How long were you with SUG?

I was with two clients at SEG and I was hired on by my second client after just over one year.

What are you doing now?

I’m a buyer/trader for a metal recycler. I purchase large amounts of scrap aluminum, steel, copper, brass, etc. I buy it, prepare it, and sell it to people who melt it.

What was your background before starting with SEG (i.e. – graduate or working for another company)?

I was working for a non-profit doing event management and volunteer recruitment. I did this for about one year before I realized that the day to day of the job was a bad fit and I wanted to go into sales. That’s how I landed at SEG.

What impressed you most about SEG’s program (i.e. – the people, training, management, your client)?

I really enjoyed the fact that I had one clearly defined job to do. I was focused on one thing – making calls. Everyone in the office was doing the same thing. Now that I’ve been in the recycling industry for so many years, I do a ton of different things and it feels like there isn’t time to go after new business. I miss the grind of business development – making 80-90 calls per day. It taught me that the more people I touch, the better my chances of closing a deal.

Talk about the community that you built with your teammates and other teams on the floor.

Everyone was right out of college. I still talk to a lot of people who worked at SEG. It was a really great community. It was fun to learn about what everyone was doing, because everyone was doing something different. They all had different techniques. It was a fun environment to be around. Your own team is competitive, but it wasn’t like everyone on the floor was selling the same thing. It was a diverse environment when it came to the physical selling. My current girlfriend was a coworker at SEG. We never really hung out outside of work but after we both got hired away we reconnected and have been together now for two years.

How did SEG’s program help you with your current position?

SEG taught me to hit the ground running. That’s what you need to do in sales. You’re going to get shut down, you’re going to get denied, and you just need to keep going. My manager at the time was really helpful. The goal was just to make as many dials as you could. SEG taught me to be comfortable on the phone – and that takes time. With my first client, it took some time to get some traction and get some sales. SEG taught me the value of hard work.

Please tell me the number one story that sticks in your head from your time at SEG.

We would hang out a lot outside of work – taking trolley tours around the city, Cubs rooftop outings, etc. It was a really friendly environment. We all just became friends and we all really enjoyed coming to work.