Just a few things I wish I knew sooner

Whether you’re making a career change or just entering the workforce a common hurdle that most have to overcome is getting that first job opportunity. Most jobs want previous work experience to do tasks that really anyone can do with 5 minutes of training. Some want one year, while others require 10, but where does one begin to acquire any experience at all?

Your current network tends to be a good starting point. Who you know and associate with will change over time, but recognize it’s an important factor in your journey through life.

Below is the story of how I got my first job at age 15 without any prior experience. Feel free to scroll to the key points at the end if you just want the main helpful info for starting out in the job market at any age.

How I got my first job

“Hi Miss Jones, is Billy there?” I say in my squeaky teenage voice. “BILLLLY, JERRY’S ON THE PHONE FOR YOU!” I hear Billy’s mom screaming to him through the phone. Billy was likely somewhere in the backyard playing and these are still the pre-cell phone days, at least before having a cell phone as a child was the norm. In those days, in order to reach your friend you had to call the house phone, which you most certainly knew by memory, but always called with a bit of hesitation knowing a grown-up may answer instead of your friend. “Hey what’s up?” “Want to hang out?” “Sure.” “Cool, I’ll leave in a few.” I hop on my bike and make my way a few miles to my friend’s house.

We hung out as I suppose most teens did in those days – outside. We’d play HORSE with a basketball or home run derby, using a tennis ball instead of a normal baseball. We did this to prevent damages to cars and windows that were in close proximity to the cul de sac in front of Billy’s house. You tend to only break one window before you’re either banned from playing out front or learn to come up with a solution.

Jump when opportunity crosses your path

After wrapping up a solid game of home run derby we headed back towards my friend’s house as his neighbor Tim was pulling into the driveway with his Cadillac Escalade. Tim always seemed to be the wealthy neighbor. His vehicles always seemed a bit nicer and he seemed to carry himself with an additional sense of confidence. Billy had worked for Tim the previous summer at the manufacturing facility that he owned with his brothers, so they had somewhat of a relationship.

“Hey guys!”, Tim said. “Billy, I could use some help around the shop. Would you like to come work again?” Billy hem’d and haw’d. “Maybe” Billy responded unemphatically. I knew opportunity when I saw it and jumped in excitedly saying, “I’ll do it! I’d like to work. Can I work for you?” At this point, whether needing to feel socially accepted, or from a competitive standpoint, Billy decided he’d like to work now as well. “Why don’t you both come by on Monday? I’m sure we can find plenty for you both to do.” Tim said. I couldn’t have been more excited. I had my first real job. I was going to make big money!

Team up with a friend

Monday arrived and I no longer had to sit home bored during summer break. Billy was a year older and already had his driver’s license, so he picked me up on the way to the shop. Our first day was much like the others while I was there. We washed the work trucks, swept the shop, assembled a few items in the assembly chain, and did other odd jobs together.

The time finally came two weeks later that we finally got paid. I looked at my first paycheck; a whole $37!? Now I know I may have not had the greatest idea as to the value of a dollar at age 15, but even $37 seemed like nothing for the amount of time it took to earn that amount.

Stand up for yourself

If you recall in my post, Financial opportunity has no age limit, you know I made almost as much with a fraction of the effort in my own doughnut business. Billy wasn’t sold on the amount either. I’m pretty confident we were both making less than minimum wage and possibly not having all our hours being accounted for.

The following shift we worked we raised our concerns to our manager. I was surprised when it seemed to actually do something for us. We both got a rise on the next paycheck. Simple mistake or taking advantage of our age we’ll never know. My guess is Billy’s parents saw how much he was making and told Tim he couldn’t have us work for less than minimum wage. Either way, had we not spoken up, we probably wouldn’t have seen any improvement at all.

Accept that you have to start somewhere and that this is just part of your journey

Both Billy and I went on to work there for a few months not learning much but making a few bucks here and there until we moved on to higher paying jobs elsewhere. We were able to leverage our experience at the manufacturing facility to show others that we were dependable and picked things up quickly. We eventually got new opportunities through other contacts, but we had to start somewhere. We were 15-16 after all.

