How and When I Got Hired

The quote "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." from Mark Anthony has been very meaningful to my young career. Even before I had a career, I was not interested in any job that would pay me to work, I was somewhat selective. Now this may have been for better or worse, but that is still to be seen.

When I was hired as an Intern I knew that my time was limited and that I had to make a long lasting impression, whether or not I wanted to remain at the company. While I have thought my work ethic has always been one of my strengths, I wanted my coworkers to realize this on their own.  This went along well with my goal of self promotion, even if it did not lead to a career with the company. Self promotion is a big part of networking. There is only one reason someone will truly remember your name, and that is if you made a lasting impression. Here is where it gets difficult. That may have been a bad impression. Showing up to an interview in cargo shorts, bad impression. Being able to comfortably address someone and relate to them on a personal level, good impression. If I could pick one outfit to wear for the rest of my life, most of my family and friends would be able to recognize that I would be in slippers, gym shorts and a t-shirt. However, when I am at work, you would never know.

I was hired as an Intern in May and accepted a full time position in August. Once again an opportunity presented itself and I capitalized on it. This was not handed to me, nor was it expected, but it was earned. There was an employee in an entry level position that decided it was in his best interest to leave the company, thus opening an entry level position for me to pursue. I slept on the idea of applying for the position since I am still in school I wasn't sure that I would even qualify for it. After a quick discussion with my boss the next day it was clear that they wanted me to stay with the company. That night I submitted my application on the companies website, and the nerves came flooding in. I cannot remember what I did the rest of the night, but I remember the next day couldn't come soon enough. I did not hear anything at all during the next business day, so the nerves continued to build. This was when I realized I had just watched a video that related to this.

I am a big fan of the author and motivational speaker, Simon Sinek. He has talked on a lot of large stages and brought to attention a lot of curious things that as humans I believe we are quick to overlook. The video I watched was a little over an hour long, but here is a clip describing how he feels about being nervous. There wasn't much time between applying for the position and hearing back from my company, but because I interpreted it as being nervous, it felt like decades. It took them 3 business days to offer me the job, of which I excitedly accepted. 

My First Event as an Intern

Being a full time student is difficult. Getting a job out of college is more difficult, but no one ever talks about how difficult it is to find a relative internship that will benefit your education and career path.

Since 2012 I worked in the bicycle industry selling and working on bicycles. This was one of my favorite jobs, but it became clear it was not a career. The hours were long and the pay was low, until I met the best boss I ever had. He taught me more about contributing to the workforce than any class I had ever taken. Unfortunately, I had to leave his shop to pursue other opportunities. He understood and supported me as if I was his son.

Networking was not always my strong suit, as I tend to be shy and have a hard time remembering names. I learned how to meet people, but then could not recall them if I ran into them after that. My dad spent a lot of time mentoring me on how to be a gentleman and what chivalry is. He introduced me to his co-workers who quickly took me under their wing and helped me as best as they could. My work ethic and willingness to learn grabbed their attention and they helped me promote myself to HR departments searching for an intern.

I was handed an opportunity in the form of an email address. I wrote an email and attached a resume. In the email I talked about my personality and my desire to grow as a person and employee. I sent it off to whomever would receive it, not knowing it was the CEO and managing partner of the company. He responded to me within 2 hours and informed me that they were unsure whether or not they were hiring an intern and that he would get back to me. Two days later I scheduled and interview, and two days after that I was offered an Internship.

Fast forward a week, when I was done with the required training, I met the project manager of my first event. She threw me in the deep end of a 5 foot pool. Enough water to drown, but enough help to succeed. I could have spent my summer fetching coffee and bagels, but life had another plan for me. I worked on this event until I didn't know what was left to do, then I asked for more assignments and completed them too. The event was the Ford Freedom Award. On the front end it went off without a hitch, which is all that really matters. We worked our tails off to make it all happen, and I got my first taste of a successful event that has made a difference in people's lives. It hit me like a drug, and now I'm hooked.