here - The Corporate Ninja

Chapter Sixteen
The Right Path
Darleen Ghirardi
In 1995, I made a decision to change
professions. After several years of working in
restaurant management, I became interested
in the field of purchasing. I was always a saver
in my personal life, so the thought of being
able to save money on a larger scale for a big
corporation was intriguing to me.
A Step Down: Positioning Yourself for Future
Greatness
A position as a Food & Beverage Purchasing
Clerk became available at the hotel and casino
where I worked, so I applied for the position
and was delighted to make a successful
transition. Many times, when we are driven by
our passion, our friends tend to think we have
lost our minds! It was not surprising to me that
my friends thought I was crazy to go from a
management position to that of a clerk. Rather
than view this as a means to an end, they
saw this as a demotion. I, on the other hand,
considered it the opportunity of a lifetime…a
true gift.
What I didn’t know at the time was that my new
boss, the food and beverage purchasing agent,
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