I thank you.)
So, after he went as far as to say I was the most qualified individual he had spoken to regarding employment, like symphony of hesitancy, his tone changed dramatically when we got to discussing compensation. In case you didn't know, the fitness industry is shifting it's payments from lump sums to monthly drafts from your account. Which means the gyms don't get that huge sum of money monthly from PT. So the pay scale changed a lot for management. Now, keep in mind, before we mentioned pay, I DID apply for a job that pays in the ballpark of $24-$27k a year. I simply stated I wanted a consistent salary that is negotiable(within his range) and I wasn't interested in bonuses/commissions, etc etc. He was startled at this, but with a lot of doubt in his voice, he let me know that he didn't know if that would work.
So fast forward a few days, they ask me to "Secret Shop" their class to offer my opinion (I do know people get paid for this job). I agree, and oblige the G.M. with my thoughts and feelings regarding the class. Ironically, this convo turns into another interview for this Hybrid position that doesn't even exist. After explainimg the details of my past experiences, the previous job offers I've been given and offered and turned down, we end the convo with a conversation regarding boxing, sports etc. Not even 6 hours pass and I get a phone call from said G.M. informing me they will NOT be hiring me and will be looking for someone else due to the ASSUMED financial offers been given to me by other potential Assistant Manager and Fitness Manager jobs that I've turned down in the past. It actually came down to not wanting to pay me a non disclosed, non-negotiated compensation which they NEVER offered me.
I was left dumbfounded, yet understand this reason in entirely. There was also a Dr in Dallas who wanted me to help him with marketing, work his front desk, help sell a new age remedy of therapy for his office yet only wanted to pay me a very insufficient amount(nothing one could live off of) with the reasoning of, "you don't have enough office experience for me to pay you more." So, in short,
EMPLOYERS WANT "QUALITY" EMPLOYEES YET REFUSE TO PAY THEM A QUALITY PAY RATE.
All I can say for your company, is that you get exactly what you pay for. Employers and customers alike.
As I've been saying, this is the age of the self made. We as working men and women have been given a choice and the line was drawn in the sand long ago. Either make your own future, or work to make someone else's future. I have found a new fortune in having faith, not only in myself but faith in the universe/divine/god or whatever you believe in. Education is soon being discovered in long conversations with intelligent individuals as well as archives and in the shelves of libraries and your traditional 4 year diploma is soon going to be worth only the price of the paper it is printed on.
