A Collection Introduction | Work. I Hate Work | My First Pink Slip | The Proverbial Crossroads | The Grand Transition | Passion Personified
After my Mellon internship, I had a little bit of a tough time finding my second co-op job. After going to a temp agency, they got me a gig at Au Bon Pain’s corporate office in South Boston. My manager, whose name I will not say, because she probably has no idea who I am, introduced my to duties. From 9am-5pm everyday I was supposed to spell check closed accounts. I hated this job, but I needed the co-op credit so I grinned and bared it. I explained to my manager that I need to register for classes online one day, which she said was ok. That day came only to have her come to my desk and yell at me for not spell checking closed accounts. I was mad. Instead of being a grown up where I explained myself, I went on my lunch break. I haven’t been back since.
I did myself no favors because I needed a job for my co-op credit. My new temp agency (the guy at the other agency had a few profanity laced choice words for me) set me up with a job at Trigen Energy Corporation in Boston. My role was the entire accounts payable department. Whenever someone needed to be paid I was the guy who cut the checks. I had all the power. I loved this job. I was paid $10/hour which was less than the $16/hr I was getting at Au Bon Pain, but I was a valuable member of the team, which is why I loved this job. If I was sick, no one got paid. At Mellon or ABP if I was sick, neither company would skip a beat. Everything was going great until my manager brought me into her office. She explained they needed to make budget cuts and my position was being eliminated. I got fired because my role was not integral to the companies operations.
I was devastated. I decided when I was CEO of my own company, everyone would feel important and that I would sacrifice as much as I could before making someone feel as bad as I felt. Being fired because you are nonessential is a tough pill to swallow.
LeRoy J. Watkins III 