Awesome Blessings In Heavy Disguise
I really, really wanted the job.
It wasn’t just for the 6 figure salary either, it was because I wanted to make the jump into working in IT sales because it was an industry that fascinated me.
The first interview with the sales manager went like a dream.
They were interviewing about 20 people at that stage and he told me I would be invited back for the second round before I left the building.
He also advised that I read up on TCP/IP (transmission control protocol, internet protocol) for the interview with the sales director.
Knowledge of TCP/IP wasn’t a necessity as they had in-depth, in-house training, but it would be helpful.
It really seemed like he wanted to help me secure the position.
Off I trotted to my local book store and bought a book on the subject.
I then spent every night for the next week or so reading as much as I could for the second interview.
The Second Interview
The tip from the sales manager helped and the second interview went even better than the first, to the point that the director asked me what car I’d prefer, a BMW or an Audi?
Holy shit I was excited, but I knew there was a 3rd round which involved meeting with both of my previous interviewers and the CEO.
When I arrived I was met by the sales manager who took me into a small room to brief me on the process.
I asked him how many people were left in and he replied, ‘Nobody, this is a mere formality, the job’s yours” and he immediately high-fived me.
I’m sure there have been occasions in your life when your gut instinct was telling you something wasn’t quite right, but you just couldn’t put your finger on what it was.
The entire final interview felt like that.
It seemed like the CEO took an instant dislike to me and was trying to trip me up at every turn.
At the end I walked back outside with both the sales director and manager and they were telling me about the training, the perks, the expected income and we even took a look at one of the cars one of the other sales people used.
As we shook hands they said that a contract would be drawn up and they’d give me a call in the next few days to come back in to set everything up with HR.
But something felt wrong.
The Meaning of Silence
Every sales person knows that when a prospect goes quiet it’s often the first sign that a deal may be breaking down.
By and large, people don’t like communicating bad news and silence is often the default response.
After leaving 3 or 4 messages for the sales manager who was also called Tim, I got a phone call from him as I walked into the locker rooms after playing squash one evening.
He didn’t need to say anything after the initial, “Hi Tim, it’s Tim”, I knew I hadn’t got the job.
He seemed genuinely distraught and very embarrassed.
Apparently the CEO had vetoed my hiring for reasons Tim claimed he wasn’t even privy to.
The Immediate Effect
For a week I was crushed and I had to work hard to suppress a very unhealthy and dumb desire to call the CEO and tell him he could shove his job up his sweaty fat self-righteous ass.
The crushing feeling faded after a week or so, but the disappointment lasted a lot longer, in large part because I didn’t know what I’d done wrong.
I wasn’t fun to be around for a few weeks after that.
I despised my current job even more.
I despised the CEO.
I, rather bizarrely, despised CISCO, as that was their service offering.
I despised sales people who drove Audi’s and BMW’s.
I despised IT sales people.
And I probably despised anybody who called my cell phone after I’d just finished playing squash.
Rational, mature and easy going weren’t words you would have used to describe me unless somebody had said to you:
“You have 30 seconds to give me 3 antonyms to describe the character of Tim Brownson. Ready, set, go!”
An Awesome Blessing In Heavy Disguise
It was shortly after that that I knew I was done in sales even if it was to take a couple of more years before I finally broke away.
I was sick of the stress, the lack of integrity, the long hours, the back stabbing and politicking and the selfishness of many people in the industry.
Sure I had made some great friends, but even that coupled with the high pay wasn’t enough to make me want to waste the rest of my life doing something that left my soul feeling empty even if my wallet was full.
And so the slow transition into Life Coaching and leaving behind the UK began with that ‘failed’ interview a major motivator.
Give Me A Kiss Handsome!
If I met the CEO of that IT company today I’d walk up to him, plant a big wet kiss on his cheek and give him a huge hug.
I’d then thank him for taking a dislike to me and not offering me a job that would have been all wrong for me.
Maybe he sensed that?
Maybe I didn’t give him the credit he deserved and he realized I was really only there for the money.
But most of all I’d thank him for helping me realize that events that may seem like disasters at the time may actually be awesome blessings in heavy disguise.
