my first job

My first job was a summer work program in Killeen, TX. I was called by the agency to mow an elderly woman's yard. She had the lawn mower and gasoline, all she needed was someone to work.

I got up on Saturday morning and since she lived in the neighborhood next to ours, I walked over. It was probably a twenty minute walk and when I got to the house, the grass was jungle like. I knocked on the door and the frail woman opened the door. She showed me where everything was and I began to mow my first lawn.

As I went back and forth in the front yard, I began thinking... How much am I going to get paid for this? I didn't ask, she didn't say, it wasn't mentioned. I looked at my watch. If it took me an hour to do this job, what would be a fair rate? Then I began on the back yard. The grass was taller, the yard was bigger.

My mind was obsessed with how much I was going to be paid. $50? Was that good enough? You have to remember I was a pre-teen. I knew nothing about the money, the worth of what I was doing.

Finally, when I was done I placed everything back and knocked on her door. She opened the door, gave a quick look without stepping from her porch and thanked me. She handed me a ten dollar bill. I looked at the ten and thought... "WHAT!" I looked at her and said, "Ma'am, it'll be twenty dollars." I was pretty proud of myself because I usually didn't speak my mind. But I had been thinking about this for an hour and twenty minutes. The lady scoffed under her breath and seemed to struggle with doubling my pay. She finally went inside and exchanged my ten dollar bill with a twenty.

I walked away thinking I had won. My first job-- A success. But the lady never called again. And as I headed for home, I thought that next time, I had to communicate with my employer. If we had talked beforehand about the pay, then there would have been no surprises. I also wouldn't have obsessed about how much I was going to be paid and would have concentrated more on the job at hand.

Communicate! Talk, Talk, Talk. Ask questions! If you don't know, ask. If you don't understand, ask. If it's not clear, ask. If you are going to be late, call. If you are going to be absent, let them know ahead of time. If there is a problem, let them know. Don't keep your mouth shut, and then grumble. Be respectful, be specific and be succinct. Communicate!