New Recruit

A new recruit can be a bundle of nerves in any job. This is especially true for the sales because there is so much pressure to learn very quickly. I have observed that seasoned managers do not say anything to a new recruit for the initial six months. This period is considered to be a baptism with fire and there is always a risk of the medical representative leaving his job during this period. No manager would like to see the money spent on training going down the drain by premature resignation of a new recruit. So, a new recruit is always treated with kid’s gloves during this period. This story is about the deep sense of dejection I felt on my second day on the job. This story is also about how a simpleton helped me in not making the blunder of leaving my job.

On that fateful day, I must have called four or five doctors since morning. To my immature mind, all those calls appeared to be highly successful because I was able to narrate my sales pitch without much hiccup. After that I went to meet a topnotch physician in the market. There was a big crowd of patients waiting for their turns. I gave my visiting card to the compounder. Within five minutes, the compounder asked me to go inside the clinic to meet the doctor.

I went inside the doctor’s chamber, wished the doctor in the most courteous way and took a seat in front of him. Everything was going fine till now. The doctor was in his late fifties. He was wearing striped shirt and a nice tie. His bespectacled face further added to his aura. In front of him was a greenhorn who was barely twenty two years old. I took out my visual aid and began to vomit out what was taught to me in the name of sales pitch. The moment I started, the doctor interrupted and said, “You appear to be a new guy.”

His tone did not sound friendly at all. I fumbled and said, “Yyyes Sir!”

The doctor’s tone became even drier, “It appears that your managers have not taught you how to talk to a senior doctor. You should be aware that I don’t meet medical representatives during daytime. If you want to meet me then come to my clinic after eight in the evening.”

I said, “But I came here by following the protocol. First I sent my visiting card through your compounder. I came inside only when you called me in. If you don’t meet medical representatives during daytime then you could have sent this message through your compounder.”

I think I was talking sense. But a fifty year old person with vast experience, good qualification and high prestige in the society may not swallow the fact that a guy in his twenties with a bachelor in science and working at the lowest rung in a private company is trying to argue with him. The doctor was furious at me and said, “Get lost from here.”

I had no other way than to leave his chamber. I was shocked and was in deep mental agony. I straightaway reached my hotel room from his clinic. Within a few minutes, I packed my bags and was ready to leave that city and the job forever.

When I went at the reception counter, the receptionist asked, “What happened? Did you find a house? Are you shifting to a rented house?”

I said, “No, I am leaving this job and going back to my hometown.”

That receptionist was an old man. He must have seen many new recruits coming to his hotel to spend their initial days after joining the job. The hotel was mainly frequented by sales guys; especially the new recruits. The old man gave me a glass of water and ordered a cup of tea for me. He asked me to sit down and said, “Calm down. Tell me what happened.”

I narrated the whole incident to him. He said, “It happens when you are new. Don’t take a hasty decision. Finding a job; that too in a good company; is not easy these days. Majority of people; who are even five years older than you, are struggling to find a job. Sticking to a job is much difficult than leaving a job but that is the way to go ahead.”

I was adamant and said, “No, I am intelligent enough to find even better jobs. But I am not going to stay in this profession. This is not my cup of tea.”

The old man tried to keep me engaged in endless discussions. After about half an hour, he said, “The train to your home town must have left the station by now. Stay here for tonight. Have a sound sleep. You can leave for your hometown tomorrow if you wish. But I am sure you will change your decision by tomorrow morning.”

I still remember that old man with a sense of gratitude.