Article January 30, 2012 Issue

You're hired!

By Gwen Umbach

Courtesy photo

This past spring, I decided to apply for a summer job. I went around collecting a total of 12 applications from restaurants, shoe stores, and other random places around my town in New York. My brother, Jeremy, drove me around all over gathering up these applications, taking three hours out of his day for me. 

A few days after getting these applications, I had high hopes of finding a job somewhere. My mom took me out to lunch, and we sat there for four hours working on finishing all the applications, and my résumé to go along with them. I had not yet taken any time to pray about the situation, and at that point I did not feel it was necessary. Everything was going well, and I was sure I was going to get a job.

The next day, my brother drove me around (yet again) to drop off the applications. We started at a new local pizza place. I politely asked to speak with the manager, and handed him my application while introducing myself. He listened to my introduction with a smile, then I watched his smile slowly fade away as he told me I was not old enough to be a waitress and they were not hiring hostesses. He assured me they would keep my name on file and would contact me if they needed any help. This kind of response became a trend for the next 11 places I went to. 

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