I know that ultimately I can only answer that question however some insight from others with experience in this situation would be more appreciated than I can say. I'll try to keep this shorter, here is my situation. I became determined to make a sales career work for me 5 years ago. I came from an industry that I didn't belong in and stayed to long in, after finally being hired and overcoming my criminal background (no charges in almost 10 years now) I was accepted to a family owned dealer. I think too much and made things too hard but learned more because of it. After a year I was taking turns and closing deals. A year and a half saw me looking at management opportunities but my propensity for standing my ground on principal or for the greater good of the situation at hand didn't sit well with my gm. I was passed up. I dusted myself off and asked what I needed to do to make sure the next position was mine. I accomplished all that was asked. Passed again. Rinse repeat, happened again and this time I quit. I was begged back, came back with the promise of finance, the finance position came open 2week later. Passed "sorry you haven't been back long enough hee hee" translation, I hadn't served a long enough penance. Passed one more time for a bdc manager position and it was given to the literal laughing stock of the company. When pressed my gm replied "I don't know what to tell ya". So off I went to reshape things for myself. Life got rocky, and I found a lot of those rocks to he pretty rough. Break up ensued, bounced around, told I was hired for management at a GMC store then the hiring manager was fired. The next guy brought his own guys. I'm mentally and emotionally broken at this point and we aren't even in the present yet. I went to a store to help a friend with a sinking ship but it kept sinking. The old managers from my home store BOTH went to a different Chevy store together and brought me in well, more soap operas here and more of this carrot on a stick deal. I'm starting to feel like a joke. Its worth mentioning I was being given a shot at a Kia store as a 2nd chair manager training but then my old gm got a whiff of it and they literally dropped all contact. He recently committed suicide which is also it's own highly conflicting issue of its own. I don't know what to do, I know I CAN DO THIS but god I just feel smashed to pieces and it's hard to get out of bed and pretend to be okay or even mentally here anymore... I want, I need more responsibility. I need to validate myself as successful and stable, I want to help others be successful, I want to feel the pressure and the trust that comes with it all. I want to lead a team. That's why this is all I've cared about for the last 2 1/2 years. I feel like I'm whining but that's how we're trained to think sometimes in this industry. I'm open to anything any of you have to say. Thanks for reading my rant.
I get the feeling you are not getting straight answers and I fear a lot has to do with how they found out about your past. Timing is very important. Yes, they need to know your past, BUT it has to be when you have built a strong relationship with the uppers first (kissing ass is not what I mean). If they know too early, you will never get that shot. If they know too late, they feel like they don’t need to...
Thanks for weighing in! I've always been up front with my prospective employers although these days since the background checks only run back 7-8 years I don't feel the need to disclose my record plus given that none of my charges were theft or felony or sex related it's hard to see a reason to taint myself in their eyes to begin with. I will say that the guys I work with now know about it because it was an issue when they hired me at the first store. They lied to me and told me the new gm had a huge issue with it and they REALLY had to put their necks on the line for me. I found out later none of that is even close to accurate... What a mess!
Find a job to make ends meet and consider going back to school or enroll in some classes, get some certifications related to ur field. It shows u r changed and u r looking to grow ur career. Having some extra training would surely help. Also try and enroll in some community service. It sucks how world looks at u, but sometimes these extra things help. Sit and figure out what u r looking for, what skills are needed, what u lack and then formulate a plan and stick to it.
I've given this a lot of consideration! I'm not one to make excuses in the face of solutions and I hope I don't come off that way when I say that I'm kind of scared to do that. I'm 34 now and yes I would love to get into psychology or law (my record would not prevent it) or even just get the bachelor's it takes to get into oilfield sales, I just already feel like I've been making ends meet my whole life, I have nothing to show for it and I thought car sales was the answer when I realized I could and would make a great manager. I haven't even had kids or bought a house yet due to all this instability! My whole life is on hold and I'm freaking out at this point. I suppose my point is I'm torn between postponing longer to work on myself and do what I should have done 10 years ago or do I try selling high line? Do I try to push through where I'm at? Ultimately you are right. I have to make a plan for what I want and decide to he dedicated to it no matter the answer. I have a business plan that I will embark on once I get my debt paid off and have a place to work as well so there's some little glimmer of hope there.
Fascinating story, and one that is not done yet. I hope you are able to hang in there, persist, and reinvent yourself as needed. If you have made it 10 years, you can make it through another day, week, year, and decade.
Thank you for your words 🙂 I never worry about doing something stupid and going back to jail really. When I look back I can hardly recognize that guy. Right now it's all just about finding a way to actually live my life to my own high standards and feeling the reward of validation. I may just be looking in the wrong place.
Hey first of all I am very happy that I stumbled upon this post. Your story is inspiring to me that you have persisted through all that you had to go through. You have every reason to feel bad about your situation. You have the right to emotionally feel bad. Don't blame yourself for what happened and or how you feel.
Thanks for taking the time to show support and understanding. It's sometimes hard to not feel bad just for feeling bad! We try to program this successful way of thinking into our minds and tell ourselves that everything is our fault no matter what and take responsibility for too much. That can be extremely overwhelming at times, I just want to he taken seriously! Thanks again!
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Congrats on not robbing and stealing for the past 10 years!
I would hire an ex-con who acknowledges their mistakes long before I would hire somebody with no empathy for other humans. Just saying.
@VMx00 such hate?