我是怎样在“最佳雇主”找到工作的

    杰里•哈珀古德

    • 所属公司：REI

    • 最佳雇主公司排名：第69位

    • 职位：极限运动销售专员

    • 年龄：55岁

    杰里•哈珀古德是一个极限运动迷（不妨想想骑单车、登山、滑雪之类的运动），大家可能会觉得他胆子很大。但是就连他自己也承认，2007年他50岁那年碰到的危险让他也有点吓着了。当时，他辞去了基督教青年会（YMCA）主管的工作。之后，他和妻子成了新的空巢一族，于是他们决定在没有工作的情况下搬到内华达州的里诺市。他说：“这里能很方便地开展各种户外运动，我们很喜欢这一点。”

    不过搞这些户外运动开销可不小。于是哈珀古德开始找工作，结果他在克雷格（Craigslist）分类网站上凑巧看到一份里诺市REI店招聘自行车和滑雪装备销售的工作——这在零售行业里是很少见的全职岗位。哈珀古德去面试了，面试时他特别强调了自己过去25年来在基督教青年会里积累的户外运动经验。那时他是探险运动主管，主要负责自行车、登山、滑雪和雪鞋徒步走等项目。由于他零售经验有限，只在20世纪80年代在一家滑雪用品商店干过一小段时间，于是哈珀古德就抓着自己这点经验说个没完。

    他说：“这不是我本来想从事的行业，但这个零售店环境很特别。”作为极限运动部的销售专员，哈珀古德整天就和客户聊自行车骑行，高速滑雪和野外徒步的经历。他说：“对我来说，能和这些客户聊，为他们挑选产品提供建议，再把自己曾经用这些产品的一些经验跟他们分享，这是一种很受用的体验。”   

    Jerry Hapgood

    • Company: REI

    • Best Companies rank: 69

    • Role: Sales specialist, action sports

    • Age: 55

    As an action sports junkie—think biking, mountain climbing, skiing—you'd expect Jerry Hapgood to be fearless, but even he admits that the risk he took in 2007 at age 50 was a little terrifying. He quit his job as the director of a YMCA in New Hampshire. With a newly empty nest, he and his wife decided to move—without jobs—to Reno, NV. "We loved its proximity to everything outdoors," he says.

    But those outdoor hobbies don't come cheap. In the midst of his hunt for work, Hapgood came across a Craigslist posting for a job in the bike and ski shop of the Reno REI—a rare full-time retail position. Hapgood landed an interview, during which he emphasized the outdoor experience he had gained during his 25 years at YMCA. He'd been an adventure director and led cycling, climbing, skiing, and snowshoeing trips. Hapgood harped on that knowledge since his retail resume was thin: he'd worked only briefly at a ski shop in the 1980s.

    "This is not a direction I thought I would've gone, but this particular retail environment is unique," he says. As a sales specialist in the action sports division, Hapgood spends his days talking with customers about their big bike rides, powder ski days, and backcountry trips. "For me it's a rewarding experience, to have these conversations and give [customers] advice about products and relate some of my knowledge having been a user of all these things."