The Career Lattice: Combat Brain Drain, Improve Company Culture, and Attract Top Talent

CHAPTER 5START DIAGONAL

Call centers come with revolving doors for a reason: turnover in these high-stress jobs is notoriously high.

However, in the depths of the Great Recession, a call center job was all that Jason Smith¹ could land. He had graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in media marketing and had spent a year managing an entertainer whose up-and-coming career went down-and-gone as the economy crumbled, taking Smith’s career down with him. By mid-2009, Smith had to cover his rent. He took a job taking calls from potential customers in the advertising department of a major media company. In his job interview, he asked about opportunities for moving on and moving up. The answer was a vague, “Of course.” Does any recruiter ever confess ...