Adventures in Staffing, Part 22

 Adventures in Staffing, Part 22. Back in the Dark Ages (1980's), I worked for a big box retailer. After toiling in older and smaller sites for a few years, I was elevated to a large venue that was on the verge of opening its doors. Among my duties as an Assistant Store Manager, I was assigned to overseeing staffing. Being a new store in a vast retail wasteland we had challenges finding and retaining team members.

The HR leader paged me to her office one day. A high school senior walked in saying that a manager offered her a job to start that day. All offers were usually made by the leader or me. I checked with my colleagues and no one knew her. We needed part-time help as turnover was incredibly high. We did a quick interview and learned that the high school work study adviser mentioned to her that we were hiring even though she wasn't part of her school's program. This young lady helped her aunt set up and operate a small clothing boutique which had just been sold. She really needed a job and decided to simply show up properly dressed and ready to work!
Our decision was to give her a shot and she was on the floor the same evening. A month later, we were using her talents to train other newly hired part-time staff. Being opportunistic is not something to be taken lightly!