The Dunder Mifflin team gets split up this week on “The Office” with Jim, Kevin, and Andy headed to the golf course to attempt to make a sale, and Michael, Pam, Oscar, and Darryl off to a job fair at Pam’s old high school. Meanwhile, the rest of the staff are forced to hold down the fort under the watchful, beady eye of Dwight K. Schrute.
Michael explains that the point of the job fair is to obtain some summer interns in an attempt to “youthanize” the workplace. Microsoft Word suggests that it’s not the word I am looking for, but I don’t think Michael Scott realizes that. The gang heads to the job fair armed with only a single sheet of paper since Michael believes that “it only takes one sheet of paper to make a difference”. Which is allegedly what he told Pam before sneezing into her tea.
We learn that the reason for Jim’s golf game is the probation warning temp-turned-corporate-tool Ryan Howard gave him last week. As a result, Jim says he is going to do something he has never done in this job before: try. On the golf course, Jim is focused on getting his client, Dwight Maguire, to switch to Dunder Mifflin paper, while Kevin is focused on betting on just about every aspect of the game. In the meantime, Andy has bigger problems in the form of disgusting and plentiful blisters which he obtained as a result of hitting “approximately 1200 balls” earlier that day in preparation for the game.
Back at the office, there is a mutiny in the works as no one feels they should have to stay while Michael isn’t there. Stanley is the first to peace out, with the rest of the gang (minus Angela) quickly following when Creed announces “we’re gonna ditch this bitch!”. He would. Dwight quickly reports this to Michael via cell phone but Michael is too bummed out about his lack of success at the job fair to care. Plus he says if he’s not there and Jim’s not there, why should they have to be there. Dwight is definitely going to be sobbing on Mose’s shoulder tonight.
At the job fair, Michael rejects the only teen mildly interested in working at Dunder Mifflin, claiming he only wants “the best and the brightest”, and subsequently freaks out because the kid signed his name on their only sheet of paper. He then sends Pam back to the office to get another single sheet of paper (Pam: “are you serious?” Michael: “Yes, and don’t call me Shirley”).
The golf game goes fairly well even though Jim tries and fails several times to make the sale and Andy crashes a golf cart into a sandtrap. In his defense though, he gets some amazing air. After the game, Mr. Maguire suggests playing more often (Andy: “Count me in!” Maguire: “Nope!”) and takes off. Jim finally convinces him to switch back to Dunder Mifflin after blocking his car for fifteen minutes.
Even with their fresh sheet of paper, Dunder Mifflin is getting no attention at the job fair so Michael decides to take drastic measures and approaches the fair’s microphone for a Michael Scott Signature Inspirational Speech. Predictably, the speech falls flat and the crew returns to the office with a visibly dejected Michael unable to even hold up his own head in the backseat of Pam’s car.
When they arrive, the golf boys are already there celebrating the sale with a few beers. Pam and Jim embrace and Michael severely invades their personal space. In the end, Michael is uplifted by Jim’s sale, saying that Jim Halpert could do anything he wants, but chooses to work at Dunder Mifflin, selling paper, like him. So maybe Michael Scott is capable of being inspirational after all.
But probably not.
