2.5 minute read  |  The ordinary jobs behind extraordinary careers

Before the impressive titles, corner offices, awards and bank accounts, a surprising number of extraordinarily successful people had remarkably ordinary jobs.

The founder of one of the world’s largest brokerage firms picked and bagged walnuts as a teenager. A chairman of a global food and health company changed oil and greased cars at a gas station. The founder of one of the most valuable technology companies in history took a summer job at a manufacturing plant, where he happened to meet the friend he would later start a company with.

Millions of successful people started exactly where millions of people are starting today. Serving food. Answering phones. Stocking shelves. Working a register. Cleaning. Delivering. Packing boxes. Taking whatever job someone was willing to give them.

Most of us look at someone’s earliest job as the part of the résumé they eventually escaped.

We may have that backward.

The first job is a classroom we never recognized

Ask successful people what they remember from their earliest jobs, and you rarely hear about the technical task.

They remember the customer who screamed at them.

The boss who believed in them.

The boss who didn’t.

Getting up ridiculously early.

Being exhausted, and still having to be pleasant.

Making a mistake and having to admit it.

Discovering that being five minutes late affects more people than just you.

Learning that some people will work twice as hard for a manager who simply notices them.

Those are not entry-level lessons. They are leadership lessons.

Which raises an interesting question

The person packing your order today may someday run a company.

The receptionist answering your phone may become an entrepreneur.

The teenager bussing your table may eventually employ a thousand people.

What are they learning from us right now?

One of the greatest responsibilities of being someone’s first boss is realizing that you may be teaching lessons they will carry for the next forty years.

And if you are the person in that first, second, or seemingly insignificant job? Pay attention. You may be earning much more than a paycheck. You may be collecting the stories, the resilience, the people skills, and the lessons you will someday call the beginning of your success.

A question to take to your next staff meeting

Ask your team this at your next staff meeting: What did your first job teach you that you still use today?

The answers may tell you more about the people around the table than their résumés ever did.

Investing in the people at every level of your organization?

At Exact Staff, we’ve spent three decades placing people at every stage of their careers, from first jobs to executive roles. The people you hire today, at any level, may shape your company for decades to come. Let’s talk about building a workforce where every hire counts.

Contact your Exact Staff Representative to schedule a consultation.