The Great Fringe Benefit of Helping Others

About five years ago, I received a call from the then Assistant Director of Career Services at Emory University’s undergraduate business school. Emory, because of its location in Atlanta, is not prime recruiting ground for Minneapolis-based employers. The Assistant Director had met me at a college recruiting conference and thought that I might be willing to help one of his students. That student was just profiled in Business Week and I couldn’t be happier.

When the Assistant Director called, I immediately agreed to speak with the student. I had no idea who the student was or what were his career aspirations but it didn’t matter. When a student wants help, you help. The student, Scott Shapiro, called and told me that he grew up in Minneapolis and he was hoping to land an internship for the summer before his senior year. After talking with him by phone and then meeting him for coffee, I was eager to help him. Poised, polished, yet real, this was a student who wasn’t going to ask for help and then disregard my advice. This was a student who listened and heard and was incredibly respectful and appreciative of his family, friends, acquaintances, the woman who made his coffee, everyone.
I called up a few employers that we worked with or hoped to work with and told them about Scott. I couldn’t vouch for his work performance because he had never worked for me. I couldn’t vouch for his academic performance because I wasn’t involved in that either. But I went to bat for him because I knew that he would go to bat for himself and everyone around him every hour of every day. Those calls helped land him an interview with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, which has one of the best internship programs in the country. To be clear, I did not get Scott the internship. I did introduce him to a recruiter but Scott got the interview and got the job.
Scott and I spoke and traded emails regularly that summer. We met for coffee a few times. I always enjoyed my time with him because he always made sure that the time was productive both for him and for me.
When Scott returned to Emory for his senior year, he knew that selling financial products was not his love. He went after jobs in the media and scored an internship with CNN. One thing led to another and today he is the Producer of ESPN Radio’s flagship program, Mike & Mike in the Morning. He books the guests, develops content, runs ideas meetings, and serves as point person. It’s his job to see that the show grows in the ratings. Ratings drive their ad revenues and he is responsible for improving them on a quarterly basis.
It is clear from reading the Business Week profile that Scott loves his work and, more importantly, his life. He is incredibly busy and challenged and wouldn’t have it any other way. Rather than taking the easy way out after his junior year and finding an internship in Atlanta that wasn’t a good fit, he networked, networked, and networked some more. He asked for help and offered twice as much in return. He understood that jobs which paid a lot were not the ones that were going to allow him to do the work that he wanted to do and live the life that he wanted to live, so he turned away from the money and toward the experience.
I have three kids. When they get to be juniors in college, I hope that they have their priorities as straight as Scott did.