Behind the glamorous facade of Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development Co.,Ltd.'s financial district, a fund sales professional's candid account of daily work life has captured widespread attention.
A female institutional sales representative, known by her social media handle "Going Out to be a Dog," has amassed 11,000 followers and 100,000 likes and saves on her posts. Through detailed daily journals, she revealed the harsh realities faced by junior sales staff in the financial industry: getting soaked in rain while squeezing into rush-hour subway cars, dealing with cumbersome and ever-changing reimbursement procedures, and waking up at 5 AM on weekends already anxious about the coming work week. Her unvarnished writing style, including details like "buying more milk tea for back-office staff than for clients" and "awkwardly complimenting clients' new hairstyles," resonated deeply with industry peers who commented "this feels like she's writing about me."
Before the National Day holiday, she launched a "crowdfunded resignation" campaign on social media with a simple rule: if her post received 500 likes, she would quit her job. The post quickly surpassed 1,000 likes and currently stands at 2,016 likes, with the comment section filled with support and solidarity from fellow industry professionals: "Looking forward to HR seeing Teacher Dog's posts" and "Industry peers provide the most emotional value." Her follow-up post titled "Institutional Sales Crowdfunded Resignation Success, I'm Free" garnered 1,269 likes. This process not only documented her awakening from the constraints of the "elite filter" but also showed the entire industry the possibility of self-redemption for grassroots sales staff.
Her journals not only express personal feelings but also reveal widespread industry phenomena: despite being in sales, success often depends on "who can better please the leadership"; reimbursement processes are delayed with constantly changing rules; and the psychological pressure and performance requirements toward clients, supervisors, and colleagues create long-term accumulated stress that keeps practitioners in a constant state of high tension.
She also exposed the hierarchy and discrimination within financial circles: buy-side looks down on sell-side, primary market looks down on secondary market, research looks down on sales. "Everyone's doing the same kind of persuasion work, what's the real difference in status?"
This crowdfunded resignation incident reflects the proactive choices made by grassroots sales professionals in Lujiazui regarding high-pressure work environments, while also revealing to the outside world the real pressures beneath the glossy exterior of the financial industry.
Her actions have sparked strong resonance and discussion among industry peers, representing not just a personal career turning point, but also showcasing the broader reflection and response of grassroots employees to long-term oppressive work environments.
The lights of Lujiazui continue to shine, but practitioners like "Going Out to be a Dog" have begun to fight for control over their lives in their own way.
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