He attached his CV—short and honest: no work experience yet, but he added "Jumbo customer since age 5" and "professional apple pie carrier (never dropped one)."
Three days later, his phone buzzed. "Sem, this is mevrouw De Wit. Can you come in Thursday at 4 PM? Bring your smile. And maybe some extra patience—we’re busy." sollicitatiebrief jumbo
Every Saturday morning, 17-year-old Sem de Vries walked the same route through Jumbo supermarket in Eindhoven. He’d grab a cart, follow his mother’s list, and quietly observe the chaos behind the cheerful red logo. He watched cashiers who still smiled after four hours of beeping scanners. He saw shelf-stockers who knew exactly where the hagelslag belonged, even with their eyes closed. He attached his CV—short and honest: no work
One rainy afternoon, a little girl dropped a jar of appelstroop. It shattered near the bakery section. The nearest employee was unloading a pallet of croissants. Without thinking, Sem knelt down, waved to a passing employee for a "cleanup needed" sign, and carefully guided the crying girl away from the glass. When the store manager, mevrouw De Wit, arrived, the mess was already contained. Bring your smile
"You’re not on our team," she said, surprised.
"No," Sem replied. "But I’d like to be."
He smiled. Then he went to Jumbo to buy a carton of milk. But this time, he walked a little taller past the bakery.