David Dorfman - Navy Project Manager to Sales Leader

Veteran Influencer Podcast

David Dorfman is the Southwest Sales Leader for Tektronix. He transitioned out of the Navy’s shipbuilding Project Management community into a role that he quickly realized wasn’t the best fit. He found his way to a career in sales where he was able to find his true calling, working in some of America’s top R&D laboratories to service their needs for testing and measurement equipment. We talk a lot about the early mistakes he made as a civilian, including a costly mistake he made with his first hire. David’s experience really highlight the importance of a solid hiring plan when hiring for a critical positions, and specifically the costs to the business and customers within a sales territory when you’re not able to ramp up a new hire in the expected timeline.

Bradley-Morris has tackled this topic in the past, specifically when we hosted our Contingency Webinar about the cost of slow time-to-fill. With some big changes in the job-seeker landscape these days, it’s going to be more important than ever for companies to have a plan for how their organizations will continue to drive growth while managing their needs for full-time employees. Getting this wrong can result in lost productivity, a huge management headache, and unhappy customers.

At the end, David shares some advice for job seekers who might be about to transition; everyone's story is going to be different. If you find yourself in a rocky situation, take a breath. The adversity faced in the first few years, the things you will learn about yourself and your professional skills will be worth the frustration. Rely on the fundamentals you learned in the military: hard work, perseverance, and mental toughness.

Connect with David on LinkedIn