My first job

My life changed on a sunny Thursday morning when I decided to apply at El Pollo Loco. El Pollo Loco located on Saviers and Channel Island on the south side if Oxnard. My friend Giovanni had told me they were hiring so I decided to go and apply. As I was driving away, I passed by Toppers Pizza. As I passed by I wondered if they were hiring. I hesitated to go in and ask but for some reason I decided to go and check. As I walked in, I saw a hiring poster. I walked up to the cashier and asked her for an application. She handed it to me and I went to my white Honda and filled it in. Once I was done I went back to the store and I turned it in, hoping for an opportunity that would change my life.

As I drove off onto Saviers Road I prayed that I would get a call soon. I had just finished the 2012 spring semester at Ventura College and I was going to have all summer to do nothing. I wanted to get a job before fall semester started so I could have some money saved up to pay for classes or my books. That same day after I drove off, I went to Annie, my best friend's house. I told her about my application and she was also hoping I would get a call soon. Around 3:30pm I decided to go home. As I was waiting on a red light on the corner of Vineyard and Oxnard Boulevard, I got a call from Kenny, the Toppers store manager. I was afraid to get a call so soon and also because I was talking on the phone while driving. While I was on the phone with Kenny, I was nervous. He asked me if I could go to an interview with him at 5:00p.m. on that same day, I said "I would love to." After that, I was done talking to him. Right away, I called my best friend Annie, my two sisters, and my mom to tell them about the good news. After that I went home and I got something to eat and then I went to the interview hoping for the best.

It was 4:40p.m. when I got at Toppers for my interview. I had to wait twenty minutes until Kenny the store manager got there. As I waited, the other employees were really friendly to me. They asked me what position I was applying for. The nicest person there that day was the assistant manager Azucena. When 5:00p.m. came Kenny got there and we started my interview. Kenny seemed like a nice guy but he was really intimidating as well. He asked me about school and he also asked me if I just wanted to work during the summer or if I was planning on working there longer. I told him I wanted to work there longer not just during the summer. As the interview went on he hired me on the spot. He told me the salad bar lady Agueda was going to be gone for six weeks because she was having a baby and I would have to cover for her. He also told me that when Agueda was back I would be moving to making pizzas or to cashier. I agreed with the offer and I was ready and excited to start working. Before I could start working, I had to go home and do a healthy food test online. The test was fifteen dollars. I had to read for about two hours and I had to get 70% or better in order to get my health food certificate. The test was long and boring but I was able to pass with 83%. That same Thursday I went back to Toppers and I turn in my certificate to Kenny. After I gave it to him, he gave me a paper with the things I would be able to wear to work. He also gave me the Toppers office address so I could go there and get my uniform. The next day I went to the office at 8am. They gave me two Toppers shirts, a visor and an apron. 

Once I had my things I called Kenny and told him I had my work stuff ready. That same Friday morning he scheduled me to go in and work at 5:00p.m. I agreed and I was scare and nervous to go in and work. I had to wait about five minutes to be able to clock in because once again I had gotten there earlier than I should of. Once I clocked in, my training began and with that I realized how hard it was to keep the salad bar clean and filled up all day. For about an hour I had to read a book about how to work the salad bar. After I was done with the reading, one of the assistant managers started my training. The assistant manager that trained me was named John. He had long hair. He was real nice and he was also good looking. He showed me everything I needed to learn about the salad bar. One of the most important things I learned was the phrase "first in first out," which means that whatever goes in first has to come out first and be put on top of the new item. Another thing I learned was the rules of the salad bar. I had to make sure people didn't abuse the salad bar. I had to make sure they only went once and I also had to make sure they didn't take advantage of the croutons and the ranch. The next day was a Saturday and I had work in the afternoon. It was a busy Saturday but luckily I had Danny to help me keep the salad bar clean and to go over the things I had learned the day before. She was really nice and told me about a lady that was hired to work salad bar but she quit after only one day of working. As the day went on that Saturday night I realized why the lady had quit. The salad bar is the most complicated position to work at Toppers. After that day I had to work the salad bar for about two months. Things got better and easier as time went by.

Working at Toppers has giving me the chance to have a first good working experience. Working there I learned to value my money more than I had before I started working. It made me realize how hard people work for their money. I worked six days a week for about forty hours weekly. Once I got my paycheck the money would go by so fast. I had trouble saving. I didn't know how to handle my money. As weeks went by, my mom decided to charge me for rent and bills. She thought that way I could have an idea of how much harder it would be if I was on my own. She stopped charging me after a while but since I realized how much money is wasted in rent and bills, I decided to give her some money every time I got my paycheck so she could have it easier on her.

Another thing I learned from my first job at Toppers was to keep my life balanced. I had to learn to balance work, school, soccer, and my social life. I had to make sure I kept up with everything I was doing. With all this going on, I had to make sure I didn't slack off on anything because then I would be stressing over everything I had going on in my life. Another thing I learned was to be more responsible and make sure I took responsibility for the things I did whether they were good or bad.

Toppers has been a great working experience. It has showed me a lot of things I wouldn't have learned if I was to stay home doing nothing all summer. It has also made me a better more mature responsible person. I have to make sacrifices since I’ve been working there but it has only made me realized that sometime you can’t get all you want and you have to make sacrifices. It has also made me appreciate my friends and family more since I have less time to spend with them.