TheLadders.com recently reached out to me to talk about my first job and share a little bit with you guys about it on my blog. A fantastic writing prompt, I decided to go with it. :)
Sometimes, it is pretty easy to sit around and mope about how far you haven't come compared to the fantasy you expected yourself to be at your age. I'm not sure what exactly I expected at my age, but I'm pretty sure as a young child, it involved being a child actor, winning copious awards and then going on to author several prize-winning and bestselling novels.
While none of those things happened, looking back at my first place of employment is a great indicator at how far I have come in my life.
My very first place of employment, like many pre-teens of the late '90s, was good old fashioned under-the-table babysitting for neighborhood kids. Like many others of my era, inspired by the books of Ann M. Martin, starting a babysitter's club via a multi-colored ConAir phone seemed like a great idea.
Of course, looking back, I am kind of amazed that parents willingly left their children with alone with a 13-year-old babysitter. Like, with how overprotective people are these days, is anyone going to do that?! But, I guess with my parents being just across the street, it wasn't too much of a risk. All of my former charges are alive and relatively unharmed, so that's a plus!
My first real job, one where I was getting taxed and everything, was working at The Gap. Growing up in a very affluent town, we catered to the wealthy clientele who were coming in for a quick browse. At only 18 and very inexperienced, I was probably not the best employee. Probably? Definitely. And I learned very quickly that retail was not for me.
Although I liked clothes (and the discounts, though it took me a long time to be able to set foot back into a Gap store), I hated having to do "go-backs" (or bringing the clothes back), pulling all night re-stocking/re-decorating of the store shifts (that is a thing in retail stores, in case you thought that storefronts were magically changed by little elves in the night during the change of season). I think the worst part for me was just standing there, when you're just there to wait until someone needs your help. I totally understand the importance of it, but just standing and waiting is the most boring part of the job. At least I got to wear a fancy little headset!
It's not that they treated me badly in any way, I just learned rather quickly that I am NOT a retail kind of gal. I admire anyone who can do it for longer than a couple of months at a time. I guess I could work retail again if I absolutely had to for some reason, but unless that day comes, I am going to try to avoid it in the future.
But now it's been a 10+ years, I am finally able to go inside a Gap with confidence...probably because they have gotten rid of their Dream scent which brought back too many memories of standing, standing and more standing.
What was your first job?
Apart from babysitting, I can't answer this question. A few months ago, I was convinced that I would have a definite answer because I absolutely wanted to work this summer. I'm sixteen, and although it may seem young, it's become the norm to start working at this age where I live, and unless someone wanted to hire someone who'd be gone or being a tour guide for her french family for 75% of the summer (I've literally had one week of vacation without any guests so far!), I just had to accept that I'd have to wait another year before getting any real experience and money. Thank goodness, I had an amazing summer and wouldn't change it if I could!
ReplyDeleteMarianne :)
That's fantastic, though, that you had an amazing summer! What did you get up to? xx
DeleteMy first job was at Abercrombie & Fitch, which was a very relaxed, cool, fun job for a highschool kid, but overall a HORRIBLE company. After I left there I actually worked for Gap for a while, and I loved it. It's funny you said you hated the overnight stock shifts, because I loved them (no dealing with people, lol!!).
ReplyDeleteBut I understand you on taking you a while to go back into a GAP, lol. I still run in the opposite direction every time I smell Fierce from A&F haha.
Z · HELLOZAUNI.COM
I thankfully am a retail kind of girl! I started my first job at 15 in retail at a major chain and 10 years later I am the HR Manager of my own store!
ReplyDelete