Define “First Job”… (This is what I asked Shannon to do when she first brought forth the idea for this blog series)
I grew up on a farm. So, I guess you could say THAT was my first job, and I certainly learned a good work ethic and the importance of responsibility from that, but I don’t really count that as my first job (I haven’t put it on a resume since I was in High School and didn’t have anything else to put as job history). And the summer after my Sophomore year of High School, I worked for the Buckle Warehouse in Kearney, Nebraska, which was a real job, but I’m not going to write about that today, either because it would make for a pretty short blog – I learned that working in a factory-type environment was definitely not for me. So, fast forward to the end of my Senior year of High School when I started working for Foster’s Family Foods in Elm Creek, Nebraska, and that’s the job I truly consider my “First Real Job”.
A Little About Foster’s Family Foods and Working There:
Foster’s Family Foods is the local, small-town grocery store in the town I grew up in. It’s owned by a couple in town and has been around for as long as I can remember. Working there was fun. For the first year I worked there, I got to work with one of my best friends. It was a pretty laid back work environment and as long as you were taking good care of their customers, they allowed us to have our share of fun as well.
What I Learned Working at Foster’s:
There was always one big thing that was engrained into our minds there – Customer Service! As a small town grocery store, they couldn’t compete with prices of many of the stores in Kearney, Nebraska, but they could have great customer service. We always carried out groceries for nearly everyone who would let us (and sometimes those who wouldn’t let us, just for fun) and we were always expected to be incredibly polite and treat each customer with the utmost respect. But Curt and Kelly took this one step further. If there was someone in town who wanted a specific brand of a specific product, we got it in the store just for them. If there was an elderly person who had a hard time getting around, we’d take their list over the phone and deliver their groceries right to their house. I’d have to say that I learned true customer service from Curt and Kelly.
Now, I can’t tell you that I learned my work ethic from working at Foster’s, because I owe that to my family. It was engrained into my head since I was little, “You can do anything you want if you work hard.” But I can absolutely say that Curt and Kelly Foster taught me what a good work ethic could do for you in a real work environment. When I started at Foster’s, I was a checker. I had limited responsibility, but I took what responsibility I had seriously. Before long, I was being put in charge of things. Now, looking back, they were fairly little things – creating signs for promotions, ordering cards and ordering for the dollar section – but at the time, I just remember feeling very important and valued as an employee. They had seen my hard work and dedication and were entrusting me with more authority because of that. And I LOVED that feeling.
Every job I’ve had since then, I’ve worked hard to have just that – the feeling of being of great value to that particular company or organization. While that’s gotten larger in scope over the years as I’ve grown up and turned the word job into career in my life, it all started with Foster’s and it’s what makes me work hard to be of value to Transformation Marketing and our clients. It’s what motivates me to take my passions, graphic design and social media, and improve on them to the best of my ability to ensure that Shannon, Travis, all my teammates, and all of our clients see that I can bring value to each and every one of them.