Thank you, thank you
Ok, so the deal is thusly:
I have a job as a canvasser for The Fund for Public Interest Research. The Fund is an organization that does fund raising and campaigning for other non profits, like state PIRGs, environmental stuff, human rights, etc. Currently we're doing an anti global warming campaign for the Sierra Club. So yeah, I go out at night and knock on people's doors and ask them for money. For which I am paid basically minimum wage.
This all is not actually as awful as it sounds. At first I was worried that I would freeze, that wandering around alone in the dark carrying money would be dangerous, and that everyone would be mad at me for interrupting their dinner. But between tons of walking and the adrenaline of being 'on stage' I haven't gotten cold yet (even yesterday, when it was raining. And by the way thanks a million to the thoughtful family member who gave me that plastic raincoat for Christmas. I was the only one on my team not soaking by the end of the night.) And we only hit up affluent neighborhoods, and don't really stay out past 8:30ish, so it hasn't been scary. And people as a whole are surprisingly nice, and more often then not sympathetic.
I partially credit this to careful selection of the neighborhoods we canvas, and partially because the way the job works, I don't actually have to harass anyone. It was carefully explained to me that my job is not to convert people, just to find people who already agree with us, and try to get money out of them. So the minute someone says they're not interested, I'm out of there. That aspect is what makes it tolerable to me, really. So I've had a number of doors closed in my face, but not really been yelled at. And it's all good because those people wouldn't have given me money anyways.
It also sort of seems like I might be good at this, in that on my first night I did really well. The acting (and, yes, the role playing) experience helps, I think, because it's mostly a combination of memorizing and delivering lines, and making a good impression. (also doesn't hurt that I'm so non threatening in appearance)I suppose I could have tried to go into sales, but I never had the stomach for it. But doing this I feel a little like the good vampire or noble assassin, since basically I'm a mercenary door-to-door sales person...for good! Also the people I work with are sort of quirky and fun.
That being said, there are downsides. I'm home today because last night my legs cramped up horribly, and I woke up at 6ish from the pain and couldn't get back to sleep until the apartment warmed up. As my director said, I could probably have worked through it. But as I mentioned, canvassing is all about a positive impression. (one old hand was telling me that once you get one donation, you get more, because your happy and sparkly. But the opposite is also true. It's like people can sense the money in your aura) I may have potential, but I'm not experienced enough to pull off being appropriately shiny when I'm exhausted and in pain. And I do not need a bad night.
Which brings us to the central flaw in the job: there are quotas. You have to earn so much in donations every night. If you earn more, you get a cut as a bonus. If you don't meet the quota on average for two weeks running, they fire you. It's startlingly hard assed for such a liberal organization. My first night I topped the quota by $85. Unfortunately it didn't really count, because that was just my training night. My second night, when it actually counted, I fell short by $35. So we'll see. Everyone keeps telling me I have the potential. It's just a matter of whether I can actually make the grade.
It's something I'm still concerned about. On my second night I kept telling myself it was the rain, or cuz rich people are stingy. (you haven't lived until you've slipped through a wrought iron gate an walked across a broad, manicured lawn only to have the owner stand in the doorway of their mini mansion and tell you their so strapped for cash they can't make even a weeny little donation(and I've accepted fivers with a smile). I have more respect for the people who just say no.) But on reflection I think a big part of the discrepency between the two nights was the quota. The first night I was only required to get one donation. So once I had that I got really relaxed, and the cash just flowed. The second night even after three donations I was getting more and more worried as the night progressed because I knew I wasn't making it. I think the damn things counter productive, but what'cha gonna do? I just have to figure out some way of becoming very happy and confident by monday. There's always drugs...
I have a job as a canvasser for The Fund for Public Interest Research. The Fund is an organization that does fund raising and campaigning for other non profits, like state PIRGs, environmental stuff, human rights, etc. Currently we're doing an anti global warming campaign for the Sierra Club. So yeah, I go out at night and knock on people's doors and ask them for money. For which I am paid basically minimum wage.
This all is not actually as awful as it sounds. At first I was worried that I would freeze, that wandering around alone in the dark carrying money would be dangerous, and that everyone would be mad at me for interrupting their dinner. But between tons of walking and the adrenaline of being 'on stage' I haven't gotten cold yet (even yesterday, when it was raining. And by the way thanks a million to the thoughtful family member who gave me that plastic raincoat for Christmas. I was the only one on my team not soaking by the end of the night.) And we only hit up affluent neighborhoods, and don't really stay out past 8:30ish, so it hasn't been scary. And people as a whole are surprisingly nice, and more often then not sympathetic.
I partially credit this to careful selection of the neighborhoods we canvas, and partially because the way the job works, I don't actually have to harass anyone. It was carefully explained to me that my job is not to convert people, just to find people who already agree with us, and try to get money out of them. So the minute someone says they're not interested, I'm out of there. That aspect is what makes it tolerable to me, really. So I've had a number of doors closed in my face, but not really been yelled at. And it's all good because those people wouldn't have given me money anyways.
It also sort of seems like I might be good at this, in that on my first night I did really well. The acting (and, yes, the role playing) experience helps, I think, because it's mostly a combination of memorizing and delivering lines, and making a good impression. (also doesn't hurt that I'm so non threatening in appearance)I suppose I could have tried to go into sales, but I never had the stomach for it. But doing this I feel a little like the good vampire or noble assassin, since basically I'm a mercenary door-to-door sales person...for good! Also the people I work with are sort of quirky and fun.
That being said, there are downsides. I'm home today because last night my legs cramped up horribly, and I woke up at 6ish from the pain and couldn't get back to sleep until the apartment warmed up. As my director said, I could probably have worked through it. But as I mentioned, canvassing is all about a positive impression. (one old hand was telling me that once you get one donation, you get more, because your happy and sparkly. But the opposite is also true. It's like people can sense the money in your aura) I may have potential, but I'm not experienced enough to pull off being appropriately shiny when I'm exhausted and in pain. And I do not need a bad night.
Which brings us to the central flaw in the job: there are quotas. You have to earn so much in donations every night. If you earn more, you get a cut as a bonus. If you don't meet the quota on average for two weeks running, they fire you. It's startlingly hard assed for such a liberal organization. My first night I topped the quota by $85. Unfortunately it didn't really count, because that was just my training night. My second night, when it actually counted, I fell short by $35. So we'll see. Everyone keeps telling me I have the potential. It's just a matter of whether I can actually make the grade.
It's something I'm still concerned about. On my second night I kept telling myself it was the rain, or cuz rich people are stingy. (you haven't lived until you've slipped through a wrought iron gate an walked across a broad, manicured lawn only to have the owner stand in the doorway of their mini mansion and tell you their so strapped for cash they can't make even a weeny little donation(and I've accepted fivers with a smile). I have more respect for the people who just say no.) But on reflection I think a big part of the discrepency between the two nights was the quota. The first night I was only required to get one donation. So once I had that I got really relaxed, and the cash just flowed. The second night even after three donations I was getting more and more worried as the night progressed because I knew I wasn't making it. I think the damn things counter productive, but what'cha gonna do? I just have to figure out some way of becoming very happy and confident by monday. There's always drugs...