Where There's a Will, There's a Way

Many years ago, I was the Alterations Manager for what was one of the nation’s busiest bridal shops. It became increasingly difficult to find qualified seamstresses. As is common with alterations in the United States, most of the people in my department were from another country. I eventually began hiring from a local refugee group. These are all people who came to this country under different circumstances. Many of those circumstances were war or the like. As anyone would when they first arrive in a foreign land, they did not yet speak the language of this land. They were not yet fluent in English. I would sometimes do interviews with people that did not speak English, nor did I speak their language. Yet I was able to decipher who to hire, who to not hire, and administer a sewing test.

You may be wondering how in the world I did that. Well, where there’s a will there’s a way. I was determined to find trainable employees with good work ethics. I was equally determined to help new people to this country become self-sufficient or at least be given the chance to. During the interview process what I was looking for was attitude, willingness to take initiative, and basic sewing ability. We did not need to speak the same language for me to see that. In fact, how they handled being interviewed while not being able to speak the same language was most of what I needed to see. Did they at least try to find a way to understand or communicate back to me or did they just sit there like a lump and use the language barrier as an excuse to not even try? THAT spoke volumes to me. When it came to the sewing test, this could be nerve-racking for anyone, English-speaking or not. What I was looking for was a willingness to try and capability level at being trained at the level of sewing needed. Everything else could be taught. One of the stipulations I had for hiring them is that they had to be taking English classes. Although they may not yet have been fluent in English, they had to be willing to get there. If they were willing to meet me halfway, I was willing to train them. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Communicating with them was a challenge at first. It became less of a challenge once I switched my thinking and thought of communication as more than just words. I was determined to have them understand. This also meant being equally determined to understand them to ensure I was answering questions. All it required was determination, patience, the willingness to try new ways, and all in that order. I would pick up items in the room or point out something on the alterations form and teach them how to say it in English. They would also figure out a way to ask a question they didn’t yet know how to say in English. They would physically point to things or demonstrate what they were trying to say. Together, we would figure it out. I would then teach them how to say what they meant in English, for the next time. There was almost always a sense of “yay” when the communication was complete. These sorts of things would happen daily. Eventually, some of those refugees I hired became very fluent in English, worked directly on a professional level with customers, and even stayed at the bridal shop for years. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

None of this would have happened if I wasn’t able to think outside of the box. People call it “language barriers”. Language is only a barrier if you allow it to be. Instead of seeing language as a barrier, I saw it as a challenge. It was a challenge that needed to be met in order to get to that goal of getting them gainfully employed while getting the employees I needed. Where there is a will, there is a way. Sometimes, you may need to think outside of the typical box in order to find that way.