by: Maggie Hansen
Background
I
started my first job ever – besides babysitting – the day after I
graduated from high school. In an effort to keep my siblings and me
focused on school, my parents had enforced a strict “no working
during high school” rule (I'm talking stricter-than-curfew strict).
And in high school, I thought I was pretty hot stuff. Having received
numerous accolades, knowing I had a scholarship to attend an in-state
university in the fall, I was fairly positive any place of business
would be honored to have me on their payroll. And I had passed AP
tests, for crying out loud – a petty job that paid minimum wage was
small potatoes in my book. This prima dona got hired at a local
Gandolfo's for the 3 month interim between high school and college.
What I didn't know was that I'd learn life lessons in that sandwich
shop that were at least as important as the knowledge I'd gain by
continuing my education. What follows are some truisms that have come
in handy while workings as a professional in my chosen field, but
that didn't show up on any final exams.
#1: There is
always a bigger circle in the world that does not have you as its
center
I
thought I knew everyone in my hometown. More importantly, I was
fairly certain everyone knew me. Imagine my surprise to find out
that I had never seen the majority of my co-workers before in my
life. Even the familiar ones had been the kids whose faces I knew,
but whose names I'd never bothered to learn.
#2:
Your co-workers don't automatically like you
I had
to earn respect: it didn't come to me just because my last name was
Hansen, or because I was going to college Respect came as I took
shifts for other people, or when I made sure the mayonnaise jar was
full (more on mayo later). It was lost when I had to ask for the
100th time if someone could show me how to clean the soda
machine spigots or when I fell for obvious practical jokes.
#3: Getting an A in
English doesn't always translate into good work ethic and
its sister truth: You are conspicuous when you watch TV
while on the job
That big-screen TV with ESPN rolling non-stop turned out
to be the bane of my employment. When business was slow, why bother
looking for little jobs to do when I could watch Anna Kornikova smash
the socks off of some hapless tennis opponent? I thought I was
discreet, watching TV from the corner of the kitchen doorway Turns
out I stuck out like a sore thumb when I failed to notice customer
arrivals and no one was at the cash register.
#4
Everyone has to take a turn cleaning the toilet
I had thought I was only hired to run the cash register.
Little did I know, I would be expected to make sandwiches, slice
meat, mix the special mushroom sauce, take phone orders without
forgetting about them, and, yes, clean restrooms. To make a business
run, everyone has to do a little more than he or she was “hired to
do”.
#5
Not everyone likes things the way you like them: or,
How I learned not to put too much mayonnaise on sandwiches
Did
you know that some people like mustard more than mayonnaise? I've
always thought that was pretty messed up. So I interpreted loosely
any customer instructions like “hold the mayo” or “extra
mustard.” That was before I had really learned about calories or
high cholesterol. And you know what? I couldn't force my love of
mayo on people just by continuing to add it to their sandwiches; in
fact, I got the privilege of re-making more than one sandwich that
was made exactly to my
specifications.
#6 You can always get
fired
And I
did. For not attending a mandatory meeting. And subsequently
rehired, but not until I endured the shame of getting fired.
Can
you imagine where I'd be if I hadn't gotten a job before beginning
real life? Not only did this job take my ego down a notch or two, but
it also helped me see what it takes to be a valued employee. And now,
working at a hospital, I think of my manager, Bones(!) DeGraffenried,
and I wonder if he would believe I ever survived in the real world.
And I would say, “Bones, I owe it to you.” Thank you, workplace,
for schooling me.
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