Now It’s Your Turn
I bet you have had crushing disappointments in your life that when you look back on them now you realize were really awesome blessings. Id love for you to share one (or more if you like) in the comments.
I have had some dissapointments in my life that have made me stronger and work harder thus being a blessing because if I did not encounter these dissapointments then I do not think I would work as hard or be more patient as I am today.
Great post,
I agree with you Lynne, In fact I think that what make me strong and awesome mostly come from “bad” experience.
What doesn’t kill you make you stronger … its kind of true!
Yep, it certainly is Chuck!
As a big David Bowie fan, I was working @ RCA Records in Hollywood in the Seventies. I got laid off on my birthday and spent a miserable week-end bemoaning my fate, but on Monday, Bowie’s people contacted me and I ended up working for his PR firm, meaning much more Bowie! Ever since then, I’ve tried to look at these set-backs as blessings in disguise. It’s surprising how often they’re just that. Thanks for the reminder, Tim.
Wow, how awesome is that!!!!
Thanks for sharing Rebecca.
For me, it has been breakups – my first boyfriend who was abusive, my next one who I was with for seventeen dream killing years, and the next who for ten years supported my dreams while cheating on me at every turn! Moving on from these has been a huge growing experience, especially for understanding that I don’t need an intimate relationship. While such a thing is a “nice to have”, it isn’t an absolute necessary. I’m as good as a ‘one’ as I am as part of “two”. I haven’t had any real disappointments job-wise as I’ve never really liked any of the jobs I’ve done. Still looking for that elusive thing I really want to do which will make enough to live on.
Yep, relationship problems can be even worse than job disappointments. Glad to hear you say its made you stronger Karen.
This has happened so often that I learned the lesson and is the main thing I keep in mind when isolated incidents don’t go according to plan.
During a move, we wanted to buy a couch for our new place the morning of our move because we’d have a truck. Lo and behold, upon arrival we found out the furniture store didn’t have the couch we wanted in stock. Had we bought it, we would not have had enough room to pack everything else as it turned out we needed a slightly larger truck and barely fit everything as it was. We also got a better couch for cheaper even after having them deliver it once we settled in.
On a grander life-event scale, I also applied for an IT job once and had an in as I knew someone who worked there with a small team of two other guys. The interview included all of them in the room and was just a complete trainwreck. The other guys on the team were completely disinterested and seemed miserable, and halfway through I just quit trying. Walked out knowing I wouldn’t get the job and that led to me less than a year later getting into another profession that was the catalyst for completely changing my life over the following 2 years.
Granted, hind-sight is 20/20 and we have no idea what the alternative route would have really looked like, especially since we would be completely ignorant had things actually gone according to plan. Overall though I feel like things seemingly work out even better if something doesn’t go the way I’d like the first time around.
I think the key for me to weather the storms has been to believe in myself, always have a few backup and escape plans, and always do whatever it takes to accomplish or survive (depending on the situation). There are definitely times of worry, but generally speaking those three things always get me through pretty well.
Yep, you nailed it, without that self belief, we are more likely to slip into the victim mindset.
Er….like I did ;)
Also, I just wanted to say thanks for this reminder that we never know what’s round the corner. Sometimes with my depression I convince myself that my life is terrible and there is no chance of it ever improving. Reading blog posts like this reminds me that those silver linings can come from really unexpected places. Thanks for helping to keep hope alive.
More than welcome mate.
As a Society, if we could spend more time and effort helping people realize that hope always exists, we’d be a lot better off methinks.
Getting fired from a job I didn’t like but felt I needed to keep; it allowed me to fulfill a deep desire to start my own business. (Tim’s coaching was also a huge help!)
I remember that clearly!!!
Getting marks that were JUST below the requirements for grad school; instead, I found a job and discovered a zillion hobbies that I enjoy more than pulling all-nighters.
I was listening to a Bill Cosby sketch yesterday where he talked about going into the army. He said he had to sign up because when he left school with his degree all the good jobs had been taken by the drop outs!
Thanks!
Not sure what you’re thanking me for, but you’re welcome!