never thought I was college material — in fact, going to college was something I had never thought much about. Despite that, I still needed to find a career path that suited me. In 2006, I started working in a plastics warehouse. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about warehousing, or plastics for that matter. Since then, I’ve held several positions throughout my nearly two-decade-long career in the plastics industry. I have gone from warehousing, to inside sales, to purchasing, to sales engineer and, most recently, business development manager.

The start of my journey may have been considered rough — a few months into my warehouse position, I was told to pick up slack and better execute my duties. This was a tough pill to swallow, but I took my supervisor’s constructive criticism in stride. After all, I was a new hire replacing tenured, well-rounded employees that had just left the organization. This was a difficult, high-stress time, but I understood what was needed to excel in my new position. Over the next several months, I began to streamline my processes and identified what was working well and what was not. Like any job, you begin to see things differently after going through the motions daily, making corrections and improvements along the way.

In those early years, I took the initiative to seek knowledge on anything and everything related to my company’s internal processes and systems. I learned everything from daily order planning to picking, cutting, packing and finally shipping the product. I learned how to use machinery, including driving a forklift, cutting and processing equipment. My employer even brought in an individual from the manufacturer of the company’s slitter machine to offer a training on how to operate and execute the machinery to the best of our ability. I was communicating daily with freight companies on scheduling less-than-truckload pickups and engaging in frequent conversations with our freight representatives. All of this time spent gathering knowledge was a crucial step in my development. I didn’t realize at the time, but I was slowly working toward a career advancement.

After almost two years working in the warehouse, I met one of my first mentors: a remarkable individual by the name of Ryan Shinabery. He was hired as the company’s new sales representative. What I valued most about him was his character and the way he treated everyone with respect, including those in the warehouse. He had a way of making everyone feel important. I realized early that this was key for building relationships, and I still use this today while networking.

In the summer of 2009, I left the warehouse for a couple years to check out a new industry. I found that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and I was welcomed back into performance plastics with open arms. I had stayed in touch with my old coworkers, which proved to be vital in facilitating my return to the industry. This is a reason to never burn a bridge in your professional life, you never know how things will to work out if you seek a change in employment.

After rejoining the industry, I continued to work closely with Shinabery. A few years later he pursued his own career development, moving to Texas to work for a distributor. Once I knew Shinabery was leaving the company, I mentioned to him that I was interested in getting my foot in the door for a sales position. I asked if he thought I had what it took to make the transition and fill his soon-to-be open position. Without hesitation, he said that he believed I would be great in sales. Not only did he encourage me, but he championed my potential transition to our manager, opening the door for me to have a one-on-one meeting to discuss the opportunity.

Shinabery believed I would be great at his role because I knew the ins and outs of the warehouse like the back of my hand. After all the years working there, I had gathered extensive knowledge on how things were done and how we operated as a company. I understood what the company could and couldn’t do when it came to our fulfilment capabilities, a great advantage to hiring someone completely green to the industry. It would take far longer to get a new hire up to speed on company policies, procedures and neccessary product knowledge compared to an employee already working in another department. After all, I was picking, cutting, packing and using the slitter machine daily, giving me basic knowledge on all the different products and materials we offered. With time, I picked up the needed in-depth technical knowledge on all the product groups I previously worked with in the warehouse.

It was the week before Shinabery was set to leave and my life was about to change forever. Nervous was an understatement, but I leveraged all my previous knowledge and computer skills from the warehouse to help me blossom in sales. The best advice Shinabery offered before departing was to read the company literature and know it inside and out. He put together a binder with a crash course on PTFE. Inside were informational print outs covering history, basic product certifications, compliances and, most importantly, data sheets for all the materials offered. This binder helped guide me towards success as I stepped into his previous role. A few weeks into both of our new positions, Shinabery took the extra step to follow up with me to see my progress.

Fast forward 10 years, a job change, a move and a few promotions along the way, and things were looking up for both my former mentor and me. Whenever I was in the Dallas, TX area on business, I would always make sure to get a meeting with Shinabery. He would always make time for me, even when busy. We stayed in contact for many years, and if he needed any PTFE he always reached out to me for a quote.

Tragically, we lost Shinabery in May of 2023. If I could see him one last time, I would tell him how much I appreciated what he did to help propel my career by going out on a limb and believing in me. I still remember the sound of his voice, and the way he always greeted me warmly over the phone, “Hey Nolan, what’s going on?”

This article is in memory of Ryan Shinabery and what he has done, not only for my career, but for the others he has helped transition from the warehouse to the office as well. I thoroughly believe he took pride, not only in his own career, but in the success of those he helped and mentored along the way.

In my case, it was a desire to take what I had learned in the warehouse and apply it to the next level, with the hopes of beginning a career in sales. I have always been a big fan of promoting from within, as it shows a good company culture. Similar promotion processes are also done within the company I currently work for. When existing employees see those around them being internally promoted and are givena access to resources and mentorship to advance their knowledge, it can motivate them to pursue their own career transition within their company.

Within the first few months of my transition, I was advised to take a two-day course on customer service held locally. This is where I learned a proper approach to dealing with difficult customers. I highly recommend anyone transitioning into sales to take a similar course to help prepare them when difficult situations may arise. Although it may seem like a small step on the surface, this course helped me to hone my customer service skills. Many options for professional development courses tailored to different career paths in plastics can also be found online.

As an employee looking to advance, never assume that you know everything. The industry and technologies are constantly changing, and there’s always something new and innovative waiting to be learned. Integrating cross-training and familiarizing employees with various areas of the company early is invaluable in setting up employees for successful career progressions.

I gained a lot of up-close experience while working hand-in-hand with my mentor on internal processes. From helping him gather information for freight claims, to quality issues, I was learning every day. Without realizing it, I was getting a sneak peek into some of the matters I would eventually be handling on a day-to-day basis in sales.