Always Be Yourself and Never Lie

This post goes out to all the college graduates who think that the first job they get should be at an executive level. We all have been there, thinking to ourselves, "I could run this place and make so much more money than they are now". If you get cocky, it never looks good no matter which way you slice it. Here is a story to prove it.

One of the things you'll hear most when going into interviews, looking for careers, or just talking to people is, "always be yourself". You have no idea how many times I've heard this from my parents, family, friends, professors...and well, pretty much everyone I know. Sadly, even with everyone telling me to "be myself" and "not to be fake" I had to learn it the hard way a many years ago.

Let me set the stage. A 16 year old high school kid is looking to make a few bucks or two to buy a car and take out a girl on a nice date. Never having worked a day in his life, he doesn't know where to begin. Driving around with friends, looking for anywhere that has a "Hiring- Inquire Within" sign, finally he sees a small breakfast joint.

I never was the person who thought that one job was more important than another, to some extent. But, when I found out that I was about to apply to be a cook at this small neighborhood joint, I thought I was hitting the jackpot. Hear me out here. The only way this place made money was by selling food, so as the cook I would have been creating the sole product that made money for this restaurant--how awesome would that be! The only problem was that I had been a vegetarian my entire life and to tell you the truth I had no idea how to make anything remotely breakfast-y, let alone anything meat-related.

Fast forward to the interview. I was nervous, sweaty, and pretty much crapping my pants because I had told the owner that I make breakfast foods all the time at home (strike 1). When he brought me in front of the grill and told me to make him 2 eggs and some bacon, I swear I was having an out of body experience. Being an avid Food Network channel watcher, I grabbed an egg with one hand and figured, "How hard can it be to crack an egg like an expert?" (strike 2). I smacked the egg on the side of a bowl with one hand and before I knew it, had raw egg everywhere.

"Okay", I thought to myself, "I'll redeem myself with the bacon". Mind you, this was the first time I had ever touched raw meat before, so I had no idea what I was doing. I slathered about 1/5 of a stick of butter on the grill then put the bacon right on it (strike 3). It was a shit show. I looked up and the owner was laughing at me.

All in all, I thought I was above the job. I learned the hard (and very embarrassing) way that even what you consider the a "menial" or "low-level" job requires dedication, hard work, and staying true to yourself. I got cocky, and I made an absolute fool of myself. I have never again have I fell in that trap to date. Always be yourself and never lie.