I was very recently asked on a phone interview to describe an instance in any of my previous jobs where I went above and beyond the call of duty. These following instances are what I thought of, none of which are what I said (because I am not stupid):
I once had to identify an employee of my company after she refused to give her identity to the police. For those of you wondering what she did, she threw a hot drink in a pregnant woman's face. CLASSY DAME THAT ONE.
I once had to stop a grease trap from overflowing. I was literally shoveling grease into garbage bags while standing knee-deep in molding grease. It smelled far worse than you are imagining. FAR WORSE.
I once fell waist-deep into a deep fryer. It was off, but I did not know that at the time. Then, I had to empty the grease out and clean the thing because I INSTANTLY PEED when I fell in. (For those of you wondering, I was scraping grease off the ceiling at the time, and yes, this was a fast food job in high school.)
I once had federal marshals bust open the door to my place of employment looking for someone who listed the business's address as their last place of residence. Apparently he was wanted for armed robbery. I got to go home right after that, and yes, it was because I instantly peed. I tend to pee when I get really frightened. Please do not ever pop out and scare me.
I once had to check in someones old uniforms when we fired her. She graciously filled the bag with thongs. I didn't realize it until I was arm-deep into the bag. And yes, they were dirty. And yes, I burned all my arm hair off with chemical cleansers after that.
I was once slightly electrocuted because wires were crossed on the bay doors of our shipping area. I went back inside and called a repairman before I went home for the day.
Instead of saying any one of these things to the woman interviewing me, I mumbled something about being a team player and staying late when needed. I think I need to start being more honest in interviews. "When have I faced adversity in the workplace? Does having a federal marshal point a gun 5 inches from your face and scream at you to get down and tell him which one of us was Tyrone count? No? Huh. I guess then never."
I can't stop giggling at your pee defense...
ReplyDeleteWhew.
Did you pee when you were electrocuted? Sorry. You never have a normal day, do you. I know what you mean, though. I once caught a fetus during a surgical prep. Pt was having a D&C for miscarriage and her bag of water hadn't ruptured. I caught the whole thing while I was prepping. Scary.
ReplyDeleteThis is also the kind of thing you don't mention in a phone interview.
ReplyDeleteApparently peeing your pants is perfect for getting a day off. That was good to know.
ReplyDeleteOh man. See, I would have definitely peed then. That would have shocked me to my core.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, strangely I did not pee when I was electrocuted. It might have been because it was such a mild electrocution.
VERY MUCH SO.
ReplyDeleteWow. I thought I've gone above and beyond the call of duty, but your stories make mine look pathetic.
ReplyDeleteHahaha I have just held MANY a bad job in my lifetime is all. The less you get paid the more they expect you to do.
ReplyDeleteDumb question: why would any of these be actively bad to say? They're all crappy situations, but some of them (especially being knee-deep in fryer grease) definitely count as being above and beyond the call of duty. If nothing else, they're good war stories and demonstrate that you keep a cool head in an emergency.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Pandora. _Your_ aren't doing anything wrong in any of them, and it will make you stand out in the interviewers minds (I believe in a good way.)
ReplyDeleteI think I just need to find a way to tell these stories to a prospective employer that doesn't make my former employers LOOK BAD. And now I kind of own my own company (cats out of the bag - might as well talk about it!) of sorts (more like freelance, but whatevs) so I doubt I will be asked this question much more in the future.
ReplyDeleteI will HOWEVER be asking this question in the future, and you had better believe people who have worked in the fast food industry at some point will have the edge over Harvard grads any day in my book!
Well, other than peeing in a fryer, I guess I didn't do anything wrong. Huh.
ReplyDeleteI (un)fortunately don't have enough job experience to have any stories as "good" as those, the only really interesting story I have would be during my stint taking photos in the Underground Tour in Seattle.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who did it or WHY on earth they would do it but as he was leading his tour group through the passageway going out of the entrance area the photographers are at, one of the tour guides found an "unwanted surprise" on the ground.
Made me look differently at the tourists ever since :P
Dude, that sounds like an awesome job! And yeah "good" being subject to interpretation.
ReplyDeleteholy crap, you pee alot. are you on diaretics? no? just pee alot? okay.
ReplyDeleteI do pee a lot. The Buckaroo at my last job asked me once how many times a day I pee. The answer? anywhere from 16 to 24. NOT THAT YOU NEEDED TO KNOW THAT BUT NOW YOU DO.
ReplyDeleteI was laughing ALL the way through it… SO funny! Hehehe… imagine if we were obscenely honest to these questions during a job interview?
ReplyDeleteRight? I should try it anyhow! Just for the giggles of it.
ReplyDelete[...] ,Things I have done at work that I wish I hadn't [...]
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc0ogOzdZYU&feature=related (he's a very funny dude if you haven't seen that before!)
ReplyDelete[...] to you, and you would be thinking to yourself “That’s that girl with that blog who pees when she gets frightened!” And frankly, I rather enjoy people I work with not knowing that delightful little fact [...]
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