Every summer I pick up a summer job to make money that I can
leisurely spend throughout the year. I always look for lucrative full-time
opportunities that I know will provide me with sufficient hours to
generate a large source of income. Ever since I turned 16 I was always looking for
jobs, so I could make that extra money and gain my financial independence. I
first real job was working as a Beach Crew Attendant at the La Jolla Beach and
Tennis club. This was a standard entry level service job that required me to
help customers set up beach equipment on the resort’s private beach. This job
was extremely active and tiring as I was working 40 hours a week under the heat
of the sun. The pay-out was very good as I frequently got tips for helping
resort members with their beach set ups.
I worked this same job for two consecutive
summers. Then this last school year someone brought to my attention the possibility
of becoming a food runner. Supposedly the hours were much better and the tip
outs were higher and more consistent. As comfortable as I was at the Beach and
Tennis club, I knew I had to take initiative on this opportunity to try
something new and hopefully make even more money. I went for it.
I applied
to work at the Hotel Del Coronado as a seasonal part time food runner. Before I
knew it I got the interview and within hours of walking out of the interview I
was hired. As exciting as this was I was incredibly nervous. I’ve never worked
in the food industry. Even though I had my fair share of service experience I
would frequently find myself extremely concerned for this new field of work.
I found myself
reading an article on Forbes which spoke about the acceptable times that you
can “Fake it till you make it”, were they discussed the importance of
confidence and acting confidently. It spoke on the topic of mush faking and seeming
diligent in a specific skillset in the work place initially until you truly develop
actually develop the skills on the job. To reinstate my confidence on my first
days on the job I did a lot of mush faking.
I found myself taking “confident”
initiative on the tasks handed to me so I can seem as if I had much more
experience in the food service industry. I would interact with costumers in a
very mainstream and predictable way which made it seem as if I actually dealt
with these types of costumers. When making food runs I would be extremely
ambitious and quick to make it seem as if I was already hard working but in reality,
I was merely learning the proper procedures. It took me roughly 2 weeks of mush
faking for me to actually learn the skills necessary I needed for the job. The glory
of these two weeks is that no one but myself knew that I didn’t actually know
what I was doing.
Hey Bernardo!
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand the fear of working in food, and respect the initiative that you took to try something that was a little out of your comfort zone. Working in food can be stressful, unorganized, and frankly kind of a shit-show at times. For me it was always about faking it, and just giving my best effort as food runner and hoping that no one would know that I was truly just making it up as I went. Acting confident is important for all aspects of life, and people tend to feed off of confident energy, the moment your coworkers or peers sense that you are panicking, it is hard to regain their view of you as a confident worker. Thankfully, it is important to keep in mind that most people don't actually know what they are doing and that you are all essentially "mushfaking" together!