My First Job

People are always approaching me asking for help finding jobs for their teen aged children. Among the comments I hear are the need to have a learning experience, gaining skills for the future, something that will look good on a college application, and a job that pays better than minimum wage. These are all great wishes but remember one thing, one's first job is meant to be just that and nothing more.

Shortly after Gerald Ford was named President of the U.S., I obtained my first job working in a fast food burger and chicken chain that no longer exists. My folks had nothing to do with this. A high school buddy gave me the name of his boss, I showed up at the door, told them I would do whatever they wanted and was hired for $2.10 hourly (25 cents below minimum wage because we got two uniform shirts and free food)! For that sum of money I cleaned grease traps, jumped around in a dumpster with coworkers when the trash overflowed, washed and marinated chicken (sometimes right after the trap and dumpster!), unloaded shipments, bussed tables, ran a cash register, grilled burgers and deep fried the chicken and did whatever they asked me to do.

Did I have a learning experience? Absolutely! I became friendly with the managers and learned about inventory control and Just-In-Time ordering way before computerized registers appeared and I also learned how to manage a shift of workers and train newcomers.

Were any valuable skills acquired? Definitely! Probably the most important skill I honed at that job was dealing with the public and how to provide excellent customer service under extremely hectic conditions.

How did the job look on my college application? More than one admissions recruiter appeared shocked to learn I was working 3 or 4 nights each week until 11 or 12:00 then arriving at school at 8:00 in the morning while maintaining decent grades.

Was it worth working for less than minimum wage? How many teen aged boys do you know who would say no to free burgers and fried chicken? I managed to get two raises and parlayed this into a vacation break job while in college. The moral of the story is that one's first job needs to be viewed as a first job, nothing more, nothing less but can lead to bigger and better things!