I was with my son this past weekend doing some shopping for school clothes. He told us he wanted some new jeans for school.
So off we went to the mall to go back to the store where he bought his last pairs of jeans. He likes the fit of that brand and doesn’t want to get any others at this point. So he went to the shelves and he picked out two pairs. He went to the dressing room to try them on.
As we were checking out, I was amazed at the price of the jeans. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I find it even more amazing the condition of the jeans. They were worn, faded, and had holes in them. “Heckâ€, I told my wife, “Maybe I should rummage through my closet. I probably have a couple hundred bucks worth of jeans in there that are faded and have tears and holes in them.â€
But I guess that’s the style of the day. Kids are used to picking a pair of jeans off the shelf and getting that used broken-in look and fit right away. A few years ago you would pull a stiff pair of dark blue jeans off the shelf and wear them with that “new jean†look for a few months until finally they got broken in and fit pretty good. Then, after a few years, they became extremely comfortable with a few holes, tears, and not much of the original dark-blue color left.
Unfortunately it seems some of the younger mechanics coming out of school have the same attitude towards a job. I recently talked with a director of maintenance who told me quite a few job applicants would come in for an interview dressed like they were going to the beach. They would then turn down a job offer (if they were lucky to get one) because it only paid $15.00/hour.
Although you may be able to buy a worn pair of jeans with holes right off the shelf, you can’t expect to come out of school and be a seasoned mechanic. Be patient. Everyone will know that you are the new guy. But if you go in with an open mind and positive attitude, others will be more than willing to help you fit more comfortably into your new job. Career success will follow naturally.
Thanks for reading!
Joe Escobar
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