Cup of coffee to my left, empty breakfast plate to my right, CBC playing in the background. Two dogs on dog beds.
This is my ideal morning. I am surprisingly content and have been since the beginning of February. It's like I have finally come to grips with the fact that this is my last semester of my program at college. At the end of it I will be able to find a 'real' job. I have been applying for 'big girl' jobs basically full time for the last three weeks. I've crafted my resume in multiple formats and emphasized different aspects of my education and work experience. I've written and re-written my cover letter probably a hundred times. I've gone to 20+ job interviews and still have no new job. But I'm not panicking. Yet.
Which probably sounds a little weird. And it's not because I want to be a barista for the rest of my life. I think it's because I know that I will have my program completed and I will be a certified bookkeeper. And even if I am working at Starbucks past the end of my schooling, it doesn't change that I am an accountant. I've realized that no matter what happens, I am educated. I am an accountant.
But I've stopped thinking that I'm better than working at Starbucks. And all because of a series of conversations that I have had with my parents, and surprisingly one new co-worker (who used to work for the Government) and a regular customer that I see daily.
I'be been having a hard time wrapping my head around still being at Starbucks. I'be had friends tell me that I'm better than working at Starbucks, that it's not worth my time. I've had friends tell me that a job is job and I should be thankful to be working for a company that has benefits and perks like Starbucks does. I don't know how many times I've called my parents and complained that "I still work at Starbucks". Thankfully my parents know how to gently humble me. My mom and dad, always gentle in their questioning, asked me why I'm so unhappy there. "Is it because you think you're better than your co-workers?" I paused in my complaining. I can honestly say that's not it at all. Most of my co-workers are highly educated, kind people, who work hard. I think my silence gave me away to my mom who gently asked, "do you feel like you're better than working at Starbucks because you have an education?" My mind races. A huge part of my being unhappy at work is because I feel I am over education and qualified for my position as shift supervisor. I ponder the people I work with. Two registered nurses. Highly educated and qualified women. They do work in a hospital as well, but they have chosen to also work at Starbucks. They have chosen to work for Starbucks. I think of my newest co-worker. She left a government job to work at Starbucks. She could have transferred to another department, she could have made a move to the private sector, but instead she chose to work for Starbucks. One of my favourite regulars is a woman who is working on her PhD in some kind of social science program. She is verbose, and interesting and someone I would love to sit and spend hours talking with. We were chatting not that long ago and she mentioned that she would love to work for Starbucks someday. She spoke about how it must be so nice to know that I work for a company that stands up for what it believes in, that helps builds community, that gives back as much and as often as it does. And that made me pause.
Starbucks is that company. It is a huge supporter of the LGBT community. It's sponsored gay pride parades, it openly hires people regardless of sexual orientation. It celebrates all people. Starbucks allows it partners (employees) to spearhead local initiatives that we feel are important. Here in Ottawa, we volunteer at the Shephers of Good Hope helping prep and serve meals, we have the snowsuit drive that we hold, we (partners) raise tens of thousands of dollars for Camp Quality and volunteer there, I've volunteered at HOPE Volleyball, and many many community charitable happenings. Everytime I volunteer, Starbucks donates my hourly salary to the organization that I'm giving my time to.
Maybe it sounds like I've drank too much corporate CoolAid, but I had forgotten about the good that I have done on Starbucks' dollar. I was too focussed on how I was better than Starbucks. But I'm not. And it's going to be hard to leave if and when that time comes for me. Applying for new jobs has shown that I'm being paid more now as a shift supervisor than I would be starting at the bottom in an office position. I have full benefits, which I am not guaranteed access to when I go to a new company. I won't get my nice perk of a free pound of coffee a week.
So, today on my day off, I will apply for jobs and send out many emails in the hopes of being hired. But ultimately, I'm more than happy to have a cup of coffee to my left, and pups sleeping on beds, and CBC playing in the background and Starbucks on my resume.
