Sometimes It Just Takes Time

As many of you are aware, I’ve just recently changed positions. I want to thank everyone for all the messages, likes, phone calls and extremely kind words. I really appreciate it and I’m excited to move into this new role.

What a lot of you probably didn’t know was this wasn’t my first time going for this role. A few years ago I applied and did not get it. I didn’t fail, I just didn’t get it. I wasn’t yet ready, there were things I needed, different relationships, different skill sets.

I could have taken this rejection to heart and left the company because they didn’t give me what I wanted. I could have turned negative and further hurt my career ambitions. I didn’t. I thanked everyone for their time and feedback and set off to change. Not that I was doing things incorrectly or wrong, but I needed to change some things.

I did change and I got better. Then came May 2017. I was in New York City on my one year anniversary and I got a call from my manager. It was the restructuring. I still had my job and it would expand in territory. I was thankful for still having the position, but I wanted that next step up. But it wasn’t time yet.

I made all my managers aware of my career ambitions, all the way to the top. Everyone knew what I wanted, it was just a matter of time. Then I was sitting in a meeting in Ottawa in September of 2018 and our Vice President for Canada said, “We will be adding 6 new positions across the country”. I was immediately on the phone to my manager and telling him that I was extremely interested in the position.

There was an interview process for external candidates, but luckily, I was awarded the position. The reason I wanted to write this article wasn’t to tell people my story, but to talk to those younger individuals in the industry. As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes it just takes time to move up to the next position.

There is a reason I have been at this company for 8 years, coming up on 9. But I think it would be best to illustrate my point by sharing a story of a friend and colleague who works here. This individual had a long career with the company, decided to move to another financial institution for a different challenge. Within 3 months, they had quit that company in what one person I know said, “Was the most ballin’ way to quit ever”, in which they essentially just dropped off the computer (like a mic drop) and walked out and never came back. Of course, they found a great position back at our company.

I don’t know why, but I love those stories. A few years out of university, my friends would ask me why I moved jobs every year and I told them, “I found better opportunities”. But since 2010, in which I’ve had multiple roles in this organization, I’ve never had the desire to leave. It is too much fun.

Alas, I will get to the point of this article. For those in the industry and beyond, don’t leave because you think you will make more money somewhere else. Leave because there is no opportunity to grow. I have found money follows passion and success. No matter where you go, if you are passionate about it, you will likely breed success. Of course, there are exceptions for companies that can’t get their act together, but in most cases: if you are good, you will make the money.

I’m very excited to move into my new role in supporting a brand-new (to me) bunch of Advisors, but I will continue to focus on my passion and helping them grow in theirs.

Andrew McKeown is a Regional Sales Manager at a leading Canadian Insurance Company. He writes about sales and insurance ideas.

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