Moving beyond retail in the outdoor industry

[gravitylover]

Well, trip is done and interview completed. For all the hype and appearance of professionalism leading up to the trip it was a very casual affair. I feel good about how everything went though. Now I need to wait until late next week when they're done with the process and have met the only other candidate.

[LightRanger]

Best of luck dude.

[gravitylover]

Fail. They went with someone younger, single and willing to stay on the road for months at a time. All things they said weren't necessary.

Next...

[plugboots]

All things they said weren't necessary.

This is what I find to be the case in general while job hunting. It's almost impossible to decipher or read between the lines of what they publicly state and what they really want. I finally had a good talk with a decent headhunter who had me write out 5-7 bullet points for the interview, and like a politician, stick to the points. In some cases, (sounds like yours, perhaps), they don't care, but I liked the strategy.

[LightRanger]

GL, I've definitely had that experience. Sucks for sure.

Chin up man.

[gravitylover]

They even spent the $$ to fly me out there and rent a car for the ground portion . They spent about $1k and didn't say anything about those things before or during the interview. At least I got to do a 350+ mile road trip in a brand new Suburban LTZ, nice fkn truck haha.

Other than that I've sent/filled out at least 30 apps and resumes and haven't had a single response in two months. WTF is with all of these companies advertising jobs and then never replying to applicants?

[hikesalot]

In many industries, jobs are filled via referral/word of mouth. I would suspect that's the case here. They have policies where they have to "post" the job, but often they already have someone identified to fill it. So getting your resume to people who can pass it along is probably going to get you more interviews. It's frustrating to spend time doing all those apps to never hear back. But you are not alone. My husband recently had 5 interviews for a job, they acted like he was the top candidate, etc. Then at the last minute someone who had worked for them before was in the mix and got the offer. ok, fine, that makes sense. A month later he gets a call - that offer fell through and we'd like you to come back in - interview with the SVP, blah blah. He learns it's him and one other person (external to the company, too). Goes through all that- travels, etc. Then they tell him oh, we have identified an internal person for the job. WTF?? If you want someone who is internal or worked there before, quit wasting everyone's time.

[gravitylover]

...and today I got a call back from another job I thought I would've been a shoe in for. They told me that they had to post the job because corporate told them it makes them look good to their competitors, they are expanding and need people. The job I applied for doesn't even exist and they have no plans to create the position. I asked about another job they have listed and was told no that's also for appearances. They are looking for pt $12/hr salespeople though

[iceclimberx15]

If you think you are hard enough... http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/...x2fwE&s=Indeed

[gravitylover]

Too bad it's 2500 miles away.

[iceclimberx15]

Cut the cord man..

[gravitylover]

If it was only that easy. Married with children, kids are juniors in hs, have elderly fil whose doctors are here, small house is undervalued in a tough to sell area. IOW too many variables make a move difficult and a NY > UT commute is a tough sell.

[Gman]

I recently made the the switch from the bike industry to software/tech. Was in outdoor retail before the bike stuff. Happy to answer any questions. Good thing to remember is there isn't just one way of going about making a change.

[wasatchback]

I've worked for one company since graduating from College in '99. They're an awesome company to work for that takes care of their employees and is basically still a family owned business. Needless to say I made peanuts for 6 or 7 years but I didn't really care. Had an expense account and was young. Depending on what side of the industry you go into the lifestyle is what makes it appealing. I basically make my own schedule, work for 6 months a year and fuck off the rest of the time. Yeah skiing is work but it beats selling insurance or sitting at a desk. I definitely don't love skiing like I used to but I LOVE a lot of shit I get to do in the summer with all my damn free time.

Most jobs, at least in the ski industry, are filled by word of mouth. Introduce yourself to every rep you meet who seems like a good guy (there are plenty that aren't). Don't ask for a job right away but ask if they need help at demo or events, etc. Like others have said the it's not hard to separate yourself from
the crowd. Be on time, do as you're told, be personable with customers, work hard, and don't be a burn victim. It's really not that difficult, yet so many people can't figure that out.

[stuckathuntermtn]

You actually work for Tecnica, you're not an outside sales rep?

[nholmes]

Hope things start to look up for ya man!

[snapt]

Needless to say I made peanuts for 6 or 7 years but I didn't really care. Had an expense account and was young.

Emphasis on the peanuts part if you're just starting out. Having an expense account makes life easier if you can coordinate personal trips along with work as well as trade gear so you're not paying much out of pocket.

Rode this wave for a long time, and if you're lucky and can ride it to a better position that retains the lifestyle with a decent salary you're set.

On the point of not hearing back: HR's post jobs and often interview even though they're going to hire from within to cover their asses.

If you're not sending your CV/resume straight to a person chances are its getting filtered by a program looking for keywords etc. If so match your CV and resume to any stupid buzzwords that match the position. For example for a sales position pepper in "velocity, forecast, P&L" and all that BS. Once I figured that out I got a hell of a lot more replies from actual humans, albeit mostly rejections, but at least I was getting past the filters.

[wasatchback]

You actually work for Tecnica, you're not an outside sales rep?

I am an independent rep but I still consider it working for Tecnica. I was an in-house employee for like 8 or 9 years and have been doing the independent thing since.

[gravitylover]

And there's the next thought, starting an independent rep agency. There seem to be a few decent lines available in my area but I'm not sure how to approach the companies or who to talk to.

Boy I tell ya, the longer you're out of work the harder it is to get back on the horse...

[WaistDeepGroomers]

You could always apply for this job at Amer, although it may be slightly beyond your experience: http://www.amersports.com/docs/defau...a.pdf?sfvrsn=0

[shroom]

you better put your referral bonus toward site improvements Dunfee

[Snowy Spartan]

I just got out of the outdoor sports industry. The benefits and paychecks are nice. As is the stability.

But shit man. I miss getting drunk on a random Tuesday night tuning skis and skiing all day Wednesday. I miss having a month off to go screw around on a house boat. I miss all that side of things.

But what you really miss is the people. I know they say you meet cool people wherever. But I made lifelong friends who just enjoy playing outside. And my desktop background isn't the same.

[concretejungle]

But what you really miss is the people. I know they say you meet cool people wherever. But I made lifelong friends who just enjoy playing outside. And my desktop background isn't the same.

This really hits home for me. I'm not looking for a job and I'm happily employed outside of the industry but my coworkers are all much older than me and don't do much outside. I have one who snowboards a bunch and just having him there is a saving grace but also reminds me of how much fun it was to work with people whose values align with mine.

[muted]

Leaving the industry doesn't have to mean old fuddy-duddy co-workers. I'm not in the industry anymore and here there are many lunch rides and mornings taken off for skiing. And you don't have to talk about the ski industry when skinning up/ climbing up, it's quite nice. I really don't miss the ski industry people, they were quite boring with a few exceptional exceptions.

[Kevo]

I made the transition out of the industry into advertising and several companies later I'm at company with a young workforce- average age is probably somewhere around 26 or 28. Everyone in the Denver office skis and a huge number are into climbing, hiking, etc.

Later this month I'll be spending 4 days at Vail skiing with and entertaining clients. I don't miss the outdoor industry at all. If you land in the right spot it can be a really good transition.