Photo credit: JD Hancock / Foter.com / CC BYPhoto credit: JD Hancock / Foter.com / CC BY
My son is looking for a summer job. He went through our neighbourhood dropping off resumes. Guess where he got his first interview?
Our local bong shop.
Really.
He came home excited as all get out. He scored an interview on his first go. He has a real appreciation for this because he has grown up hearing about tough job searches at the dinner table.
When I furrowed my brow, he pointed out to me that if he found something he was passionate about, it would not seem like work at all.
For Pete’s sake.
Then I decided that he would learn some good lessons about customer care, working in a regulated environment and maybe how to serve good snacks. That would not be so bad on a resume.
So here’s the thing: it does not matter what we, the parents, think about our kids first or second jobs.
We blather on about kids finding their passion in the hopes that they will find it before we did. A first job is not about passion. It’s about a pay cheque and hopefully some valuable lessons about what you don’t like.
A couple of those kinds of experiences will point you in the direction of your first real job. The one that you would do for free. The one that you think about when you are sleeping. The one that’s really important. Maybe you will get that job before you are 30, maybe you won’t. But don’t let your parents bring you down on this. Just learn how to rope all your experiences into a really good story and practice telling it.
So he sells smoking accessories. Is that really worse than flipping burgers or mowing grass? Not to me. And certainly not to him.
Peace out.
