The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture
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No Job Is Beneath You
I T’S BEEN well-documented that there is a growing sense of
entitlement among young people today. I have certainly seen that in my
classrooms.
So many graduating seniors have this notion that they
should be hired because of their creative brilliance. Too many
are unhappy with the idea of starting at the bottom.
My advice has always been: “You ought to be thrilled you got a job
in the mailroom. And when you get there, here’s what you do: Be really
great at sorting mail.”
No one wants to hear someone say: “I’m not good at sorting mail
because the job is beneath me.” No job should be beneath us. And if
you can’t (or won’t) sort mail, where is the proof that you can do
anything?
After our ETC students were hired by companies for internships or
first jobs, we’d often ask the firms to give us feedback on how they were
doing. Their bosses almost never had anything negative to say about their
abilities or their technical chops. But when we did get negative feedback,
it was almost always about how the new employees were too big for their
britches. Or that they were already eyeing the corner offices.
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