I CAN’T HANDLE THIS CALLING JOB! I thought I could but I can’t. We call alumni to talk (and basically just ask for money), and mostly they yell at us or hang up on us or degrade us! I mean, every once in awhile I’ll get someone respectful or someone who will at least carry on a conversation with me…but it’s hardly worth the frustration of getting yelled at because an alumnus is angry at the university or doesn’t want to give money or can’t give money or doesn’t want to be bothered…none of these are problems I can solve!
Yet, it’s good money, and it’s definitely not the worst job in the world. Sometimes there are good nights with lots of pledges and nice people and good stories….and the other nights, you just have to learn how to deal with angry people and stay positive the whole time. It’s good to talk to the other callers who are experiencing similar problems and share advice or horror stories or just laugh about it all. It kills me every time I sit down for a shift and think of the four hours of phone calls ahead…where, by the way, we have to ask for money three times ($120, $60, $30) to each person, no matter how much they are screaming and yelling and blaming us. However, I can certainly handle two more months, and I’m gaining some of the central skills I have always lacked. I am learning to have a thick skin and stay positive and not let what I can’t control get to me. I hate when I realize that what I hate is good for me! Some of my co-workers have done this for years, and I am just counting the days until I can get out…and then back to my RA job I will go! Never a dull moment!