What touched me about this story was the fact she said I was that person that was kind and helped others even when no one was looking. Then she told me this story. I have adapted it a little, so it would not be copyrighted).
Job Interview (told to me by a friend)
There was once a young man; we will name Brian, that lived in a loving family. They were very traditional in their ways and expectations. There was a father and mother. Both worked; however, they worked together to maintain the household and family unit. One of their expectations of their son was to keep his room clean and tidy. The next was to pick things up off the floor. To scoot chairs in when he got up from the table. To clean up after himself instead of expecting others to clean up after him.
Brian told himself that when he grew up, he would move out of the house. He would do what he wanted to do. No longer following these silly rules. Living the life that he wanted. Brian graduated from high school and prepared to look for a job. Brain went from job interview to job interview and had no luck. Finally, a job interview showed up online for an advertising company that was a Fortune 500 company. The position sounded promising, and Brian applied for the job. The interview was going to be on Monday at 11 am, and Brian was expected to dress business casual with a resume and references. The interview would determine the best candidate for the job.
Brian worked hard getting all his references and resume typed and printed and getting his outfit and shoes together. His parents knew this job would be best for him from reading the job description. Brian was very artistic and creative and had an attention to detail. He was known in his school to be a team player by working on the yearbook staff and his involvement in clubs. The day of the interview came. Brian went to the lobby and met the secretary. He was a half hour early. The secretary seemed exasperated. She said that the boss was upstairs on the seventh floor, and she wanted to tell people to go to the seventh floor for the interview. He apologized and said that he was not told the interview was on the seventh floor and asked how to get to that to that level. She said you have to take the stairs for this interview and go through each room to the seventh floor. (This was part of the interview. However, Brian did not know it.) Brian agreed and proceeded to the first floor. On the first floor, there were things on the floor, things left on the table, and chairs out, and the room was a mess. Most would have left the room as it was.l Not Brian. He proceeded to clean the room. He remembered his mother’s words and left the room spotless. Then he went to the second floor. Same thing. He cleaned the room. Brian went from room to room and cleaned. He was embarrassed and puzzled. Probably the boss would have given up on him by now. By the time he gets to the seventh floor, the boss would have already found a new candidate. Finally, Brian got to the seventh floor, and the candidates who were waiting for that were looking very impatient. They had been waiting for hours. Brian sat down. He looked at, watch, and realized that the time was later than he had expected to have gotten to the seventh floor and sank into his chair. A secretary saw Brian and walked into the boss’s office. The boss called for Brian. The potential candidates that had been waiting were very angry because Brian had come in after them.
Brian was puzzled. However, he stepped into the boardroom where the boss was. “Hello. Let me introduce myself. I am Samuel Hughes. I understand that this was a strange interview. I know you were expecting to sit down and talk about your character, references, and what you have done. I needed to know if you were a team player. What you would do for this company? You see, what makes a difference to make a company successful is what you do for good when no one is looking. Brian, you are that man. I want you to be the one who works for this company and becomes one of our key personnel. Brian asked, “How did you know what I did? How were you able to see me?” Samuel said, “I had a close circuit camera in each room watching as you cleaned, moved chairs in, and made each boardroom clean for the next person or business coming in. No other candidate even considered what impact this task would have. it was not part of their job description. Brian was given the starting pay amount, the 401k, stocks, and HSA/HRA/HFA. would be, and a look at his new office. A beautiful look at the skyline of the city.
Samuel shook Brian’s hand and said to meet with the secretary to complete the paperwork. When Brian got home, he thanked his parents for teaching him life lessons about responsibility and hard work. He decided to stay, at least temporarily at home to learn more life lessons as he was prepared to start a new life.
