My First Job
I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the register in her Manhattan pharmacy. Before long, she let me sit there by myself. I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying “thank you”.
At first I was paid in candy. Later I received 50 cents an hour. I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. My father helped me set up a bank account. Watching my money grow was more rewarding than anything I could have bought.
Grandma, a tough taskmaster, never gave me favorable treatment. She watched me like a hawk yet allowed me to handle high-pressure situations such as working during the lunch rush. Her trust taught me how to handle responsibility.
By the time I was 12, she thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics. I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a child, women would ask me such things as “What color do you think I should wear?” I took a genuine interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup ideas. I ended up selling a record amount of cosmetics.
The job taught me a valuable lesson: that to be a successful salesperson, you didn’t need to be a rocket scientist – you needed to be a great listener. Today I still carry that lesson with me: I listen to customers. Except they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed. （283）
译文：
我的第一份工作
当我第一次在我外祖母曼哈顿店铺里的前台工作时，我才10岁。不久前，她让我自己坐在那里。我很快明白了礼貌地接待客人和“谢谢”的重要性。
开始的时候，我的报酬是糖果。后来，我每个小时能拿到50美分。每天放学后和暑假，周末和节假日的早上8点到晚上7点，我都在那里工作。我的父亲帮我开了一个银行账号。 看着我的钱不断地增加，我觉得它比我所卖出的任何东西都值得。
外祖母，是一个严厉的老板，从来都不给我好的待遇。她把我看作沿街叫卖的小贩，要求我去适应高压的工作环境，例如，在匆忙的午饭时间工作。她的信任教会我怎样去承担职责。
到我12岁的时候，她觉得我工作得很好，提拔我去卖化妆品。我锻炼了一种通过眼神直接看穿顾客的能力。尽管我只是一个孩子，顾客们都问我这些事，如‘你认为我应该穿什么颜色？’对于她们的问题，我都报以一种真诚的态度，并且能够把她们想要的东西转变为购买化妆品的欲望。卖出一大笔的化妆品后，我的工作也随着结束了。
这份工作教会我一条宝贵的道理：成为一名成功的推销售者，你不需要高端的技术，你只需成为一个伟大的倾听者。今天，我仍记得这一道理：我倾听顾客的声音。但是她们不再是向我买化妆品的顾客，相反，她们是告诉我哪一些是她们想要的能够被设计和生产出来的玩具的孩子。