[Jewelry making - Article 00251] - Re: [Orchid] Just what is a Qualified jeweler?

[David L. Huffman]

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Hello Dan;

    I've been reading your numerous posts and I've come to a conclusion.
    If this looks like it's going to be a long and boring post, please
    skip to the very last line with my blessing. 

    Let me assure you in advance of my advice that you have my complete
    sympathy. I don't think your recent employer handled the situation
    well at all. That said, I believe you have the right to obsess about
    it, but that you will need to put this under your belt and move on as
    soon as possible. Don't try and figure this out, you will not be
    working with all the facts. It's my opinion that this was a position
    with no future for you in any case. Here's my advice: 

    Get back on the horse. Get another position. Your previous employer
    must know that he had culpability in this situation, but don't try
    and convince him. And by the way, I think you've already convinced
    us. Tell him that you greatly appreciate his attempts at fitting you
    in, and that you regret that the situation didn't work out, but would
    he be so kind as to write a brief letter of recommendation, albeit
    one that doesn't go into excess detail, so that you can go on
    perusing your interest in becoming a jeweler. I can't believe he
    could do anything less, given the circumstances. 

    The rest of my posting here is not so much for you, Daniel, as it is
    for those prospective employers who might read this. 

    In my business, my apprentices have been paid a fair wage from day
    one, even when they didn't know anything about the job. I lost money
    for months training them. This was what I expected. For months after
    that, I broke even. Again, expected. Now I make a little money from
    their work, but who knows what it costs me to take time out to train
    them. Whatever they can do is more that I don't have to do myself.
    They are continually in training. I have over 35 years of experience
    to impart to them. That is apprenticeship. Sometimes they want to do
    things their way and I let them. If it doesn't present too great a
    risk, and it works out, they can do it that way from there on. If it
    fails, I try to help them gain the insights they can get from the
    experience. They make mistakes and so do I. I believe it's as
    challenging for them to get along with me as it is for me to get
    along with them. 

    But here's the bottom line. I continually return to the conclusion
    that I am grateful for my workers. And I must take complete
    responsibility for everything my business is and isn't. 

    It takes great patience to have any employee. But a good employer
    always sees the benefit that an employee brings to his business, and
    understands that people are not perfect, and they are individuals
    with their own personalities. That said, if someone isn't working
    out, you owe it to them and to yourself to tactfully terminate the
    relationship. And the best way to minimize the damage is to do it
    quickly. 

    It is the employer's responsibility to change, believe it or not. He
    has to adapt to what his employees need in terms of supervision. It's
    not the other way around. Sound radical? Let me tell you now that the
    success of my business is built on the knowledge I gained from the
    failings of all the businesses I worked for. I may be radical, but I
    don't think so. Everyone on my team must be at ease with the aspects
    of the work I can control, in order to offset all the given elements
    that are naturally difficult about the job. I find that if I am
    confident in my people, they will be confident in themselves, and
    more able to meet the demands of this profession. 

    I don't think I am that rare as an employer. You can count on
    getting bounced around, used and abused and confused before you find
    a good position, but you can find one. And you will never find the
    perfect job. You are not just learning about jewelry here. If there
    is only one lesson I can impart to you it is this, and I am convinced
    it is life's most important rule: 

    We learn from failure, and failure alone. 

David L. Huffman
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