Little Extras

My son got a job last week. This is a huge accomplishment, since he’s been looking for quite a while. In a sign of our poor economy, 350 people showed up to interview for 22 job openings at a newly renovated and reopening theater in town.

My sixteen-year-old, let’s call him Doc, managed to snag one of those 22 jobs. It’s very likely that most of the applicants were more qualified or experienced than him. What did he do to get noticed, to stand out above the other 349 people?

He worked. Most people who applied stayed just long enough to turn in their applications and be interviewed, but Doc stuck around. He realized that this theater was set to open in a matter of days, and there was lots of work still to be finished. So while he waited for the job announcements, he found someone in charge and offered to help, no strings attached. There were maybe five applicants—all kids—who were willing to work without getting paid. All but Doc were girls.

Doc left my house before eight in the morning, and didn’t come home until seven thirty that evening. But when he got there, he was glowing, because they’d offered him a job and given him a first day schedule.

That’s what he did to stand out and be noticed. To rise above the sea of others who all either needed or wanted that job as badly as him.

We all want something in life that seems either unattainable or just out of reach. The question is are we doing everything we can to rise above the other people who want similar things? Are we giving back to the community and to the world, or do we just expect to be “chosen” on our excellent qualifications and pretty smiles? Sometimes it comes down to all the little extras. Do you want your big thing bad enough to work for it?