Going to Work With Dad - Contest!
"What does your dad do for a living?"
"He manages business."
This exchange between Kevin Arnold and a classmate from the Wonder Years illustrates a common theme among kids of all ages - we had no idea what our parents did for a living (especially dad!).
In light of Father's Day's being right around the corner, I wanted to share clips from the third episode of the Wonder Years - "My Father's Office." The episode is a brilliant commentary on the intermingling between work and family - or the lack thereof.
Long before Office Space had their TPS Reports, poor Jack Arnold was pushing S14 Forms as a manager of distribution and product support services for NORCOM.
KEVIN: What's your office like?
JACK: It's an office. Four walls, a ceiling, a door.
There were other lessons too.
JACK: Tell you what, Kevin, it is time you learned about the most important part of the working day... the coffee break.
I remember the handful of times I went up to work with my dad. It was like they added a holiday to the calendar. The suits and ties, his obnoxiously-sized office and the mystery of not having a clue what he did was a recipe for pure excitement. Not to mention I'd get to sniff dry erase markers and load up my pockets with as many Post-It pads and binder clips that I could carry!
Dad was right: being an adult sucks.
Of course, it doesn't help that folks my age (early 30s) earn less then our parents did. I think we also have less responsibilities, more managers, crappier workspaces and, despite the Age of Political Correctness, we're treated worse.
I think many of our folks would be surprised to see how we live day-to-day if there was a "Take Your Parents to Work Day."
So, let's have a little contest. Leave a comment below that relates to this post. It can be your favorite memory of going into work with one of your parents or the age you found out what dad actually does for a living. Just keep it father and work-related and you'll be entered to win one of two cool prizes:
$50 GAP Gift Card
OR
A complete resume overhaul
Specify which prize you prefer with your comment. Winners will be randomly selected and announced next week. So please subscribe now to the blog and the podcast so you don't miss out!
In the meantime, I encourage you to watch the Wonder Years clip below or read the script.
Andrew G.R.
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Reader Comments (13)
I'll take the gift card if I win. Thanks.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kindegarten Cop
My dad was a butcher at the market for 40 years. I do remember going to work with him, which was little different from going grocery shopping as far as adventure goes. That is, until we got to go through that swinging door to the "back room" where all the magic happens. We helped him move boxes of stuff from the really cold freezer (where they stored stuff) to the less cold freezer (where he basically worked all day). I remember the less than pleasant smell of meat all over the place. I remember watching him make hamburger out of the pieces he'd cut off of other meat. I remember that the machine doing the hamburgering was from a company called Hobart, because that was the name of the street we lived on. I remember the break room, with the coffee machine that dispensed those cups with playing cards on them and you were supposed to play some game to see if you won a poker hand or blackjack or something.
My first job, at 14, was bagging groceries in that same market.
It was a special treat almost 30 years later to bring my own kids to the market (different store, same chain), and push the little buzzer and have them see where Grampy works. They're not quite old enough to move boxes yet, but they got to go see the breakroom and all that good stuff.
P.S. I'm in no need of a resume overhaul :)
Not to sound desperate but I really could use a new resume. I have been stuck at the same job for two years and my boss is so mean. Please help!
i don't care which prize i get. they both sound good
Enter me for the resume jump start. please.
He always insisted that I go to college so I didn't end up doing a job like his. So I got my Master's, and he's proud.
And Gap card--I like my job, but I have daughters. :^$
I can use a new resume and new clothes for an interview!
My daughter and I wanted to participate in take your daughter to work day, but since I was a field technician (copiers & printers), going to customer locations, my boss thought there was too much liability involved and would not approve it. She did get a chance to join me one evening however. I got a late call from one of my better customers and they were desperate. Normally we did not do after hours service, but I made an exception, and after I picked up my daughter from her after school activity, I went there and took care of the problem. I don't think she found my job terribly interesting, but she liked seeing what I do. (BTW, my wife works for these customers now. When they had an opening, they e-mailed me, knowing that my wife had the kind of experience they needed. My daughter has also earned a little pocket cash helping out there now and then.)
I started a new job earlier this year, in product support at another company, and now have a cube in an office. I could have taken her now, except my daughter's drill team had their spring show that same day, and she could not be absent, not even for take your daughter to work day. *Sigh*...
My resume does not really need an overhaul, as it helped me to get the new position that I've only been at for 3 months, so I'd like the gift certificate if the fates were to smile upon me.