Next week, I have an interview scheduled with a teacher candidate that will not remember me when we meet. When I reviewed her paperwork, I remembered her instantly! In fact, she was one of my many supervisors during one of my more formal employment experiences. I was a college student studying special education and in search of a summer job that both fit the resume I was trying to build but allowed me the chance to live away from home. Becoming a camp counselor did just that!
I was hired my first year as a CIT (Counselor in Training) and then moved up to counselor. The following summer, I was able to work at the Headquarters Station running basic logistics for the campground. I learned to make announcements, create and follow schedules, perform emergency drills, and interact with various members of the camp community.
I was woefully underqualified to become a camp counselor. I still can't pick poison ivy out in the woods and scream at alarming decibels at the sight of snakes. I hate swimming and the thought of a kayak race stresses me out. Navigating a mountain hike was never something I had done before and carrying enough cargo to create an edible stew for 12 using Spam was not in my wheelhouse.
Yet, I did like to play basketball and took pleasure in photography and almost anything art related. I enjoyed helping kids and tried to find humor in most situations. I wasn't the ideal candidate to be chosen for a position at camp, but was so ecstatic when I was given the chance.
I like to think I was hired for what I could learn how to do and not for what I couldn't do. Someone, somewhere on that hiring team could see that I cared about becoming a teacher and helping children. I am thankful they saw that.
In so much of our work, I think it's easier to hire for skill alone. What puts a candidate above another is when you consider what "heart" they bring to the job. I've worked with many a new employee to teach or re-teach skills that may have needed improvement. Skills like preparing paperwork or increasing communication have needed remediation. The teaching part is always able to occur.
What we can't teach is heart. I can't teach, beg, bribe or convince the few reluctant others to care about students. I can't always convince some adults to forgive or hold onto hope -- try as hard as I might. These adults are the exception to those I meet and interact with but there are a few that resist.
I am looking forward to this interview next week. It will be a chance for me to tell her thank you for giving me a chance in her organization. Thank you for hiring me heart over skill and allowing me the chance to learn so much about myself. I've known the why for a long time.
It's the what I've needed more practice with.
I remain thankful to the teachers I have had and will continue to have along the way that help me with this.
I was hired my first year as a CIT (Counselor in Training) and then moved up to counselor. The following summer, I was able to work at the Headquarters Station running basic logistics for the campground. I learned to make announcements, create and follow schedules, perform emergency drills, and interact with various members of the camp community.
I was woefully underqualified to become a camp counselor. I still can't pick poison ivy out in the woods and scream at alarming decibels at the sight of snakes. I hate swimming and the thought of a kayak race stresses me out. Navigating a mountain hike was never something I had done before and carrying enough cargo to create an edible stew for 12 using Spam was not in my wheelhouse.
Yet, I did like to play basketball and took pleasure in photography and almost anything art related. I enjoyed helping kids and tried to find humor in most situations. I wasn't the ideal candidate to be chosen for a position at camp, but was so ecstatic when I was given the chance.
I like to think I was hired for what I could learn how to do and not for what I couldn't do. Someone, somewhere on that hiring team could see that I cared about becoming a teacher and helping children. I am thankful they saw that.
In so much of our work, I think it's easier to hire for skill alone. What puts a candidate above another is when you consider what "heart" they bring to the job. I've worked with many a new employee to teach or re-teach skills that may have needed improvement. Skills like preparing paperwork or increasing communication have needed remediation. The teaching part is always able to occur.
What we can't teach is heart. I can't teach, beg, bribe or convince the few reluctant others to care about students. I can't always convince some adults to forgive or hold onto hope -- try as hard as I might. These adults are the exception to those I meet and interact with but there are a few that resist.
I am looking forward to this interview next week. It will be a chance for me to tell her thank you for giving me a chance in her organization. Thank you for hiring me heart over skill and allowing me the chance to learn so much about myself. I've known the why for a long time.
It's the what I've needed more practice with.
I remain thankful to the teachers I have had and will continue to have along the way that help me with this.
"People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." - Simon Sinek
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