我是怎樣在“最佳雇主”找到工作的

????杰里?哈珀古德

????? 所屬公司：REI

????? 最佳雇主公司排名：第69位

????? 職位：極限運動銷售專員

????? 年齡：55歲

????杰里?哈珀古德是一個極限運動迷（不妨想想騎單車、登山、滑雪之類的運動），大家可能會覺得他膽子很大。但是就連他自己也承認，2007年他50歲那年碰到的危險讓他也有點嚇著了。當時，他辭去了基督教青年會（YMCA）主管的工作。之后，他和妻子成了新的空巢一族，于是他們決定在沒有工作的情況下搬到內華達州的里諾市。他說：“這里能很方便地開展各種戶外運動，我們很喜歡這一點?！?/p>

????不過搞這些戶外運動開銷可不小。于是哈珀古德開始找工作，結果他在克雷格（Craigslist）分類網站上湊巧看到一份里諾市REI店招聘自行車和滑雪裝備銷售的工作——這在零售行業里是很少見的全職崗位。哈珀古德去面試了，面試時他特別強調了自己過去25年來在基督教青年會里積累的戶外運動經驗。那時他是探險運動主管，主要負責自行車、登山、滑雪和雪鞋徒步走等項目。由于他零售經驗有限，只在20世紀80年代在一家滑雪用品商店干過一小段時間，于是哈珀古德就抓著自己這點經驗說個沒完。

????他說：“這不是我本來想從事的行業，但這個零售店環境很特別?！弊鳛闃O限運動部的銷售專員，哈珀古德整天就和客戶聊自行車騎行，高速滑雪和野外徒步的經歷。他說：“對我來說，能和這些客戶聊，為他們挑選產品提供建議，再把自己曾經用這些產品的一些經驗跟他們分享，這是一種很受用的體驗。”???

????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."???