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What was your first job and how did you get hired?

And does that job apply to your current position?

internship job-application first-job hiring job-coaching job-applications
Thank you comment icon My first job- I worked at Fudruckers. I was a cashier working after school - on the weekends I was a bar back for a local bar. Even though my current position as an Admin Officer cannot compare to a cashier, I still have to use the same customer service that I learned years ago. I learned how to communicate effectively as well as advocated for myself. Jacqueline Thomas
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Sarah’s Answer

My first job(s) were in yard work for neighbors (pulling weeds, mowing lawns, picking fruit) and babysitting kids of my parents' friends or within the church. My first "true job" was a telemarketing job - selling extended warranties for purchased items from a big box store.

These jobs have no direct correlation to my current position. However, the work ethic, follow through, ability to speak with strangers, accept critical feedback from supervisors, understand work environments and work dynamics, how to determine my ultimate worth and what qualities I look for in a company moving forward are invaluable.

That is how you grow. You try something, either succeed or fail, then move on. As long as you learn from the experience, you have succeeded.
Thank you comment icon Thank you so much, Sarah! Kang
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Bailey’s Answer

My first job was a front desk sales associate for California Sun, which is a huge tanning salon franchise. I would run the whole salon by myself at 16 years old as the only employee in the shop. I was given a few tanning credits every month to maintain the appearance of their brand. I was terrible at selling the lotion. I was extremely scared of rejection from the customers due to the high priced products and my soul was not passionate about tanning. However, my first job taught me about saving money and keeping my responsibility of managing a store. I am currently a registered nurse and I believe I’ve learned valuable lessons from all my previous jobs.
Thank you comment icon Thank you so much! Kang
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Rocio’s Answer

My first job was as a summer camp leader in public schools in Puerto Rico, I was in high school and I had the opportunity to work as a teacher's assistant and go on summer camp trips (that was the fun part!!) Later, when I was in college, I had another job in GAP Store, as a floor associate during Christmas season.

I currently work in HR and those jobs don't have nothing to do with my decision to study Business Administration. But any job can help you build character, take responsibilities, and appreciate the value of doing things right, not just for a paycheck every week.
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Ryan’s Answer

My first job was working at a Harvey's, which is a Canadian fast-food restaurant known for burgers. I now work as a DevOps intern, which is entirely different. The biggest positive takeaway from working at Harvey's was having to report to someone other than myself for the first time in my life, and where my actions had tangible consequences. It taught me that "good enough for me" is not always good enough for someone else. It also taught me the true value of a dollar.
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Angela’s Answer

Hello! My first job was gymnastics coach! I learned a lot from doing this job. I learned about punctuality, discipline, how to communicate with different types of people, how to work with children and how to stay organized and timely. What I do now has absolutely nothing to do with that job but all of the skills I learned have applied to every job I've had since.
It's important to think of every job you have as a learning experience!
Thank you comment icon Thanks, can't wait to put this advice into action! Kang
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Kruti’s Answer

My first job while in high school was in a medical billing office filing paperwork. This helped me get my foot into the door of another medical office in college.
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Sikawayi’s Answer

Hello Kang, great question, my first job was working at McDonalds when I was 17. I only worked there for 8 months, which was my senior year and I loved it but once I graduated, I wanted to hang out with friends so my parents said I could quite if I wanted to, so I did. I learned when you have a job you don't have to ask for money. I hung out with friends for a couple of before I decided to go back to work. Best of
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Maren’s Answer

My first job was at Chick-fil-A. While I now work in Human Resources, I sincerely believe I learned valuable skills during my job at Chick-fil-A that can be applied in my current role. For instance, customer service and an emphasis on providing the best service to customers has translated to my focus on *my* customers as an HR professional - my company's employees.

My first corporate job was in recruiting for a tech-based real estate firm. While I'm no longer in recruiting, this job exposed me to tech companies and caused me to realize that I wanted to work in the tech industry. It also gave me exposure to building relationships with neighboring teams and an understanding of what corporate work looks like.

In total, I have had 4 jobs prior to my current position and they varied. Sometimes you have to get your feet wet to understand whether a career is right for you. Don't worry too much about your first job.. it will serve primarily as a stepping stone for you as you explore your options and figure out what will make you happy and fulfilled in your work life.
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Raegan’s Answer

My first job was Medical Scribe position during college. I graduated in 2019, so spring of 2020 I was able to tip toe around a bit in the job field due to the pandemic in 2020/2021. The job market during the pandemic let me bounce around every few months to a different job, and helped me get to where I am today. I now work as a Molecular Technologist in the Infectious Disease Department at UT Southwestern. Since 2019 I have worked in urology, family medicine, and sports medicine as a medical scribe; after school teacher for pre-K through 5th; behavior therapist with children on the autism spectrum; lab assistant for COVID-19; testing technician for the nation’s blood donations; and now a testing technician for infectious diseases. I learned that sometimes you have to try things in order to realize you don’t want to do them. Sometimes you don’t know where life is going to take you until one day you think “Hah! Now I see why I did all of those things I did. It all makes sense now!”
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Mohit’s Answer

I had held several jobs throughout High School and College but my first fulltime job after graduating from college was to engineer circuits for some airplane safety systems. At the time I was looking for a job, it was difficult to get an entry level position in that field. I expanded my job search to include small companies / suppliers and was willing to go anywhere to get my foot in the door. During the interview, I showed just how interested I was to do anything in the aeronautics field. I got hired on a probation basis and it was an amazing experience working for a very small company where you did everything from engineering to going to production. My advice is keep your search wide geographically and in the size of the company. During the interview, let them see the passion for what you want to do, and then give it your all from day-one when you are hired.
Thank you comment icon Thank you for the advice. Kang
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Richard’s Answer

My first job was at 14 years old. I worked at a machine shop cleaning out the machines. It wasn't a glorious job but is was a great learning experience. I helped me learn responsibility and believe it or not looking back, it also taught me time management. I also learned that working hard can lead to more opportunities as I was offered a chance to learn to become a machinist.

