Is a Pen Mightier than a Sword?
I have lived a spoiled and privileged life, almost by accident. At 16, I decided it was time to get a job. But I saw two challenges that limited my prospects. I didn't have a driver license and I didn't have my own car. Together these issues limited the scope of where I would look for employment. To my teenage mind, my job needed to be close enough to walk. So one Saturday morning my brother dropped me off at the nearest fast food restaurant along a local street lined with Skippers, McDonald's, Wendy's and more.
When I walked into the first restaurant I approached the counter and requested a job application. The manager handed me the sheet of paper and invited me to take a seat and fill it out. Only then did I realize that I had nothing with me to actually fill out the document. The man smiled at me and said, "When you come to apply for a job, young man, you need to be prepared. That means bring your own pen." He invited me to come back as soon as I was really ready and had my own pen to use.
Believing that I would meet the same response from any potential employer, I walked home dejected and wondering how I could be so stupid and how that manager could be so rude. On one hand, I knew that he had a valid point; it only makes sense that I should have been prepared to actually fill out the application and then have the interview the same day. I also reasoned that he should have known that, as a fast food restaurant, his establishment might attract potential employees who had never applied for a job before and might not know these unwritten rules. That experience soured my desire to put myself out there fearing that I would make some error that would preclude me from employment.
At the same time, my weekend schedules of debate tournaments ramped up at such a rate that I had very little free time to work because my weekends were already occupied. So it was almost a year before I even thought about looking for other work. This time, I just asked another brother, who had recently returned from law school in Oklahoma, if there was a chance I could get a job at his title insurance office. A few months later he invited me to go into his office and meet his boss. Turns out they needed someone who could make photocopies of deeds from their on-site microfilm plant.
I couldn't believe my fortune. I wouldn't have to wear a uniform, the pay was better than any fast food restaurant and on my first day at the office, they gave me a key to the place and told me to lock up when I was done. That first job inspired me to always look for the best job I could find. And I didn't even take a pen.
When I walked into the first restaurant I approached the counter and requested a job application. The manager handed me the sheet of paper and invited me to take a seat and fill it out. Only then did I realize that I had nothing with me to actually fill out the document. The man smiled at me and said, "When you come to apply for a job, young man, you need to be prepared. That means bring your own pen." He invited me to come back as soon as I was really ready and had my own pen to use.
Believing that I would meet the same response from any potential employer, I walked home dejected and wondering how I could be so stupid and how that manager could be so rude. On one hand, I knew that he had a valid point; it only makes sense that I should have been prepared to actually fill out the application and then have the interview the same day. I also reasoned that he should have known that, as a fast food restaurant, his establishment might attract potential employees who had never applied for a job before and might not know these unwritten rules. That experience soured my desire to put myself out there fearing that I would make some error that would preclude me from employment.
At the same time, my weekend schedules of debate tournaments ramped up at such a rate that I had very little free time to work because my weekends were already occupied. So it was almost a year before I even thought about looking for other work. This time, I just asked another brother, who had recently returned from law school in Oklahoma, if there was a chance I could get a job at his title insurance office. A few months later he invited me to go into his office and meet his boss. Turns out they needed someone who could make photocopies of deeds from their on-site microfilm plant.
I couldn't believe my fortune. I wouldn't have to wear a uniform, the pay was better than any fast food restaurant and on my first day at the office, they gave me a key to the place and told me to lock up when I was done. That first job inspired me to always look for the best job I could find. And I didn't even take a pen.
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