Coming back to work in sales after kids
Discussion
Hi all,
The wife is looking at coming back to work now that our youngest is going to secondary school. It's been tough just with me working but we think it's been worth it for the kids growing up having their mum at home.
The thing is, the wife is Brazilian and has never really worked in the UK. In Brazil, she was a sales manager of a high end wine shop, before that other sales jobs dealing with some very rich people. She got ahead because she's very service-oriented. Just recently, she's working as a personal assistant to a Brazilian premiership footballer. The money's good but for the numbers of hours worked her hourly rate would be better in Asda.
She wants to move to a role with less stress. I mentioned that she'd wipe the floor in some luxury sales role but she says that at 45 years old (and 14 years out of the game) she wouldn't get a look in as these companies just want young eye candy to sell stuff to their clients. I said that that's just in Brazil in the UK it's different, but in reality I have no idea.
What's it like for a 45 year old woman to get into sales in the UK? We're in Yorkshire, so not as many luxury brands as in the South East I'd imagine.
The wife is looking at coming back to work now that our youngest is going to secondary school. It's been tough just with me working but we think it's been worth it for the kids growing up having their mum at home.
The thing is, the wife is Brazilian and has never really worked in the UK. In Brazil, she was a sales manager of a high end wine shop, before that other sales jobs dealing with some very rich people. She got ahead because she's very service-oriented. Just recently, she's working as a personal assistant to a Brazilian premiership footballer. The money's good but for the numbers of hours worked her hourly rate would be better in Asda.
She wants to move to a role with less stress. I mentioned that she'd wipe the floor in some luxury sales role but she says that at 45 years old (and 14 years out of the game) she wouldn't get a look in as these companies just want young eye candy to sell stuff to their clients. I said that that's just in Brazil in the UK it's different, but in reality I have no idea.
What's it like for a 45 year old woman to get into sales in the UK? We're in Yorkshire, so not as many luxury brands as in the South East I'd imagine.
SpanishTony said:
I said that that's just in Brazil in the UK it's different, but in reality I have no idea.
I’m sure you can find examples in the UK to disprove this, but my VERY limited experience of proper high end luxury brands is that in the UK people prefer to feel they are buying from someone who knows their stuff, and rightly or wrongly people take age as a proxy for experience.SpanishTony said:
What's it like for a 45 year old woman to get into sales in the UK? We're in Yorkshire, so not as many luxury brands as in the South East I'd imagine.
Leeds, Harrogate, York and Manchester should have plenty of opportunities. More so than many areas down south, where everything is in London.Interesting thread as we are in a similar situation..
Wife and I both worked in sales when we met, when the kids came along she had the normal 12 months off then we had another so took voluntary redundancy, she then did a part time evening job for 7 years and now kids have grown a bit she has gone back into sales to get her evenings and weekends back.
She hates it, she is currently looking for any other job, she's only been there 2 months.
Children have made her non career focussed and she basically wants to stick to a less pressured carefree job!
Wife and I both worked in sales when we met, when the kids came along she had the normal 12 months off then we had another so took voluntary redundancy, she then did a part time evening job for 7 years and now kids have grown a bit she has gone back into sales to get her evenings and weekends back.
She hates it, she is currently looking for any other job, she's only been there 2 months.
Children have made her non career focussed and she basically wants to stick to a less pressured carefree job!
rog007 said:
Sharing aspirant salary range and maximum time of commute (if not WFH) might help with a few more ideas
Thanks for responding, we are all ears because I've never worked in sales and the wife hasn't (in the UK).So, where we are based, Leeds, Harrogate and York are all easily commutable. She would definitely prefer face-to-face work but since June she's been WFH since her footballer moved to la liga.
I asked her about how much money she wanted to make and she said that she'd prefer commission based work if she thinks the product is any good. All her best roles have been commission-based, she says that she is by nature ambitious. I think that means that she'd end up working long-ish hours but she'd still have more free-time than she does now.
This is probably the main reason she wants to leave her current job. Although the footballer in question is easy-as to work with, and the money is good, his family and his WAG seem to be incapable of doing anything themselves and so they call at all hours. Frustratingly for us, she will answer the phone and do work. Any company which has a semblance of work/life balance would be ideal, so if she is not working an evening she doesn't have to worry about a phone call coming through and can actually relax.
jonwm said:
Interesting thread as we are in a similar situation..
Wife and I both worked in sales when we met, when the kids came along she had the normal 12 months off then we had another so took voluntary redundancy, she then did a part time evening job for 7 years and now kids have grown a bit she has gone back into sales to get her evenings and weekends back.
She hates it, she is currently looking for any other job, she's only been there 2 months.
Children have made her non career focussed and she basically wants to stick to a less pressured carefree job!
Couldn't agree more about the children. They do give you a better perspective on life and I'm glad I can enjoy ours whilst they're young (even though they're messy f**kers!)Wife and I both worked in sales when we met, when the kids came along she had the normal 12 months off then we had another so took voluntary redundancy, she then did a part time evening job for 7 years and now kids have grown a bit she has gone back into sales to get her evenings and weekends back.
She hates it, she is currently looking for any other job, she's only been there 2 months.
Children have made her non career focussed and she basically wants to stick to a less pressured carefree job!
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