By Matt Halverson
As Pam Beesly in NBC's cubicle comedy The Office, Jenna Fischer plays a run-down receptionist who would die for another job. As a teenager in Webster Groves, the Nerinx Hall graduate couldn't keep a job to save her life. Although her dad likes to say she got fired from every business on Manchester, Fischer likes to say the terminations were all the result of her warm heart. We reviewed her résumé and rated her cannings.
Occupation: Dog kennel watchdog
Age: 15
Visions of puppy breath and fetch faded quickly when Fischer learned the, uh, crappy reality of the job: "I shoveled poop," she says. The temptation to open the cages after hours was too strong, though, and when her boss found out, he let her loose.
Heart Factor: <3 <3 <3 <3
Occupation: Ice cream scooper
Age: 16
Fischer's desire to please customers proved too sweet even for the owners: They eventually fired her for, among other things, super-sizing sundaes. "I couldn't help myself," she says. "I wanted to surprise people with an extra scoop."
Heart Factor: <3 <3 <3
Occupation: Seafood server
Age: 17
In an ironic twist on feminism, Fischer fought unsuccessfully for the right to work in the guys-only kitchen; not only was she tired of waiting on "bratty" patrons, but cooks earned more. "I told my manager that was a chauvinist policy," she says. "And he fired me."
Heart Factor: <3 <3
