I tend to agree with Liberal. The situation is that the company is so low on work that they need to drum up some business. If you don’t do this, you may lose your job. Not because they’ll fire you if you refuse the order but because they can no longer afford you if they run out of work. I think you should suck it up.
Then again, if it really is making you physically ill, try and reason with the boss. Volunteer to take up the slack somewhere else if you can get another person to make the calls.
I’m an engineer too. I recently started consulting but back when I was working for companies I was always looking for the next job in the event that my current company environment became unbearable or the place was starting to go down the tubes. Both of those things have happened in my career and I eventually jumped ship.
From what little I know about your situation though, you need to grab an oar and start rowing. At the same time, get you resume current. When you are asked in an interview why you are looking for a new job, tell them that the current employer is close to going out of business and you are looking for more stable work. Don’t complain about having to make phone calls.
Liberal, sometimes you seem like a really caring individual who is a strong defender of the rights of the individual and the inherit respect due everyone until they prove themselves undeserving of such respect.
And other times, you just seem like an uncaring asshole.
I don’t think you have to wonder long which Liberal I think wrote that post.
Great, I just called a friend for moral support so she could buck me up and I could get this done and I burst into tears on the phone. So now I’ve freakin’ cried in the office. :rolleyes: I’m thirty-freaking-seven and too freakin’ old to be such a freakin’ baby. And now I’m losign it again. I havea freakin’ mental problem. I think I might tell my boss that I will take the hit of a day without pay (or two) to make up the overhead.
Ask not for whom the telemarketer’s phone call rings, it rings for thee.
Hopefully during dinner.
Does cold-calling work on anyone except for lonely shut-ins and the borderline retarded? Tremorviolet, I’ve been there and feel ya- can you put your boss on the opposite of the “do not call” registry?
I suppose I am. But I did not burst into tears, vomit, and take two days off work without pay. You people are giving this gentleman horrible advice. You are enablers, assisting him in framing this as a fatal obstacle and blaming his boss for it. Instead, you could be helping him to frame this as something similar to what he is doing here. He is communicating with strangers. Help him to do the same thing except verbally. I understand the anxiety, but when I have anxiety attacks, people like you are no help.
On the contrary: the advice is essentially, “Talk to your boss about your discomfort!” That’s fine advice; in fact, it’s what the boss himself said to do. It’s not called enabling; it’s called advising people to be honest.
You, on the other hand, are belittling the OP, obnoxiously comparing her (?) to a melodramatic sitcom character.
OK, update on my trivial first world anxieties. I freaking cried again to my friend (luckily I was in an office with the door closed so no one heard) and then she helped me write a script which made sense (the one they gave me was so moronic you couldn’t tell what it was for). And I’ve called a couple of the firms and asked for the boss’s voice mail and just read my spiel. And I didn’t die. And it’s not gonna be the enthusiastic sales pitch they want but I think I sound sane to the voicemail. Four firms down, 16 to go.
So maybe I’ve conquered this sorta (I haven’t actually talked to a person yet). I gotta go finish, I can feel my resolve tickin’ away. For what it’s worth, Liberal (BTW, how many gentlemen are named “violet”?) is kinda right (despite the tone), this is something I need to conquer and I was feeling like a total wuss for completely freaking out over this. But that’s why I’m on the internet and and engineer, my people skills totally suck.
Thanks for letting me vent and seeing this in writing.
It’s called advising people to be naive. The boss saying that is like a southerner saying, “Y’all come and see us sometime.” And speaking of melodramatic, you are in here ragging on me instead of the OP in this thread, who wants to see homes and property destroyed while people choke on sulfur fumes. Get your priorities in order, and then keep your wits about you in the future.
Oh dear. Sorry if I didn’t help with my horror story and all.
Actually you only have twenty people to call. That’s not too bad. All you have to say is that you’re calling from such-and-such, and then ask if they’re interested in giving to a charity. If they say no, say nevermind and hang up. If they say yes, then you can tell them about the referendum.
Maybe it would even help to write it out.
“Hello, can I speak to ****?”
“Hi, I’m calling from *****. Are you interested in donating to a charity?”
“No? Well, thank you anyway. Goodbye.”
“Yes? Wow, thanks. This is what it’s about…”
I think getting the donation issue right up front would help you get the touchy issue over with soon. You’re not trying to convince them to donate, you’re just asking if they want to.
Maybe you could try it with your friend first. Call her, ask her the above questions, and get her response. Then ask her how you sounded. After a few trial runs, call the first person on your list, and then take a deep breath and call the second.
I think twenty people is manageable. A thousand, like I was asked to, was not.
Anyway, let us know how it was. You will probably feel a great deal of pride when you finish your day’s list.
You are stronger than you think. You have it within you. You will conquer this, and then you will be proud that you did. Come back and tell us your victory stories. We will laugh and cry together. God go with you.
Way to go! I hate to do this and have had to as well. As you’ve probably discovered, the prospect is usually scarier than actually doing it, and you can do it in a style that is comfortable for you. You will probably learn something about yourself in the process. Kudos also to your friend for the solid support!
OK, work day is over. I successfully made all twenty phone calls and one guy even asked me to fax him more info! And I’m not dead. Hopefully, I won’t have to do follow up but myabe I can do that without losing it too.
Man, I haven’t had a melt down like that since high school when I totally refused to give oral reports. Dunno know what about this specifically that so pulled my trigger; I’d thought I’d gotten mostly past my crippling social anxieties. But now that I’ve lost it online :o and totally blown my cred as a normal, rational person, I’m gonna go binge on ice cream and try to forget it…
Anyway, thanks to everyone who offered words of encouragement/sympathy/advice. Man, unless I say something nasty about my boss, this has almost turned into a MPSIMS post…
As a fellow consulting engineer in Austin, I feel for you. I was in a similar position years ago related to a massive school bond vote (since it would mean millions in engineering fees to the local demand for services). You feel kinda stupid doing it, but you get it over with. I don’t have a dog in this fight (I’m a MEP engineer & this thing will almost exclusively generate civil engineering work).
OTOH, in a few years, after you’re licensed, you’ll most probably be expected to go out and hunt down new work, including cold calling potential clients, etc. That’s what really got me at first, but I got somewhat used to it. Now I have my own (very small) firm, and it’s not only the case that I’m expected to do the marketing, I have to or I will fail in very short order.
In closing, if you ever need any MEP services, let me know.
