Do it because you want to, not because you have to

Today my boss handed me a gift card to J. Crew as a thanks for staying late on Friday night to help out with her computer. I’ve become somewhat of a resident tech support at my office, mostly because I love computers and all things electronic so when someone has a problem with their computer, I’m usually the first to volunteer to help out. Last week, we were getting ready for a new employee to come into the office so we had to buy a new computer and dual monitors and get them all set up. We had originally scheduled an appointment with Geek Squad to help us with it, but when I saw all the boxes for the computers and monitors, I volunteered myself to set it up instead. It felt like Christmas morning and I unwrapped all of those shiny new things and put them all together.

This was all Thursday and by the end of Thursday, everything seemed to be up and running. Come Friday, my boss brought in her computer and her e-mail wasn’t working. Blame the slow Internet connection or the Microsoft Exchange server, something just wasn’t clicking. I spent most of the day reinstalling programs and trying everything I could so that the computer would run again but by 6:30, things were still sluggish and I had still had a computer to wipe and set up for our new employee! But honestly, time wasn’t an issue to me. I persuaded my boss to go home since her husband had been out of town for the week and she had a three-year-old waiting for her at home! I, on the other hand, am fresh out of college and living on my own so I don’t have anyone waiting for me. I stayed late to figure out what the problem was and eventually, with a little help from my friends overseas, I figured it out and it was up and running! I even offered to drop it off at her house after I got done. It was a little “The Devil Wears Prada” moment but my boss is nowhere as cold as Miranda Priestly.

Fast forward to Monday Morning, my boss gave me a heartfelt shout out during our team meeting and thanked me for staying late on Friday night. I was really touched that she would mention it to the team since it really wasn’t a big deal for me. I saw a problem that I could help with and I genuinely wanted to help out! It was something I thought I could tackle and it was something I was interested in. It made me feel extra good inside to know that it was so appreciated.

My office started an unofficial book club (though we refuse to call it that) where we’re going to try and read a book a month. Last month it was Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell (one of my favorites) and I had suggested it because I felt that it was pertinent to our world of recruiting. I guess I could add it to my list of 20 books to read this year but I’m going to leave it of because it feels like a bit of a cop out since I’ve read it before. This month, we’re going to read Give and Take, by Adam Grant. He’s the youngest tenured professor at UPenn and his book describes three types of people: givers, takers, and matchers. Takers try to get as much out of others as possible while matchers try to trade evenly. Givers give and contribute and expect nothing in return and surprisingly, it’s these types of people who are most successful. I’m excited to start this book but more importantly, I strive to be more of a giver. I think, innately, I already am a giver. I really try to help others without thinking of myself just so I can get that feel good feeling. This really reminds me of that episode in Friends where Phoebe tries to find a truly selfless act.

This has turned out to be quite the long post. Thanks for sticking with it till the end! I know I haven’t been the best at updating but I do try to post something insightful when I get the chance. On another note, I have a student to tutor in SAT II Bio this weekend so I’m spending most of my nights reviewing cellular respiration (I never really understood that) and DNA replication (much more manageable).