Movin' On Up

Back before the pandemic hit, I was an administrative assistant for 3 years. I loved the people i worked with but it was a very dull and boring job. The pro is that it paid well at $13.50 per hour and got paid weekly. I was unfortunately laid off because they ran out of funds from their grant for my salary. It was a non-profit organization so I can understand that. I worked in that position from 2015 - 2018.

I suffered a year as a free loader in my parents' house. Anxiety stricken, lack of confidence, and no sense of any form of self-love or self worth. I had interviews but none prevailed. I was not confident for anyone to want to hire me. I was at a loss for what to do and very discouraged from not working. I'm the type of person who is money hungry and enjoys feeling like it was money well earned by hard work.

I started to loosen my expectations on employment and started applying at places I would have not normally applied to like fast food restaurants and grocery stores. I ended up having a call from Burger King for an interview. I was dressed appropriately and took the interview more seriously than I probably should have. My anxiety engulfed me and it was obvious my lack of self-confidence. The GM, (Miss Felesia) saw something in me I hadn't seen in myself at the time. I never did ask her what that was.

Employed by Burger King really changed who I would become. being shy and having no self-confidence was really challenged by my duties. Working with customers and being as polite and following the motto "The customer is always right" as close as possible gained me regulars at the store, occasionally tips, and tons of praise for my extremely hard work would be fruitful in making me gain confidence in talking to complete strangers and overall in every day life.

Don't get me wrong, I love Burger King. It's like a family. but after a year and a half with developing a love hate relationship with the place I applied to other jobs. One being at Target in two different positions. By that point I was a completely different woman. I stopped second guessing what I was going to say, and glow with confidence in myself and what I was doing.

Target invited me to complete a video interview for their Tech Consultant position. I did the interview and admitted I may not be the best but I like to research, I enjoy socializing, I'm a friend and an ear to peers, I'm a very nice person who over the coarse of working in a fast paced food environment gained excellent customer service skills that have been noticed by employees and customers alike. One coworker had told a new girl "That's Selena, the nicest girl in the store" and customers have often praised my customer service skills and provided my name to the store survey system as "a reason to return to this store" I stumbled over my words slightly trying to find what to say but remained glowing in self-confidence. I didn't give run on answers. I kept them short and sweet and didn't retake any answer clips. That also showed I was fully confident in my responses.

A week later I had gotten a call from an unknown OHIO number, For some reason I had an urge to answer the call and it was an HR representative from Target. She introduced herself as my future supervisor and apologized for taking so long to respond to my interview that there were many applicants but she knew I would be the perfect fit for the position. I was in shock! I interviewed with purple hair and a 70's style dress which is a tad bold for an interview you've previously been rejected from doing. I was momentarily speechless and was also happy to receive the call. She directed me on the next steps of the hiring process and sent me a job offer and forms to fill via email. $15 an hour? as opposed to the $10.25 I currently make? and a title of Tech Consultant? It was a no brainer really.

Today is Saturday June 5th. I am giving my two weeks notice at BK to experience a different adventure in retail on June 21st. This is going to bean exciting journey into moving up in my employment potential. I cannot wait to learn more on the job of a new venue and keep working with people to provide my politeness and excellent customer service.

There are a lot of people I will miss at my former employment. I'm actually nervous about having to tell my GM that I'm leaving. It broke my heart to see my "work dad's" reaction. He was sad the rest of the day and you could really tell. He told me he'd miss me a lot. A co-worker who I've befriended and was actually the one I shadowed when I began my employment there was happy for me. She actually jumped up and down in excitement. I feel bad though because some of us were like a family. We would pick on one another and joke around. It was never a dull moment. Besides it was always busy and personal relationships have been formed with regulars. You could joke around with them in line or they would come to the speaker and the way they said your name, You knew exactly who was who.

I will never forget my BK family and I'm looking forward to the new days ahead.