Careening Career
Flashback to the beginning of 2015 and it could be assumed I was on track for a promising career with Aramark. By then I had worked for Aramark for three solid years and had recently been accepted into their year-long management training program called Accelerate to Leadership. The program received 1,000+ applications but they only hired 150 people; I made the cut. It seemed like a promising opportunity and one that would relocate me away from Bellingham and into another city in the country. All signs pointed towards success but prior to explaining the bad, let me tell of the good.
Back in 2012 I had no idea that my new job as a dishwasher/janitor at Western Washington University's Viking Union would lead to anything more than steady paychecks. Work consisted of sweeping floors, mopping floors, scrapping dishes, putting away clean dishes and taking out the trash that had accumulated over the course of the day. The job was by no means fabulous. Many days I was given tasks I could not finish during my shift which caused me undue anxiety. No days challenged me more than days with catered events where the kitchen would be full of cooks producing an ungodly amount of sheet pans, bowls and dirty utensils. I stayed positive and always did the best I could with a smile on my face.
Aramark occupied 3 floors within the Viking Union and I spent most of my time on the fifth floor in the dish room. Thanks in part to my desire to become financially stable, I was always looking to work more. It began with just covering other janitorial shifts but eventually I was asked to help on the sixth floor in the food court. I helped work behind the scenes at Subway, Burger Studio and some days cashiered in the market. Switching up the monotony of dish washer life was great and I got to work alongside other people for a change. My wallet was pleased with the extra work and so were my managers.
There were four student managers who oversaw the operations in the VU and all of them were graduating from Western in the summer so their positions were up for grabs. I had no intention of applying. Supervising and telling people what to do seemed a daunting task so I continued taking extra shifts, learning how to do more tasks and becoming a jack of all trades employee who just was okay not moving up the ladder. To my surprise, one of my student managers approached me and recommended I apply. I honestly thought they were kidding. I didn't see myself taking their position but my manager insisted I try and even gave me a letter of recommend. I applied, interviewed, thought I bombed said interview and discovered before the end of term that I was one of the new student managers in the VU. Only six shorts months and already landed my first promotion!
For the following two and a half years I worked as a student manager, managing the staff within the VU. There was even a quarter where I was managing another location on campus known as Zoe's Bagels (the coffee shop housed in the library). I learned how to be a barista (which was my favorite job) but, more importantly, I also got exposure to scheduling, inventory and money handling. All managerial skills that matter. My new role merited me an extra dollar an hour plus a free meal plan that I did not hesitate to take full advantage of. Although the job had no direct relation to my studies in English Lit, it still was a mostly positive, resume building experience.
I almost left Aramark the summer before my graduation because I thought I could get into another field more in line with my studies but thankfully the director of retail operations on campus told me to reconsider and to even apply for the Accelerate to Leadership program. A few of my friends had been admitted to the program and were relocated to places like California with salaries around 50k/year. Apply I did and before I earned my degree I was offered a job in Minneapolis, MN with the program.
The time I spent working for Aramark was tough, rewarding and constantly pushing me to be in roles that I previously thought I wasn't capable of. It shaped me professionally, no doubt. Yet here I am, unemployed.
Last November I was offered to continue working at UMN in my current role but I was told by the program that if I wanted to transfer elsewhere I had to turn down my home offer to pursue another offer. I wanted to move back west to be closer (ish) to home so I opted not to stay. With my Fast-Track rating from the program and the reassurance that this would help guarantee a transfer, I had no worries about finding a new job. Aramark is all over the nation after all. Ever since January I had been working with a recruiter to find a new opportunity but I still have not found a job. What makes it worse is my recruiter keeps promising to talk to me and never follows through.
Basically, I am bitter and upset about the whole thing and I am now living at my parent's house. Here is to hoping there is a better opportunity waiting close by on the horizon.
Aramark occupied 3 floors within the Viking Union and I spent most of my time on the fifth floor in the dish room. Thanks in part to my desire to become financially stable, I was always looking to work more. It began with just covering other janitorial shifts but eventually I was asked to help on the sixth floor in the food court. I helped work behind the scenes at Subway, Burger Studio and some days cashiered in the market. Switching up the monotony of dish washer life was great and I got to work alongside other people for a change. My wallet was pleased with the extra work and so were my managers.
There were four student managers who oversaw the operations in the VU and all of them were graduating from Western in the summer so their positions were up for grabs. I had no intention of applying. Supervising and telling people what to do seemed a daunting task so I continued taking extra shifts, learning how to do more tasks and becoming a jack of all trades employee who just was okay not moving up the ladder. To my surprise, one of my student managers approached me and recommended I apply. I honestly thought they were kidding. I didn't see myself taking their position but my manager insisted I try and even gave me a letter of recommend. I applied, interviewed, thought I bombed said interview and discovered before the end of term that I was one of the new student managers in the VU. Only six shorts months and already landed my first promotion!
For the following two and a half years I worked as a student manager, managing the staff within the VU. There was even a quarter where I was managing another location on campus known as Zoe's Bagels (the coffee shop housed in the library). I learned how to be a barista (which was my favorite job) but, more importantly, I also got exposure to scheduling, inventory and money handling. All managerial skills that matter. My new role merited me an extra dollar an hour plus a free meal plan that I did not hesitate to take full advantage of. Although the job had no direct relation to my studies in English Lit, it still was a mostly positive, resume building experience.
I almost left Aramark the summer before my graduation because I thought I could get into another field more in line with my studies but thankfully the director of retail operations on campus told me to reconsider and to even apply for the Accelerate to Leadership program. A few of my friends had been admitted to the program and were relocated to places like California with salaries around 50k/year. Apply I did and before I earned my degree I was offered a job in Minneapolis, MN with the program.
The time I spent working for Aramark was tough, rewarding and constantly pushing me to be in roles that I previously thought I wasn't capable of. It shaped me professionally, no doubt. Yet here I am, unemployed.
Last November I was offered to continue working at UMN in my current role but I was told by the program that if I wanted to transfer elsewhere I had to turn down my home offer to pursue another offer. I wanted to move back west to be closer (ish) to home so I opted not to stay. With my Fast-Track rating from the program and the reassurance that this would help guarantee a transfer, I had no worries about finding a new job. Aramark is all over the nation after all. Ever since January I had been working with a recruiter to find a new opportunity but I still have not found a job. What makes it worse is my recruiter keeps promising to talk to me and never follows through.
Basically, I am bitter and upset about the whole thing and I am now living at my parent's house. Here is to hoping there is a better opportunity waiting close by on the horizon.
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