Telemarketing in Australia

by Mattie
(USA)

During my junior year in college, I decided to participate in a study-abroad program in Melbourne, Australia. I got there in early July - middle of the winter for the Aussies - and promptly launched myself into a whirlwind social life.

At first, I was excited about the prices - one Australian dollar at the time was equal to about 0.6 US dollar. However, my supply of money dried out rather quickly (too many shopping trips and nights at the local pub), and at the beginning of October I found myself looking for a job.

First, I had to obtain a work permission from the Australian immigration services to complement my student visa. This took amazingly little time, and in a week or so I had no more excuses to procrastinate - the job search had to begin. Let me tell you, prospective employers do not sound excited when you tell them you are leaving the country in 3 months!

Finally, I managed to score a part-time job as telemarketer for an in-sink water filter company. The job consisted of hours of cold-calling and trying to convince grumpy victims to complete a 5-minute "survey." The manager suggested that we actually lie to people by telling them that we are a "non-profit" company!!!

Of course, the unlucky few who were not assertive enough to get off the phone fast and did complete the "survey" were then blessed with another phone call a couple days later. This time, my more experienced coworker would tell people that the water in their neighborhood is bad and that we can "help" them by sending out one of our technicians to discuss solutions.

In short, this experience has turned me away from ever seeking any kind of marketing position! The only upside of the job was the time spent joking around with my coworkers!