I did learn a few skills that gave me ideas of earning money that I may bring up in a future post, but more importantly I can now look back and reflect on where I was at that time. Even then, at that very young age I felt stuck, like I wasn’t making enough money (I wasn’t) and that I couldn’t see a clear path to progress (there wasn’t one). I think it’s important to note that the owner Tim was the successful one running the operation from above, while the employees who did all the labor intensive work barely scraped by. But it was a stepping stone for both of us. The role was never designed to be a career, but we took the experience we gained and leveraged it into something else.

Surround yourself with the right people

One thing I can’t emphasize enough is that education is so important and you are who you associate with. I was young and naive and likely taken advantage of because of not being informed. But being in that atmosphere where I believe poor breeds more poor, could have been even more detrimental to me.

I recall one day asking the manager how I could make more money, like a side gig. He suggested I do something illegal for a quick buck. What kind of adult tells a 15 year old kid to break the law, potentially ruining his life forever? Children are so easily influenced at that age that surrounding yourself with the right kinds of people is key. I’ve always wondered how people made a lot of money or how to earn a little on the side. I hope my future posts will help answer questions for you that, I had, and wasn’t sure of who to ask to find the right answers.

Take a chance at an opportunity, you'll never know what it could lead to, but trying something new gains you experience and is an investment in yourself

You can find inspiration and ideas from anywhere. Yes, if you don’t know where to come up with ideas of making money then taking a job to see what people are willing to pay for may help, but remember they are paying you to do a task which they don’t want to do themselves, or they see a better return on their time focusing on something else. An employee is a cog in the wheel of the machine that is the business they work for. These days all the information you could dream of is online. Invest in yourself, learn something new, try an idea, and surround yourself with those you aspire to be.

If Billy or I knew better, we should have asked to shadow Tim to see what he did to build the business, even if it paid nothing. That kind of information would have paid dividends later in life no doubt and we would have been surrounding ourselves with a leader instead of employees.

Key points on obtaining your first job

• Recognize that success isn’t created overnight and you don’t get to start at the top. The page views for this blog are a prime example that I get to live daily 🙂 I keep telling myself that if what I share helps even one person then it will be worth it, and so far I’m able to continue to convince myself of this.

• Set a goal to learn something new or take some kind of action towards achieving larger goals daily. It can be as easy as listening to a podcast or audio book on the way to and from work or school. Reading a blog while riding the bus or train. Watch an educational YouTube video when you want to relax instead of regular entertainment.

• Be willing to work for free, clean toilets, or take something not ideal temporarily to get started. These are things I did, in addition to doing other jobs I didn’t want to do just for the hope of a future opportunity. If they don’t recognize your hard work then move on to someone who will.

• You need to leverage your network. Surround yourself with those that you want to be like and who have the network that can open up the opportunities you’re looking for.

• Acquire the specific skills that people who, have the role you want, already have. Look at their linkedIn profile and job postings for ideas of what you need to know, then actually learn it.

• Take an extra course or get a certification that most entry level applications don’t have, so you set yourself apart. I flew to Chicago during college midterms to take a two day course on options for this exact reason. It gave me talking points in interviews and helped me stand out.

• Dress up in business casual attire and walk into a place you want to work. Have some questions prepared and ask if they’re hiring, if not, tell them you’re a college student and that you’d like to speak to someone to see what it takes to get a job there. People love to talk to college students; they seem to have sympathy or pity for them. Random unemployed people don’t tend to garner the same attention. I did this on a Friday afternoon and got two financial advisers to talk to me for over an hour and answer more questions than I had even planned on asking. They even began freely offering advice after I ran out of questions. Timing is everything on this. Tuesday morning at 10 am is likely not when you want to try this.

• Go to the physical location of a company and ask to talk to the hiring manager. Say that you’d like to follow up with your online application. Be almost annoyingly persistent. I got more than one job this way.

Conclusion

You need to be able to recognize opportunity when it presents itself and have the confidence to jump on it once it does. Don’t hesitate. If you don’t speak up for yourself, no one else will for you. Stay positive and make the opportunity, don’t wait for it.

Who gave you your first opportunity? Are you able to look back at where you’ve been and recognize those who just need a chance today? Let me know in the comments below.

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