Videos from China

Just a couple of videos I've put together about my time in China. Enjoy!

Chengdu, Sichuan Province P.R.C.


My Apartment and Neighborhood in Beijing, P.R.C.

Beijing, China and Intergraph

Hey remember that time I quit my job at Cintas, got a job with Intergraph and moved to Beijing, China?





I am now an Business Development Support Specialist for Intergraph China. Initial assignments in Beijing have included market research. Specifically, I've been examining market conditions for Intergraph's Smart Grid, spatial data infrastructure, and public safety & security.

To say I am excited about being in Beijing doing market research would be a gross understatement. This is an amazing opportunity that should prove extremely rewarding.

The Dundies, Cintas Style

This past week the sales department at Cintas had an awards ceremony of sorts for having the strongest first quarter ever. Aside from an all day golfing extravaganza at one of the nicest golf courses in Florida, crystal awards were given out to the sales professionals that had outstanding quarters.



Normally, I wouldn't mention anything about this. Especially since I didn't win any of the awards. But those who did win inspired me. At least I think it was inspiration. Maybe it was more of a jealousy since some hefty bonus checks were also handed out with each award, but there was definitely some inspiration in there too.

I want to win an award and be recognized for excellence in sales. I know what you're thinking, "Didn't you want to win an award before?" Well yeah, I just didn't know why. It's not for the crystal trophy or the bonus money, although both will be welcome. It's for that feeling you get when you outperform everyone else. It allows you the feeling of looking around a room and not being able to find a single person outperforming you. It's being the person everyone admires or silently curses. It's being the person that can squash anyone who refuses to obey your every command. Just kidding about that last one. But seriously, you outperformed everyone. They should at least be required to get you coffee, right? A bagel? Well, they definitely shouldn't gripe if you need to borrow their stapler.

This is the first quarter I am technically eligible to receive such an award. Now it's my job to make it reality.

Already September?!

It is hard for me to believe that I have lived in Jacksonville for nearly six months. The time has flown by like I never imagined it would. The last time I posted updates on my career I had just returned from an intense week of sales training in Atlanta. After returning I continued training and have spent the last few months refining textbook skills and tasting their real world application. Before I get into details on my successes and failures in my new profession I want to talk some about the strides I've made in my personal life.




This blog originally began with an incredibly excited and optimistic (and definitely naive) young man wrapping up his undergraduate work in the same city he grew up in. Resting on the laurels of my academic achievement, I allowed myself the luxury of relaxation; letting my guard down and enjoying the feeling of being free from deadlines, term papers, bluebooks, and libraries. Looking back at the blog, it doesn't take long to see myself slip into the same plight as millions of other college graduates struggling to find their way in a tough job market. While I was not as tenacious as I should have been, winning a national marketing competition in my down time was at least something to add to my resume and further differentiate myself from the masses. Still, I was slipping. Unfulfilled working the job I had worked during my undergraduate I had a choice: take a promotion and get serious about records management or do something drastic. I chose drastic and quit my job during a recession, moved to a new city, took on all sorts of debt, and started looking for a job.

Talk about a confidence booster. In the post about RBS training in Atlanta I talked about the statistics of being hired at Cintas. It was nice to feel elite again. It was nice to achieve something again; the first visceral achievement since I graduated. It wasn’t some abstract thing. It wasn’t a GPA, diploma, marketing competition, honors society. It was a job: a place to go, people to meet, and money. Then it was time to put up or shut up. I landed the job and it was up to me to prove I deserved it. And there in lies the answer to the mystery as to why time has flown by. There hasn't been a "down" or "slow" week since I have been down here. Not even a kidney stone could sideline cold calling, phone blocking, new presentations, and follow up appointments. Sales is a vicious cycle. You could have one of the greatest weeks ever, sell at Diamond level pace, but come Monday morning the slates are wiped clean and you have $0. I would be lying if I said that didn't smack me in the face every week. I am used to more gradual achievement. It took some time to get used to it, and I still may be adjusting.

Overall things have gone well. I've sold a couple of different kinds of businesses. Tango Pizza restaurant, 31 W Insulation, and Bosman's Childcare and Learning Center. Sales has been challenging for me. Much of what this job requires to be successful forces me way out of my comfort zone. I am constantly faced with unique situations that don't have clear answers. I learn something new about the business, the process, and the game every single day I go out. Sometimes that makes the job incredibly fascinating, educational, and exciting, while other times it's terrifying, stressful, and frustrating.

I am blessed to have this opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed. As I go forward I hope to continue to learn from both my successes and failures. And trust me, I've not sold a lot more business than I've sold. But I'm getting better and that is in itself encouraging.

RBS Training: Atlanta

RBS stands for "requirement based selling," and I just spent a week in Atlanta learning all about it. I became a sales representative with absolutely no experience in sales. I didn't even take an intro to sales class in college. For that matter, I never took a class offered by the College of Business. Needless to say, the material covered all week was new to me.

Now that I am primed to be a selling machine, I want to share some quick facts about the Cintas hiring practices as relayed to me by Vice President of Sales Peter Rego:

2,500 resumes reviewed = 100 interviews = 1 hire.

When you put it like that, I feel accomplished. I feel elite. Now it's my job to prove they made the correct decision.

New Beginning in a New City With a New Job

I am ecstatic to report that I have found employment with a great company. Cintas is a Fortune 500 company that has enjoyed 39 years of consecutive growth. It is an honest, ethical, hardworking company that I will be proud to represent.

This has been a daunting job search. Since officially graduating from UC in September, this job search has been an emotional roller-coaster.

Entering college in the fall of 2005 I began pursuing higher education in an economic boom time - and things only got better. During the peek in 2007, unemployment was at records lows, the housing market was booming, and job offers for college grads were plentiful. Professors were giving optimistic lectures of how lucky we were to be so young and so educated in such a prosperous time. We were in the second gilded age. Oh how things changed in 2008. The housing market collapsed, sub-prime "toxic" mortgages poisoned the banks and choked world credit markets, Americans cut spending, businesses faltered, and jobs and wealth evaporated into thin air. All this seemed rather abstract to an ambitious young college graduate. Why should the greed of irresponsible people translate into me (and millions of others) having to wait 8 months to get a job offer?

I am happy that I have been given this opportunity. I fully intend on making the most of it. With so many out there that are still struggling, it would be insulting to them if I wasted my chance. Even in the twilight of hardship it is important to keep working hard. Eventually, you will be rewarded for it.

Jacksonville, Florida

I have relocated to Jacksonville, Florida in the Riverside area.

I am excited to be out on my own and I am ready to really take on this job market and begin a new career.