Help me decide how to get this job!
September 29, 2011 8:06 PM Subscribe
I think I'm interested in a job as a "field consultant" with a specific franchise tutoring company. Is my plan feasible/reasonable?
This is the first job posting I've seen in months that has gotten me excited.
My plan is to get hired (I know, that might be a long shot....) as a tutor at the local franchise, but not tell them that I'm aiming higher. In a perfect world, corporate would somehow realize that I am a superstar and encourage me to apply for this position. The world is not perfect, so I'm guessing I would have to apply. I'm ok with that.
My thinking is that if I've worked in one of their franchises, I'll be more appealing to the corporate people. I understand that this particular opening may be filled sooner than I'm "ready," but this is a very national company and I would be happy to relocate just about anywhere.
I like travel, (love love love it, it's the ADD in me, enjoying the changes in environment, the forced schedule), I love interacting with people, I'm good at writing reports and giving presentations. I'm also great at finding patterns.
My current job is teaching a specific hobby, and I can come with a dozen or so personal references from past and current students. I'd probably ask the dozen and then pick the best 3 or 4.
I have considered that tutoring children means dealing with their parents, so I don't need horror stories about how awful parents can be.
I'm also aware that as a tutor I probably won't get to see the "business side" of things - expenses, billing, etc. But maybe my office manager background makes me a good fit for wearing a few hats!
Is any part of this unreasonable? I've never worked in "corporate america" and I know this is very corporate. I have, however, been a waitress and managed an office.
My plan is to get hired (I know, that might be a long shot....) as a tutor at the local franchise, but not tell them that I'm aiming higher. In a perfect world, corporate would somehow realize that I am a superstar and encourage me to apply for this position. The world is not perfect, so I'm guessing I would have to apply. I'm ok with that.
My thinking is that if I've worked in one of their franchises, I'll be more appealing to the corporate people. I understand that this particular opening may be filled sooner than I'm "ready," but this is a very national company and I would be happy to relocate just about anywhere.
I like travel, (love love love it, it's the ADD in me, enjoying the changes in environment, the forced schedule), I love interacting with people, I'm good at writing reports and giving presentations. I'm also great at finding patterns.
My current job is teaching a specific hobby, and I can come with a dozen or so personal references from past and current students. I'd probably ask the dozen and then pick the best 3 or 4.
I have considered that tutoring children means dealing with their parents, so I don't need horror stories about how awful parents can be.
I'm also aware that as a tutor I probably won't get to see the "business side" of things - expenses, billing, etc. But maybe my office manager background makes me a good fit for wearing a few hats!
Is any part of this unreasonable? I've never worked in "corporate america" and I know this is very corporate. I have, however, been a waitress and managed an office.
Response by poster: this particular opening may be filled sooner than I'm "ready,"
WILL be filled. I swear, I would give a lot for an edit window. I would expect to be at this job at least 6 months, and probably more like a year, really learning how the place operates.
posted by bilabial at 8:30 PM on September 29, 2011
WILL be filled. I swear, I would give a lot for an edit window. I would expect to be at this job at least 6 months, and probably more like a year, really learning how the place operates.
posted by bilabial at 8:30 PM on September 29, 2011
Do you know anyone who does this job? Or works with those people? Because before you go along this path, you might be better off talking to someone and finding out what the actual requirements for getting the job are. Having experience on site might help, might not help, might hurt. It's hard to say really.
Certainly I've known people who started out in low level roles at big companies and then moved into higher positions -- but they've often spent years and years trying to make up lost salary ground vs. people who simply started in the better jobs, because raises are usually percentage bases, and a 10% boost to a shitty wage is still shitty.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:31 PM on September 29, 2011
Certainly I've known people who started out in low level roles at big companies and then moved into higher positions -- but they've often spent years and years trying to make up lost salary ground vs. people who simply started in the better jobs, because raises are usually percentage bases, and a 10% boost to a shitty wage is still shitty.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:31 PM on September 29, 2011
Also, I'd add that focusing on a single job at a single company is not a great way to build a career -- what if that company isn't hiring when you need work, or you have the flu and miss an interview so they don't hire you? It's great to have goals and work towards them, but try not to be specifically focused on one very precise thing. That'll tend to make you less valuable in that job (because you won't be well-rounded enough to see the bigger picture) and also make it very hard for you to make a change if you decide it's not for you.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:34 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jacquilynne at 8:34 PM on September 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
What do you mean by field consultant? Scoping out new markets?
I have done a great deal of private tutoring and some tutoring for mom-and-pop agencies. Leaving aside the lower pay of working for a franchise, though, I (personally) would have to be really, really excited about their franchise-specific tutoring method, that is, their product, before signing up to work even as a tutor. Goes double for corporate. But that's just me. For example, I could really get behind Princeton Review's SAT method, but their other approaches are not particularly exciting to me (they are not a franchise--just an example).
Some/most non-franchise companies hire people with teaching/tutoring experience directly into corporate. I might look at THAT before getting a job at a local center. For example, Revolution Prep.
posted by skbw at 8:52 PM on September 29, 2011
I have done a great deal of private tutoring and some tutoring for mom-and-pop agencies. Leaving aside the lower pay of working for a franchise, though, I (personally) would have to be really, really excited about their franchise-specific tutoring method, that is, their product, before signing up to work even as a tutor. Goes double for corporate. But that's just me. For example, I could really get behind Princeton Review's SAT method, but their other approaches are not particularly exciting to me (they are not a franchise--just an example).
Some/most non-franchise companies hire people with teaching/tutoring experience directly into corporate. I might look at THAT before getting a job at a local center. For example, Revolution Prep.
posted by skbw at 8:52 PM on September 29, 2011
I've worked at a place just like you describe. I've met my share of field consultants. You WILL never get noticed on a corporate level working at the local franchise. NEVER. It's just how it works. Apply for the corporate job now!
posted by JacksonandFinch at 5:39 AM on September 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by JacksonandFinch at 5:39 AM on September 30, 2011 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jayder at 8:15 PM on September 29, 2011