After 28 years of rising through the ranks in the McDonald’s career path, Jack ‘Big Mac’ Abdel Malak, supervisor for McDonald’s North Canberra, reflects on his very first day on the job back in 1994.

“I was 15, and I wasn’t actually looking for a job. I was asked by my parents to go help the restaurant manager do some maintenance work,” says Jack.

“I go to his Macca’s, ready to do some painting, and went in to ask what he wanted done.

“I was dressed in a singlet and some shorts thinking I was going to do some handyman work… Turns out I was there for a job interview.

“He gave me the stare down, said ‘Is that how you dress for a job interview?’

“I was embarrassed, and when he offered me the job I couldn’t say no,” he says.

On his shift, Jack was surprised by the hustle of the crew – “there was a lot of competition to see who can make the quickest burger” – and how he was welcomed by the whole staff from day one.

“Today, I expect that from all my managers and staff. If they were to walk in and not say ‘hi’, I ask them to walk back out and try again,” smiles Jack.

Since starting as a kitchen hand at McDonald’s in Prospect NSW, Jack has worn the hats of first assistant, restaurant management, supervisor, and profit manager for 15 of the restaurants in Canberra, before settling into his preferred role as supervision manager.

“We have a saying: There’s no such thing as a bad trainee, only bad training. I always like to take that into consideration when I’m promoting a manager or training someone new,” says Jack.

“The best thing about this job is seeing people grow – people who either come from the streets and want to better their life, or just the regular shy kid at school who comes in here and becomes a manager.

“It gives them the confidence to be able to speak their mind and say what they want, without hiding behind a keyboard.”

Jack says he used to be that quiet kid. “This job taught me to be more open, assertive, how to go for what I want.”

He says all you need to work at Macca’s is a good attitude.

“One of the main benefits of working in McDonald’s is that everyone gets in, we don’t discriminate. As a family organisation, there’s a place for everybody.”

Now in his early 40s, Jack supervises operations at McDonald’s Belconnen on Emu Bank, the Belconnen food court Macca’s, as well as McDonald’s Kippax, Charnwood, and Cooma.

At each of these restaurants, he has seen crew members flourish through the Traineeship program, obtaining their Certificate II or III in Retail.

“We take pride in knowing that we have trained someone over several years, rather than just a couple of months, to get into management.

“By the time most trainees turn 18, they’ve already had a couple of years to learn the management skills they need.”

However, the happiest success story Jack has helped over the past 28 years has more to do with paying it forward.

Hani, the restaurant operator who hired Jack as a teenager, became a lifelong friend after providing guidance throughout the years.

“There were treacherous times in my life where, if I hadn’t chosen this path, I would have been on the wrong one. Hani guided me through that,” says Jack.

“On my first day as a restaurant manager, one of the 19-year-old managers said, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’ and quit on the spot.

“I said, ‘I’m not accepting your resignation; I’m going to work with you’. I never gave up on him because I could see something in him; he cared.

“Fast forward three years later, he became the restaurant manager of that store. Recently, he had his first child with his partner, another manager at the restaurant, who he wouldn’t have met if he hadn’t stayed.

“McDonald’s has definitely created friendships that I would never have imagined,” says Jack.

To find out more about career opportunities at McDonald’s, visit careers.mcdonalds.com.au

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