ASHLEY RAPPLEYEA / Scroll
A student employed by a company that participates in summer sales knocks on a door.

Knocking through summer job opportunities

by Jaren Watson WAT99004@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

For students worried about finances, summer is the best time to make money for the upcoming year. The opportunities for employment are widely varied, even if you don’t yet have your degree. For many students, sales offers the best chance to make a lot of money. From pest control to security systems to satellite dish networks, summer sales can offer huge financial rewards.

But it has its challenges. “It’s the most demanding job I ever had, but definitely the most beneficial,” Eric Walters, a junior from Rexburg, said. Walters worked last summer selling pest control in California and reports that he and his co-workers averaged $18,000 for the summer. By comparison, a job paying $10 per hour would gross about $6,500 for the summer, assuming 40 hours per week.

Some report even larger incomes. Joseph Corbett, a senior from Aberdeen, Idaho, reports his own average summer income as over $35,000 per summer over three years in sales. “If you enjoy a challenge, selling is the job is for you,” Corbett said.

Getting started? A good place to begin is finding out what company offers the best options and learning about the product. Devin Dial, a former student from Rigby, Idaho, suggests taking advantage of the free training offered by many companies. “The biggest sale you’ll ever make is selling yourself on the product,” Dial said.

Once sold on the product, it is important to determine if a person will excel in the selling business. “It’s not for everybody,” Walters said. The idea of going door to door, day after day can be intimidating. The simple fact is there is a lot of rejection. This creates a comparison to missionary work for many people. Dealing with repeated rejection is a crucial skill to success. “It doesn’t matter how many times you get rejected; it’s the people who accept that you remember,” Corbett said.

But rejection can be harsh. Corbett tells of a co-worker who, after getting grabbed by the throat on a man’s porch, called it quits and went home. Both Walters and Dial report co-workers getting attacked by dogs. In one case, a bite required stitches in the alesman’s leg.

A new recruit to summer sales will find that men outnumber women by a big margin. Women represent less than ten percent of many companies’ staffs. But sales is not just for men. Melinda Doll, a senior from Temecula, Calif., found great success in her security system sales. She worked for two summers and was one of the best in her company. She attributes success to hard work and attitude. “I would recommend sticking it out. There’s definitely a learning curve,” Doll said. “People are [usually] more respectful toward women, but you still get doors slammed in your face.” Doll recommends not taking rejection personally.

As with any job, hard work and dedication are essential. If rejection and long hours are no problem then sales may be a good summer job choice. “If you want to find out what kind of person you are, try sales,” Dial said. For many, the challenges pale when the paycheck comes at the end of the summer.