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Todd Bruton's avatar

Currently, I'm a retired teacher (21 years in the classroom), but before that, I spent 20+ years in the retail industry (16 years in management). I remember my first management position, and the interview process that preceded my hiring. After a mere four years working as a grocery store box boy, then a couple of years as a department manager within a big box store, another company decided to take a chance on me. However, the personal interview (with the corporate V.P. of personnel himself) was, in a word, *grueling*. Then, after passing that part of the process, I filled out several forms in order that an extensive background check could be administered. There were also 'tests' involved. Three weeks later, I received an offer. From my perspective--at the time--I remember thinking this was an awful lot to put someone through for a "Manager Trainee." It was later explained to me that within a week of being on the job, I would be scheduled to 'close' the store. This meant that for the last four hours of the day, I would be the only person on-site from the management team. I would be responsible for a 60K sq.ft. store; the employees on duty; $2mil. of inventory (that was a lot at the time); and approximately $10K of cash on-hand. After that explanation--I felt sorely UN-qualified for the position. And, if I were to tell you the whole story of this particular job...let's just say that it didn't last long, nor end well for me. I did gain a wealth of experience, but the company also learned that anyone with my (lack of) experience is simply not ready.

All this to say...WTH is Trump thinking?! People with no (literally NO) experience? Others with VERY little experience. From the two careers that I've had in my life (retail and education), allow me to offer these analogies: 1) It's like promoting a school custodian to district superintendent. 2) It's like promoting a box-boy to CEO.

"It's hard to fly like an eagle when you surround yourself with turkeys." I guess, however, it does stoke your ego.

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Janeen Dishman's avatar

Thanks for this! I know there’s a lot of research that went into this. Except,

“Tulsi Gabbard served for more than 10 decades in the Army National Guard.”

I think there’s something wrong with this sentence …

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