What was your first job?
Even though your first job might not be immediately relevant to your current work, there are still helpful lessons to be gained if you look for them.
Photo by Cory Woodward on Unsplash
Want this content in your inbox? The full version of this post was originally published on the Getting the Nod newsletter on Substack, which also includes Job of the Day posts (one interesting job a day, mostly remote and at companies hiring for multiple roles). You can subscribe there.
There's a fascinating LinkedIn thread that's kept my attention for weeks in which the poster asked people to share their first job. Not their first "real" job, their actual first job. Being nosy, hearing about people's (generally) modest beginnings would gather my attention anyway, but both as a nerd culture participant I can't help to think of the responses as peeks into various professional origin stories.
The prevailing wisdom about resumes and applications dismisses experience that isn't directly related to the role for which you're applying. For brevity's sake I agree. That said, I think it all matters and you'd do well to understand what every role you've had has meant for your career. That includes your first job, no matter how tangential it might be to your current career.
My first job was sanding drywall. We'd show up to construction sites and get properties ready to be painted. It was dusty and tedious but also very meditative in its repetition, with a series of micro-problems to tackle throughout the day and both immediate and longer term senses of accomplishment. I found real comfort in the role and it helped me understand the kind of rewards I enjoy. Even now I know myself enough to know that I need a regular dopamine hit of accomplishment and I organize my work accordingly.
There's a lot to be gained by uncovering this kind of information and going through this sort of professional interrogation is regular component of what I do with my clients. For job seekers this can often be the foundation for an updated cover letter or reframed anecdotes. More broadly, understanding how you thrive can help set yourself up for success. Do more of what works for you and hopefully less of what doesn't. I had a client recently where we uncovered that their internal necessity to understand as much as they could about their work and how it fit into the larger business made sense for early-stage companies where roles were less clearly defined. For another mentorship was the common trait among their favorite roles, the personal relationship of someone taking them under their wing being core to their most positive professional experiences.
If you're looking to do this kind of exercise on your own, go through each role in your past and ask yourself these questions:
What was the best part of this job?
What was the worst part of this role?
What did you learn at this job that still applies to you now?
You may be surprised by what connections come up.
If you'd prefer to have an outside party help you understand your career to date as you build toward your future, please reach out for an introductory call or a session. I'm here to help.