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Your first job is all about attitude [by Michael Kinsman] Until a few days ago, I almost had forgotten just how harrowing a first job can be.
But I found myself watching a flustered
or family to lean on and you have to handle
I felt sorry for the girl at the drive-through
17-year-old scramble at the drive-through
issues smoothly as they arise.
window because I could see she was flustered, but still trying to do her job.
window of a fast-food restaurant just trying to do her job. Her actions clearly communi-
This is a great jumpstart to maturity, but it
cated that she was scared and baffled.
also can be intimidating.
Now, we all know that working the counter
I like to tell people that in my first job, I was
at a fast-food business isn’t the toughest or
in charge of paper clips.
Even when she shortchanged me a few cents, I couldn’t say anything to her because she was obviously shaken. Employers who hire young people have a
most challenging work out there. That’s one of the reasons tens of thousands of American
At the time, I had just started as an 18-year-
responsibility to us all. These are the future
teens each year get their first jobs doing just
old copy boy working for a newspaper. My
workers of our country and employers need
that.
department used hundreds of paper clips
to instill proper workplace values and expec-
each week, but the penny-pinching publisher
tations in these young people.
But it can be the toughest job in the world
rarely let the newsroom have new supplies. It might seem academic to older people that
if you lack the preparation or confidence it requires.
That meant that someone had to figure out a
teenagers need to learn about job expecta-
way to recycle paper clips.
tions and opportunities when they start out. They also need to understand corporate
That’s an easy thing to forget as we look back.
I simply traced the path of paper clips after
culture and how they contribute to it.
they left our department and found those Job performance is tied directly to training,
spots where they would accumulate. Each
These things are givens. But employers also
temperament and confidence. If you feel that
day, I would take some from here, some from
have a responsibility to make sure that when
you understand your job duties, have been
there and my department would have an
they hire young people, they have given those
trained to perform them and like the work
adequate supply for its needs.
people the proper training and education they will need to handle the job.
you are doing, you probably will be a success in that job.
This wasn’t brain surgery. It also wasn’t exciting work. Yet, it was a job that needed
Employers need to make certain that young
to be done and I did it. Because I was suc-
hires have a chance to succeed in their first
cessful in that, they soon gave me additional
jobs. It can set a tone for their entire career
How many times have you seen a new em-
jobs that were more important and more
and it’s simply a good business strategy.
ployee in a retail shop asking for assistance
meaningful.
Yet, things often are not that black and white.
© Copley News Service
to complete a simple task? How often have you seen new employees take interminable
Your first job is all about attitude. Nearly
periods to complete a transaction?
everyone has a job early in their career with mundane tasks, yet they still must be done.
Your first job is often a very important life
Our willingness to deal with those tasks as
event. It could be one of the first times
part of the whole job can often set a tone for
that you have been in the world alone with
our tenure in that job.
responsibilities. Often, you don’t have friends
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