Swapping Clothes With Stranger Gets The Job Done
What would you be willing to do to get a job these days? Last week, I heard one of the best stories about what someone would do to get their first job in the sports field. It could have been a scene right out of a Hollywood movie. This was not one of those blog posts on the Internet that may or may not have been true. The student told me this story while attending the Long Beach State Sports management roundtable. If you do not know, I lead this event as the internship coordinator for the Long Beach State Sports Management program.
Quick background: The roundtable is an effort offered to new students. They are welcomed one evening very early in the 18-month program and introduced to 10 sports related companies. Last week, we welcomed organizations like The X Games, The Rose Bowl Stadium, the LA Galaxy, USA Volleyball, Special Olympics of Southern California and on and on. Each student is required to gain work experience via an internship. This requirement includes 100 hours minimum during the first semester and two hundred hours each of the other two semesters.
Well, I was floored when this new student told me what she did to gain an internship. If I remember the story correctly, she was standing in the hallway and heard that there was an opportunity with an organization, but was not dressed appropriately to speak with this hiring manager about working there. Now, she did something that I would never have thought nor ever could have pulled off. This woman, found someone who was about the same size, asked her to switch clothes for an impromptu interview and the stranger agreed to do it.
It was only an hour she told her. Well, long story short, the creative woman got the offer and is currently working there.
Once in a while, she told me, she sees this woman around. They smile, but it is an awkward smile, and then each moved on without really saying a word.
Amazing.
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