Professional Respect

Since joining a different set skill here, I've come to respect the worker bees that keep the business alive more.

When I was at the newsroom, the tension between the sales and news teams were rumored to be intense. I played along, being the follower I was, and created this animosity towards them within me.

Now that I'm with the sales force, I see and sense the tremendous pressure they are put under. And if you ask me now if these folks deserve the "high" pay they are getting, and driving the sort of cars they drive, then for the most part, I think so. It's not a fun job to ask a stranger to part with money. And it takes savvy and math acuity, to boot. I have it easy, to be honest. And I feel guilty when I approach the sales rep to see if they had considered this piece of research to support their cause, or why they didn't pursue that account. Although, to be fair, there are some lazy asses who'd rather be order takers, than soliciting new businesses, or thinking of new and creative ways to package a message.

Another newfound respect that I have for a while now are to the reporters. Today, I had a last-minute task to go interview a retired lady at a retirement home for a women's section that advertising is publishing in conjunction with a marketing women's event. No, this is not my job duty. But being in the committee means I help out when needed.

It was tough having to do that at 2 p.m. with a 4 p.m. deadline. The interview took an hour, and it got better as I got over my initial self-doubt. While it is a feature piece (150 words at most), there's the break-the-ice moment, the constant reminder not to come across as patronizing, to constantly smile. Absolute emotional and physical drain at the end of it.

To my friends out there in the many different jobs you do, unless you truly are doing a piece-of-cake work, you're doing great.

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