Women in Auto: Melissa Jimenez

Listed here are her sights on what it has been like to have a profession in the automotive business in San Antonio:

Q.: Why did you choose the vehicle sector?
A.: I experienced a quite great close friend at the time, doing the job below when it was Gillespie Ford as a finance assistant. She explained to me of a new BDC (Enterprise Advancement Centre) simply call home opening up and she also knew I had an outgoing character and imagined I would be a fantastic in good shape for the occupation. I utilized and obtained the placement

Q.: What employment have you experienced in the sector?
A.: I to start with began in our BDC Call Centre, using inbound phone calls and generating appointments for revenue and also generating outbound abide by-up phone calls. I did that for a few yrs, then offered automobiles for about a calendar year or two. I then went to aid (admin do the job) the proprietor at the time, Elizabeth Gillespie and Comptroller Ken Bragg. 

When McCombs ordered Gillespie Ford in 2006-2007, I started to do admin work for our new standard supervisor at the time, Kevin Browning and a couple months afterwards I turned his executive assistant..

Q.: What is your total look at of working in the auto market? Is it what you imagined it to be? 
A.: I adore doing work in the sector I am in. Automobile sales has a undesirable rep (it looks) with folks who are not acquainted with the small business, but it is genuinely a distinctive and critical business that I have been blessed to be a aspect of.

Q.: What other automobile industry positions would you be intrigued in? 
A.: None. I appreciate what I do.

Q.: What is your normal day like at work? 
A.: Mornings are pretty fast paced I also report all profits and claim all Ford rebates right here. Each individual day I will have a couple motor vehicle deals I have to report and assert, building guaranteed all of the paperwork and documentation is in the offer. There is also answering emails [and] mobile phone calls. and staff members coming in and out through the day with a variety of issues or considerations. Working with new employees and their using the services of process is also daily operate that retains me busy.

Q.: Have you knowledgeable any certain challenges as a girl performing in a frequently male-dominated sector? 
A.: Many moons ago when I was marketing cars, it was a problem. Of system, I was a large amount younger and new to motor vehicle revenue, but most consumers did not want to offer with me because I was feminine. 

I was also a solitary mother at the time, so functioning the extended hours was incredibly difficult for me simply because of childcare. I do see how the marketplace has altered, and extra and far more we are finding feminine candidates wanting to market automobiles. 

Our major new-vehicle sales professional has been woman a the greater part of the months these final couple many years.

Q.: What suggestions to you have for other females who might be thinking about careers in the vehicle market? 
A.: Do it! If this is one thing you want, then you ought to go for it.

Q.: Would you suggest a placement like yours to other gals?
A.: I would. I would explain to them, having said that, that it is hard get the job done. Some persons on the outside searching in may feel I have a basic job with no problems, but that is significantly from the truth of the matter. In my posture you don many hats, but you have to make guaranteed every occupation or process that you do is carried out completely and to the most effective of your capacity.

Your GM has to be able to trust you and rely on you.

Q.: Do you have any other opinions you want to include to your story?
A.: I will say that I am quite blessed to be in the position I am today. Like I said in advance of, I started off off in the cellular phone room, and was capable to work my way up to the spot I am in right now.

I have had a good deal of ups and downs in this marketplace, but additional ups. I am very pleased to say I work in the automobile market. I have helped so quite a few household and good friends with their automotive requirements all over the years. 

I also have met some quite incredible folks, far too — my spouse, for one. I achieved him in this article in 2007 and we will be celebrating 10 a long time married. He is also in the car business.

A pair of decades in the past I also had the pleasure of functioning with my oldest daughter. When she turned 18 and graduated superior university, she began functioning here in the telephone place just like I did back in the working day. 

She labored listed here comprehensive time and was also heading to higher education. She worked here for seven yrs right up until she received her bachelor’s from Incarnate Phrase, and she is now a graphic designer for a organization downtown. I am so very pleased of her.

This corporation and especially my typical manager, Henry Finley, have helped me grow during these years. Some of the persons in this article have turn out to be a lot more than just co-personnel they have become a aspect of my spouse and children.