Phillip was a bright teenager—his teachers rewarded him for being independent and not asking questions. His parents liked that he could get things done without their help. In every avenue, it felt like Phillip’s strength was never asking a question.
“I’m looking for a job,” Phillip announced to his friend group at lunch one day. Without having to ask for help, his friend Mason had a lead.
“My job is always hiring,” Mason said. He texted his staffing coordinator, who immediately responded that Phillip should just come in that day. All he needed was black pants and an ID.
Once they arrived, the staffing coordinator handed Phillip a hat. There was no interview where questions could be asked. There was just a W2 form, a form no one knows how to fill out, and no one is allowed to tell you how to fill it out. Phillip picked the wrong answer on the W2, and it led to some tax problems down the road.
Phillip was told to find his work location. He wandered around but never asked for directions. Finally, he found the place he felt that he should be. He tried to mimic what the other workers were doing. He did not ask any questions.
At one point, a colleague sent him to get supplies. Phillip did what he was told and came back. However, shortly after that, a supervisor came back and asked why Phillip hadn’t cleared the supplies request with the supervisor. Phillip didn’t even know that was a question he should ask.
Phillip made it through the day. He never asked a question.
At the end of the night, the staffing coordinator took Philip’s shirt for washing. There was no further interaction. Phillip didn’t know when he would work again.
The next day, the staffing coordinator called Phillip. “Where are you?”
“No one told me I was working today.”
“I only hired you for this weekend.”
By then, it was too late to get down there for the shift. Luckily, when Phillip arrived the next day, enough people had not shown up to replace him, so he kept the job.
At the end of the night, he finally worked up the courage to ask his first question. “How do I find out my upcoming schedule?”
“When can you work?” the staffing coordinator asked.
“Every day all summer.”
“As long as you show up, we’ll take you.”
Phillip didn’t question the dysfunction of that statement. Why would he?
A Sideways Guide to Keeping First Jobs helps navigate the absurd, confusing world teenagers find themselves in at their first job. It’s amazing how diverse their blind spots are as they take their first steps into the real world. This guide features Those Stories that expose the pitfalls and potholes of the first-job landscape. It’s something we all try to survive—and most of us leave with fiction that makes more sense than the real stories from that time.