I had many different jobs throughout high school and after from delivering food to working at a car wash and even changing tires to name a few. Every job helped me strengthen my work ethic.

Each of them in their own way apply to my current position, whether it be people skills, organizational skills and even time management. Don't be afraid to try different jobs even if they don't seem to be related to your future career goals. You never know, each one may be valuable in it's own way!
Thank you comment icon Thank you, Richard! Kang
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Elizabeth’s Answer

My first job outside of labor for my parents was in a physician's office. I went through the phone book (1995 )and kept calling till I found someone willing to hire me. I was looking for experience more than anything. After that I did the same for dental labs. Later became a dentist.
Thank you comment icon Elizabeth, thank you! Kang
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Filoude’s Answer

My first job was an afterschool counselor at my local elementary school. I got that job because I’ve been volunteering at that elementary school years prior so the principal, and the director of the program was familiar with me.

The principal at the school was also the vice principal when I went to that school so I didn’t have to interview. Just filled out paperwork and got the job.

My first job applies to my current position regarding being in the field to help underserved individuals.
Thank you comment icon Thank you so much! Kang
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Amy’s Answer

I got my first job in high school -- I worked at a summer program that I had previously attended when I was younger. I remember feeling sudden surges of empathy for the counselors that'd worked in my class before. I remember interacting with students, teachers, and other counselors. I remember working with kids whose position I used to be in, and thinking -- I was never that small.

It was genuinely a lot of fun. It also doesn't really have any bearing on the major or job I'm pursuing now -- it's not on my resume, and it didn't make my top three extracurriculars when I was applying to college. Working at that program changed who I am as an individual. It made me more understanding of others. It gave me a new perspective on how to work with others and how to keep up with a stressful work environment -- these are skills that I keep with me not just on the job, but also in life.

In terms of advice, I'd say pursue any opportunities that come up. Even if you don't end up with a job in your industry of choice, you'll probably learn something about yourself, which you can carry with you later on.
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Adelyn’s Answer

My first professional job was as a Business Analyst intern in 2019. I had no experience at the time in the industry and was a first semester freshman in college. The only reason I got this job was because I was very interested in weather. This unique hobby stood out to the interviewer and they had a project that was somewhat related to weather for me to work on. Definitely do not hold back a unique hobby/interest you have in an interview! You never know when it may help.
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Sulli’s Answer

My first job was project manager in digital department of finance company.
Interestingly, my major was not related about 'finance' and 'project manager'.
My major is bio and brain engineering and I studied about biomedical imaging (especially, image reconstruction and signal processing) in laboratory.
But when I graduated, I just wanted to have a job outside of the 'medial image processing' area.
So I handed out my resume to any digital-related job positions, and finally got my job!

Do not make your limitation for your first job opportunity!
Thank you comment icon I'm excited to put your great advice to good use! Kang
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Tomas’s Answer

My first job was walking greyhound dogs before races. I was 12 and it showed that I was eager and willing to work.

You're first Jon's are character builders.
Thank you comment icon Thank you for sharing your perspective. Kang
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Naomi’s Answer

My first job was a tutor - they had a program at my high school where you could sign up to tutor younger students. That then expanded and I was able to tutor students by advertising just word of mouth.
I did a few internships later in various industries and they all showed me a bit about what I like and don't like to do. Would recommend exploring and trying different jobs and things - finding out you don't like that job is just as productive and helps you move forward and know what you want to do!
Thank you comment icon Thank you! Kang
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Joseph’s Answer

I was (probably naively) committed that I was only going to work in the fairly narrow field I studied (nuclear physics). It took me hundreds of applications over more than a year before I finally was accepted into an entry-level role in that field - compiling and cross-checking test report data in an environmental radioactivity chemistry lab - quite repetitive routine work, and not very well paid compared to some of the other graduates from my program.

It worked out for me that the first role quite strongly shaped my future career - by the time a year had passed I was ready to move on to something more interesting and better paid. I could have gone into a whole range of nuclear physics areas, but I've stayed working in radiation detection since that first role, moving organisations a couple of times and changing the specifics of what I do away from routine lab work into more varied tasks in research and manufacturing, but still applying a good part of the core set of skills and knowledge built up from my studies and earlier jobs. Certainly once I'd got that first bit of work experience, companies that had rejected me as a zero-work-experience graduate were suddenly much more keen to employ me, and I had multiple offers in quick succession to choose between for my next roles.
Thank you comment icon Thank you Joseph! Your work sounds really interesting! Kang
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