A local McDonald's offered Phil a job application, but said he had to be clean-shaven to work there.
A homeless man is now employed, thanks to a kind Florida police officer who helped him shave his beard before a job interview.
With the help of the local homeless shelter, Phil has applied for the two forms of identification necessary to apply for a job. When he receives the documents, he will begin as an employee of a Tallahassee McDonald's.
“They are excited to offer it to him,” the City of Tallahassee Police Department told InsideEdition.com.
Phil’s life changed over the weekend, when he was trying to remove his beard with a used razor.
“He was having some trouble with his razor and he asked me if I knew anything about fixing razors – because it was broken,” Officer Tony Carlson said. “He’s trying to start shaving, he didn’t have a mirror, he couldn’t see what he was doing, it was not going well.”
That’s when Carlson offered him a hand with his beard, and ended up giving Phil a shave outside a gas station.
As the officer worked, Phil told Carlson that he wanted to get a job at the local McDonald's, but management told him that while he was welcome to apply, he had to be clean-shaven.
“He was excited there was a chance he would get a job if he did this simple thing,” Carlson said. “If he’s wanting to help himself, I need to do better and help him.”
Little did they realize, they were being filmed by an onlooker, and the video of their exchange quickly went viral.
Although Phil landed a job as a result of their exchange, Carlson said he didn’t need the recognition. Instead, he encourages everyone in his community to offer each other a helping hand.
“I like to think of us more as peace officers first, law enforcement officers second,” Carlson said. “You want to do something with a positive ending, and something that’s going to last.”
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