Tales from My First Job (part 2): Hoops for the Hungry (or, the Easter Exit Hunt)

ByDavid

This week I’m celebrating the anniversary of my first full-time job. Several (long, painful) months after earning my MBA at Ohio State I took what I thought would be a pretty cool job as marketing director for a regional shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. It was not fun.

Just a couple months after I started, my boss told me to pull out a bunch of big cardboard boxes we had in storage and cover them in pretty wrapping paper for our annual food drive, to conclude around Easter weekend. That was it. But with that new MBA fresh in hand, I asked if we could make it more fun, more creative. His only condition? Do whatever you want. Just don’t spend any money.

So, with a colleague from a nearby mall, we launched Hoops for the Hungry. Shoppers could donate two food items for a chance to shoot hoops, win prizes, and meet Ohio State athletes (of course, Archie Griffin was there!). On the day of the event, we had a line that wrapped around the inside of the mall TWICE. It attracted major local media coverage, and brought in new customers for our retailers.

The result? A huge success—or so I thought. When I asked my boss what he thought, his response: “Do you know how much overtime we had to pay security and maintenance? Next time, just stick with the boxes.”

Even when things go wrong or just strange, you can always learn from the experience:

  • Look for ways to go above and beyond, even when not asked.
  • Pay attention to signs that the fit between you and your job might not be right.
  • Loyalty should be a two-way street. And if I didn’t know it already, I knew it now. I had to leave.

What about you? Do you add value beyond what’s expected? How has that worked for you?

See you tomorrow!