Mistakes and rewards

He was all of 25,when he came to see me about a job.He looked like a bodybuilder,casual clothes but obviously working out in a gym.He said that since it was a Friday he was allowed to wear casual clothes.He was recommended by a friend,but being one to take my own decisions,I asked him all the questions I normally ask someone looking for a job.
I had to recruit so after about two or three interactions I decided to give him the job.No one could believe it.He was not the kind who would pass muster with me,so why did I agree.
I am really not sure,his English wasn't great,he didn't look like he was very quick on the uptake but there was something there,some spark that I couldn't put my finger on.So the deed was done.
From the day he came on board I figured I had made a huge mistake,I questioned my decision after hounding the boy for days,I coaxed,yelled,counselled and did everything I could possibly do and handed him over to another person.Why did I spend so much time on what was clearly a mistake.Well very simple.He came from a background where learning by rote was accepted.At school they didn't teach them to apply their mind.Is that my problem...no but the point is we are increasingly creating people who are spoon fed to such an extent that their life skills are totally lacking.After three months of constant talking I realised what I had always known.Here was a person who had studied and worked in isolation.No one had bothered to train,mentor or coach.We assume everyone will pick up but that's not true.No two individuals are alike and no two people can be treated alike.The person was not fit for the job at hand but did that make him unemployable.No,he probably would do a lot better someplace else.Everyone thought I had sacked him.Such a harsh word,so negative.In common parlance that's what I did,but I took the pains of explaining that his flaws could be rectified,pointed out that life was not easy at the best of times and that it was important to find a job that one enjoyed and identified with.He listened but I was never sure he appreciated any of what I said.
He left the company but continued to keep in touch without any negativity.Yesterday he called from the airport on his way to study MBA in Marketing in Australia.He had crammed and got through the various tests that the university set for him , got admission,organised a student loan and was calling us to say that if it hadn't been for the time my colleague and I had spent on him,badgered him,yelled at him and generally tried every trick in the book to make him see sense,he would have still been in some company doing a job he want interested in or didn't have the aptitude for.Today as he speaks to us he is a more confident chap and seems to have realised that life is not so easy after all but that it has its rewards.
When I put that phone down I realised that what seemed like my biggest mistake,was also my biggest learning.My beliefe that all individuals have something good in them,some talent waiting to be discovered if we bothered to find it,was paying off.I am so glad I made a mistake!!!