Justified to quit entry level remote call center job at 5 months?
Hi all,
I hope this message finds you well. First time posting on Reddit as well.
For context I’m 25M who’s looking to break into the sports industry. I just got my masters in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University, and I’m looking for more direct experience within either professional or college level sports.
Recently, I took an entry level sales job with a famous college recruiting service (not going to name company for obvious reasons, but it is considered one of the largest in the world).
Initially, I was very excited for this position. It was advertised to me as a college recruiting/advising role where I’d be working with warm leads of parents who requested to speak with us and look for assistance with their child’s college recruiting.
This sounded incredibly gratifying to me, as I have a previous inside sales background of over 3 years with one of the largest YMCA’s in my state where I managed their youth and adult sports programs (I also have 4 months of cold calling experience in minor league hockey too).
Needless to say, after the first month of training (which was legitimately very fun and optimistic) I QUICKLY realized that this role is not what I was expecting it to be. Ice cold leads, lying to uneducated customers to make them feel guilty about where they’re at with their kids recruiting, and numbers forced down our throat at every turn throughout the day. It’s just so disappointing, as when we were in training, management made it abundantly clear that this was all “for the families” but their business model and how they manage staff suggests the complete opposite. All to sell a service that doesn’t say what it say it’s does, so it’s basically a scam.
I’m 5 months into the role, and it’s just been absolutely dreadful, and I’ve basically given up to only doing the absolute bare minimum to stay employed until I make my exit at the end of this month. That being said, out of the 100+ employees in my role, I ranked top 5 in all categories in my first two months on the job, so it’s not like I wasn’t trying from the beginning.
Since I’ve been working here, I’ve developed immense anxiety (non-existent libido, dread, hobbies are no longer enjoyable, and just a constant feeling of rushing, not sleeping, and questioning my purpose in this role at every waking hour in terms of the ethics behind it) It’s taken a serious toll on my mental health, relationship, and my personal life as whole.
The pay is absolutely worthless (42k for 45 mandatory hours per week), and the commission check is even more of a rub in the face (ex. 130% of goal got me a $200 commission check in my first month). Even though I generated more revenue than my entire yearly salary in the first two months on the phones.
I just feel like given the 3+ years of sales experience I do have, the misaligned expectations/ethics of the role, and the fact that I have a few part time opportunities lined up in field I actually care about (college game day ops, personal training, and more YMCA Sports Coordinating) should I feel guilty for leaving this job at only 5 months in? I have savings and a living situation that would allow me to pivot if needed for about 6 months after quitting.
My plan isn’t the most well put together, but even having an end date of this role has given me immense joy, and I’m starting to feel like myself again. Thank you!