Becoming a Rare Find by George Anders

Author:George Anders
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2012-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

Find Your Version of the Cellar Story

Partway through college, John Duckett decided that he wanted to spend his life as a high-end winemaker. That’s a hard field to break into. It’s a bit like screenwriting, fashion design, travel photography, or sports announcing. These are glamorous arenas in which a few superstars become world famous. Meanwhile, another few thousand professionals earn a good living in these fields and win solid recognition for their work. After that, there’s no end of people who dream of getting into these fields but never get past the ranks of frustrated dreamers.

A few years into his quest, John was still on the fringe. He had studied enology in college and spent three summers as a low-paid intern at California wineries. That was a decent start, but it didn’t rocket him past thousands of other people, all chasing a small number of openings at elite vineyards. He needed more experience to win the sorts of full-time jobs he wanted—and it wasn’t clear how he could make that happen by staying at home and mailing out his résumé.

So in the midst of the U.S. winter, John traveled halfway around the world. After a seven-thousand-mile flight, he arrived in New Zealand, ready to work a third internship, this time at Delegat’s Wine Estate, maker of some of the world’s most renowned chardonnays and sauvignon blancs. Much of his work was menial. The southern hemisphere’s harvest season was underway, and Delegat needed an extra pair of hands. Working as many as twelve hours a day, John moved barrels, operated machinery, and kept everything sanitary. He also got a chance to mingle with the savvy winemakers who produced Delegat’s Oyster Bay wines, learning everything he could about their craft.

When John’s five months in New Zealand were over, he no longer was indistinguishable from thousands of college-trained wannabes knocking on winemakers’ doors. He had shown a deeper commitment to the field. He had gained valuable overseas training. He quickly found work as a lab technician at Jordan Vineyard & Winery in California’s Alexander Valley. By the end of the year, Jordan had promoted him into its wine-making ranks, as an enologist.

Could you tell that a version of that New Zealand cellar story to a different employer? Think carefully. It worked for John for two reasons. It spoke to his determination to make it as an enologist, even if it meant paying his dues far from home. It also provided a way for him to train with the best. Among wine aficionados, a New Zealand tour of duty wins admiration. John’s willingness to do sweaty chores on the way up was totally appropriate; winemaking is one of many crafts in which success involves a blend of physical labor and exquisite judgment.

Try telling a similar story to a global investment bank, though, and your candidacy will collapse within seconds. Bankers don’t do physical labor, except to press the yellow Go button on a Bloomberg Terminal. They’re looking for brainpower and breeding. An office internship

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