Never wanted to become a salesman!

Sales. The most available job in Bangladesh, may be in India, in Australia or in the world as well. But none really wants, never desired, never wrote in high school essays, as popularly written for the professions such as doctor, engineer, justice, researcher, civil service, lawyer, accountant, architect, scientist, pilot, military, businessman etc. Atleast I never heard that any high school student quoted salesman or manager or director as their “aim in life “ in an essay in their exam script, have you ever heard of any? But people are in sales. Or, they have to be there, appropriately speaking. The most visible sales teams are in pharmaceuticals industry. Motorbikes, bags, rushing behind doctors, crowding before clinics made it classical to visualize the word sales at top of mind. Science graduates or any other graduates with science upto HSC is the prerequisite to apply for the position. But look at few years back. At the end of VIII final exam teacher, families pushed the cream of the class towards science, to see future scientists, doctors, engineers, astronauts from their beloveds. Days go on. HSC over. Handsome creams go for physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, math, B.sc. (pass) or in some social science subjects to be the scholar at university or university college (peculiar Bangladesh version of tertiary school) or arts other than fortunate BUET, BIT, Medical, BBA, Military-ites. Dreams become dim while millions of high school cream finds that “no job for science graduates in Bangladesh”, they rewind their memory with the painful practical classes during afternoons at the universities. Things become more painful while banks, the second largest formal white collar job source next to PSC, advertise sociology, English, international affairs, public administration along with proliferated BBA/MBA as qualified only although it matters zero as long as “probationary officer, management trainee, trainee officer, graduate associate, management associate, graduate trainee, assistant officer (DBBL) “concern in a bank. It is all about reading/writing/adding/subtracting using pens or PC. Another sales is invisible to mass is the territory officers/managers/executives & their bosses- area managers, regional managers, national managers, sales directors etc. They are rushing behind retailers/distributors of respective products. There are some quarterly targets drafted by “brilliant” marketing teams (sitting inside AC rooms) through their meticulous marketing research (or dragging MsExcel on last quarter sales!) and these teams move. Sleepless quarter ends. And at the end of year real thanks goes to marketing! While sales receive a hard-night and of course nightmare of next year target.

-Azad A. Kalam