One day near the end of the spring semester, representatives of large corporations and the military arrived on campus to recruit the soon-to-be college graduates. They set up tables in the gym, taped up posters, and spread out their literature.
The grads, resumes in hand, streamed in and headed for the eye-catching tables. Some reps had slide shows or video-taped presentations, others offered give-aways to prospects.
One representative’s table was noteworthy because of the absence of colorful posters and promotional material. There was only one hand-lettered sign: IF YOU WANT A CHALLENGE. At first, no one ventured by. Finally, one grad stopped by.
“What company do you represent?” he asked.
“One with a solid history and great employee satisfaction.”
“What’s the job description?” the grad countered.
“Our employees work sixty- to seventy-hour weeks, including weekends, and are on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”
“Is this a job or a lifestyle?” the senior gasped.
“Both,” replied the rep. “As an employee of our company, you are continually on display representing our concerns. Your conduct, on and off the job, is under constant scrutiny by clients and prospects. One slip-up could cost you a major account that could have lasting consequences.”
“And I thought the Marines were tough!” the puzzled grad mused.
“Our employees spend approximately one-third of their time in research preparing the several major addresses they give to constituents each week. They spend another third of their week in administration and planning, although they do a lot of this work through volunteers (who, I will admit, can be frustratingly unreliable). They plan activities to build camaraderie, to train clients, and to expand the company’s interests in the territory.”
By now, several seniors had gathered around the table. One said, “This sounds like a heavy-duty vocation. The compensation must be out of this world!”
“You could say so,” replied the recruiter. “However, until the final promotion to the home office, the salary can be meager. Some of our employees do very well, but most merely subsist. We don’t actually set our employees’ salary. The local clients pay whatever they wish.”
“There isn’t a set price for the product? No set commission?”
“No, actually the product is free. But most people pay a commission to the employee, usually at the local service center.”
“There’s service too?” exclaimed one woman student. “Your employees do speaking, manage, and oversee the service center? Next you’ll be telling us they’re also responsible for sales!”
“Well, yes. The other third of their work week is for sales and service calls, you might say. Our employees make house calls to recruit new clients and to check the status of established ones.”
“Why don’t clients just bring their problems to the service center? That’d be a lot more cost-effective,” offered one of the MBAs.
“I suppose it might, and some clients do. However, most expect at least some home visits.”
Another astonished graduate asked, “How big is this operation? Are there many openings?”
“We have local sales and service centers in most neighborhoods, all over the country. There are immediate openings in both large and small operations. Or you can open up a new territory if you wish. It’s a wonderful opportunity and challenge.”
“Wait a minute,” interjected one senior. “I’ve been to a lot of tables today, and no one else is demanding so much and offering so little in return.”
“Yeah!” added another. “You’re looking for people to work seventy-hour weeks, constantly be on call, do research, present several major addresses every week, plus administration, plus do personal sales and service. You’re off your nut!”
At that the small crowd began to drift away, muttering to one another, “It’d be like joining the Army, Navy and Air Force, all at the same time!”
“Can you believe this guy? He’s trying to sign up people to do the job of three or four top executives, and for peanuts.”
“Yeah, a Fortune 500 company would have to put together a six-figure package to get someone to do all that.”
When the day drew to a close, the recruiters began to take down their posters and fold up their tables. The rep who had sat alone most of the day at the CHALLENGE table slowly gathered his things and walked toward the door.
It didn’t go well today, he thought to himself. I think I’d do better if I lightened the job description to that of a chief executive officer. He paused. But then again, if I did, it would no longer be pastoral ministry.
-Doug Self
The Church at Redstone
Redstone, Colorado
Copyright © 1991 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
