Story 20

Olav gets his first job. Since English is not his first language, he has some reading and writing issues to hurdle.

Food King

Olav walked through the grocery store with his mother. She sent him to get milk. Then, she sent him to get beans. She didn’t know English very well. She needed Olav to help her find things in the grocery store. He knew how the store was set up and could find most things easily. When they were checking out, Olav read a sign by the checkout, “Stock person needed.” He asked the checkout person, “What’s a stock person?”

She said, “A stock person puts the products on the shelves.”

“How old does a stock person have to be?” Olav asked.

“16.”

“I’m 16,” Olav said. “I bet I would be a good stock person.”

A man standing by the checkout said, “I’m Keith Walls. I’m the manager. I can get you an application if you would like.” Olav left the store with an application. He took it to Dan Ward’s house. He knew his friend’s family would help him read it.

The next day, Olav took his filled-out application back to the store. He gave it to Mr. Walls. Mr. Walls asked, “Do you have time for an interview?”

Olav said, “Sure!” He followed Mr. Walls to a small office. Mr. Walls asked Olav how he spent his free time. He also asked Olav how many days of school he had missed this year.

After about ten minutes, Mr. Walls said, “OK. I think you would work out fine. Do you have any questions?”

Olav said, “Yes, I do. My family moved here from Greece when I was eleven. I am a hard worker. And, I will always be on time. I can speak English pretty well. I learned it from my friends and from school. But, sometimes I have trouble reading and writing. And, sometimes, I have trouble understanding directions when I hear them. Can I get long instructions in writing? If I can study them, I can understand better. Will that be a problem?”

Mr. Walls said, “Not at all. I always write out the instructions. I post them on the board in the break room. So, the job is yours if you want it.”

“I do want it!” Olav said. “What would my hours be? And, when would I begin?”

“We need you at night on Tuesday from 8:00 to midnight. We also need you from 5:00 to 9:00 on Saturday mornings. Can you start next Tuesday?”

“Yes, I can,” Olav said.

“OK. Did you put your e-mail address on your application?”

“Yes.”

“Great! You will get some forms from human resources. Fill them out and send them back.”

Olav went home. When the e-mail came, he started filling out the forms. He came to a blank that asked for his social security number. He had just seen a movie about identity theft. The thief hacked into an employer’s site. So, he left the blank empty. He sent the form back with a note. He said, “I’ll give you my social security number in person.”

Human resources sent him a note. It said, “Our site is secure. Please add your social security number and resend.”

He sent a reply. “I don’t send my number over the Internet. I’ll call you on the phone.” He sent the e-mail and called.

A human resources person told him, “I can’t add it to your form. I am locked out. Could you come down here? You could go onto a computer and go into your form.” Olav went to the store. He sat at a human resources computer and found his file. Then he added the social security number. Afterwards, he stopped in the break room. He saw the employee names on the wall. His name had already been added. He guessed that 10 girls and 12 guys worked at the store.

Olav ran into Mr. Walls on his way out. Mr. Walls gave him a paper. He said, “Study this map before Tuesday. It shows the store layout. You can also see the colors for each department. You’ll need to remember the colors. We color-code signs and price tags.”

At home, Olav studied the map. He smiled since he already knew the layout and colors. He said to himself, “I’m going to be good at this job!”

On Tuesday, Olav did his schoolwork as soon as he got home. He left for the store at 7:45. Mr. Walls had him put a skid of canned vegetables on the shelves. While he was stocking the cans, another worker stopped. He said, “I’m Joel Stein. I’m new here. Are we supposed to stack small cans two high or three high?”

Olav said, “I’m Olav Dukas, and I’m new, too. Mr. Walls told me to stack them three high only if the cans are quite small. He said to make sure stacks are not tight against the shelves above them. I can only stack two of these cans. I’m not sure about yours. Maybe you should ask Mr. Walls.”

During his first break, Olav went to the break room. He saw a computer he hadn’t noticed before. He checked his e-mail. He also sent an online birthday card to a friend. Then he went back to stocking shelves. Midnight came quickly. As he headed home, Olav thought, “I’m going to like this job. I’m great at piling food up. I’m sort of a food king!”

What do you think?

1. Do you think Olav should have talked about his reading and writing problems interview? Explain.
2. Olav sat down at the human resources computer. He saw a “New Hires” folder and a “Company Picnic” folder. In which folder do you think he should have looked for his file?

What would you do?

1. Olav did not think he should send his social security number over the Internet. What would you do if you were filling out an online form that asked for your social security number?