Dear Stephen,
I'm a big fan of the column – you really seem in touch with the industry, which I love, so I thought you'd be the one to ask this question.
I'm a sales rep in the contract furniture industry, and I'm getting bored with my job... I'm not worried about business, and it's not the interiors industry – like I said, I'm just getting bored with contract. If it helps, I work for a manufacturer, not a dealer. #ICFF in #NewYorkCity is coming up, followed not too soon after by #DesignDays and, of course, #NeoCon. I'm thinking of using the upcoming trade shows as an opportunity to explore other industries, companies, and products, to see if there might be another place for me within an allied product in the interiors industry. I love working in a creative field with architects and designers – I'm just ready for a new product. I want to see what is out there.
Many of my friends from office furniture have transitioned to tile & stone, still others have moved into #outdoorfurniture, #residential and #homefurnishings. A top sales rep that I know well just left a major contract manufacturer to go to work as a Team Leader, Commercial at #RH and they love their new job. Meanwhile, another friend is making a ton of money in the outdoor furniture space; I never even knew that was a category! They went to #McKinnonHarris and are loving it. Then, of course, there's always area rugs and carpeting... Not just the big companies #Interface or #Mohawk (which are old school), my friends are loving their jobs at #Stark, #HollandSherry, #HollyHunt... These companies all have great rug collections! Who knew?!
What's the deal? Can you make good money? Are there job openings in these parts of the industry? And how do I go about finding those job openings, since I have no experience with those products? How do I get interviews?
Signed,
Curious in Contract
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Dear Curious,
One of our largest customer groups comes from companies who hire us to recruit salespeople for them in the tile & stone industry, outdoor furniture, followed by area rugs or carpeting. Every area you mentioned is busy hiring. Then there is also the kitchen & bath industry, and certainly companies that are expanding into commercial and hospitality like retailers RH and DWR... Do not forget textile and wall covering has never slowed down, with hospitality being as busy as it is.
I can relate to what you're saying about your friend making the transition because I also have many friends from the contract furniture world who decided to make the change from a dealership or manufacturer, and take their excellent sales training, organizational skills, and in some cases, their clients, and bring them to one of these other industries!
As recruiters we are swamped with recruiting in the tile & stone industry, and although many companies prefer people that have expertise in tile & stone, if you understand the customer and know how to develop new business, they are going to be open to interviewing you. The same is absolutely true in outdoor furniture and residential.
So – how do you segue into getting an interview and then a new job in one of these other industries?
You don't need a recruiter, headhunter or placement agency to make this transition. You should start by doing it on your own. My recommendation for candidates is to have the best resume possible, and to upload that resume directly to the company of your choosing's website. Don't pick just one; you need to send out 20 resumes sometimes to get just one interview.
Here's how it works:
Select a company; let's say, #Waterworks; go to their website, find their 'career' or 'employment' section... Most companies will have jobs listed within your geography, but even when they don't, there may be an opening which they've decided not to put on their website and therefore you should upload your resume to that website regardless. Typically, there is a general 'upload' function.
The secret is for you to be in a company's HR database.
Since you said you had friends who made this transition already, another good way is to ask them to recommend you to places where they may now be working.
Once you start to interview, you'll figure out if the industry and the company is right for you. Do your homework; educate yourself on a new industry that you choose, while understanding how long it may take you to build a customer base in a new product category (or if any of your current clients are transferrable).
As far as the money goes, compensation is typically competitive to the compensation in contract furniture at a manufacturer, but since you said your main motivation for the move is that you're bored and looking for a new opportunity – that probably doesn't matter to you, right? One of the reasons why there are so many jobs open in these industries is because so many people have not gone back to work yet in the office, and guess where they are! They are at home, so everyone is re-doing their home, both indoors and especially outdoors.
My opinion is it's a great idea to see if you could reset your career, because nothing is worse than being bored with a current job even when you're doing well. Good luck!
Signed,
Stephen