When is it ok to kill the Intern?
how bad he messed up my files. For those that don’t know, I work in entertainment. I write contracts. Every comedian that does a show at a comedy club has a contract. My client list is over 50, with most of them working at least 40+ engagements a year, each engagement has its own separate file.
I have two systems. The first set of files are for shows that have not yet played. The second set is for all the shows that have pasts and some other legal files. I’ve shown him how to file twice, the assistants in my office have shown him how the system works. He’s been here several months and all he can talk about is getting a real job with us. (Over my dead body)
He’s been gone all week for the holiday. This is the time when we see how badly things have been screwed up. I have an assistant yelling outside my office. Apparently the intern doesn’t know the alphabet. He has all the files mixed up. It looks like he just shoved files in the cabinet without even looking.
Now this is not the first time we found problems with his filing. Remember that I went over the system with him twice. That was because I had found those same mistakes. Then the assistants found those same mistakes. I told him to go through all the filing cabinets to make sure that they were fixed. That was over two weeks ago, it either wasn’t fixed or he screwed it up again.
One of the agents really likes him (I have NO idea why). I keep hearing… “he’s only 18”. Well that doesn’t matter. When I was 18 had been working for 3 years, I knew how to file and when I was told to fix my mistake, which was rare, I did the job without complaining or denying I messed it up. This is probably the intern’s first job, he comes from money and his dad has been footing the bill for him to stay in California. He is knew to working, but I don’t think that means he should be this bad at it.
So now that I’ve ranted, I ask why. Why is it that people don’t understand the ways of the working world? Why is it that they think they can shove stuff under the rug and the boss will never know? (I found papers I thought were fill shoved in the back of the file cabinet). How do they think they can keep a job that they are not doing well? What part of “if you don’t know where something goes or how to do it, please ask” do they not get?
Now for the record, I was nice to him. I know that’s hard to believe, but I was. Even when I was showing him what he did wrong, I was nice. When he said, “I didn’t do that” I was nice when I pointed out that he was the only one filing and this was just misfiled, therefore he did it…. I was nice.
Why do people feel they need to push off the blame, why do they not take responsibility? It’s not like he could get fired, well ok he could get fired…. But we are not paying him.
Unfortunately, he is more like the interns I get on a regular basis. Most young people that come though my door are more concerned with getting their foot in the door and climbing the ladder that they don’t notice that the ladder they are standing on is about to topple over.
How can they expect to get ahead, to become rich and powerful if they don’t pay attention to the details? How can they expect to get anywhere in life with this type of work ethic. No wonder the world is in trouble. We have more people these days doing half ass jobs with very few take pride in a job well done. I fear for the future when I see people that can’t even do the simple tasks. How can they survive in the cutthroat world of Entertainment or any other field when they don’t care enough to do a good job from start to finish?
I’m done working for the week. I’m leaving my office and I am not thinking about work for 4 days. If my boss calls me this weekend I will scream, then shoot him.
In the spirit of the holiday, I am thankful that the school semester is almost over and my intern will be gone soon.
I have two systems. The first set of files are for shows that have not yet played. The second set is for all the shows that have pasts and some other legal files. I’ve shown him how to file twice, the assistants in my office have shown him how the system works. He’s been here several months and all he can talk about is getting a real job with us. (Over my dead body)
He’s been gone all week for the holiday. This is the time when we see how badly things have been screwed up. I have an assistant yelling outside my office. Apparently the intern doesn’t know the alphabet. He has all the files mixed up. It looks like he just shoved files in the cabinet without even looking.
Now this is not the first time we found problems with his filing. Remember that I went over the system with him twice. That was because I had found those same mistakes. Then the assistants found those same mistakes. I told him to go through all the filing cabinets to make sure that they were fixed. That was over two weeks ago, it either wasn’t fixed or he screwed it up again.
One of the agents really likes him (I have NO idea why). I keep hearing… “he’s only 18”. Well that doesn’t matter. When I was 18 had been working for 3 years, I knew how to file and when I was told to fix my mistake, which was rare, I did the job without complaining or denying I messed it up. This is probably the intern’s first job, he comes from money and his dad has been footing the bill for him to stay in California. He is knew to working, but I don’t think that means he should be this bad at it.
So now that I’ve ranted, I ask why. Why is it that people don’t understand the ways of the working world? Why is it that they think they can shove stuff under the rug and the boss will never know? (I found papers I thought were fill shoved in the back of the file cabinet). How do they think they can keep a job that they are not doing well? What part of “if you don’t know where something goes or how to do it, please ask” do they not get?
Now for the record, I was nice to him. I know that’s hard to believe, but I was. Even when I was showing him what he did wrong, I was nice. When he said, “I didn’t do that” I was nice when I pointed out that he was the only one filing and this was just misfiled, therefore he did it…. I was nice.
Why do people feel they need to push off the blame, why do they not take responsibility? It’s not like he could get fired, well ok he could get fired…. But we are not paying him.
Unfortunately, he is more like the interns I get on a regular basis. Most young people that come though my door are more concerned with getting their foot in the door and climbing the ladder that they don’t notice that the ladder they are standing on is about to topple over.
How can they expect to get ahead, to become rich and powerful if they don’t pay attention to the details? How can they expect to get anywhere in life with this type of work ethic. No wonder the world is in trouble. We have more people these days doing half ass jobs with very few take pride in a job well done. I fear for the future when I see people that can’t even do the simple tasks. How can they survive in the cutthroat world of Entertainment or any other field when they don’t care enough to do a good job from start to finish?
I’m done working for the week. I’m leaving my office and I am not thinking about work for 4 days. If my boss calls me this weekend I will scream, then shoot him.
In the spirit of the holiday, I am thankful that the school semester is almost over and my intern will be gone soon.