There will be times at every stage in your career where you say, “Why am I putting up with this bullshit?” There will be times when you feel like you’re not learning enough. And when it comes to your 20s, specifically, you’ll probably spend a lot of time feeling invisible, disrespected, and annoyed. But don’t worry, it’s not for nothing. The truth is, those horrible jobs you had in your 20s (or even your teens) really do teach you valuable lessons.
CareerBuilder.com published “Jobs you had in yoiur 20s: What they taught you” recently, and our favorite note comes from someone who is now in the C-suite. Here it is:
Little actions have big results
Rich Christiansen, now an entrepreneur and author of “The Zig Zag Principle,” remembers being a “peon” at a start-up company where “everyone was busting their gut to make this little leading-edge technology business work.” As he was leaving one night, he noticed that the office’s floor needed mopping and the place as a whole was pretty filthy. With an important potential investor set to visit the next day, Christiansen decided to come back that night and clean up.
The next day, there was a buzz among the workers as to who had secretly played janitor, and someone eventually figured it out. A vice president offered him a promotion and became a lifelong friend and mentor. Christiansen notes that “by being competent and looking for ways to give and do a little extra, I was able to form a relationship that has been mutually beneficial over the years.”
Chalk it up to experience, they say. And now, chalk it up to things you need to learn in your 20s. Mopping the floors might just be one of them.
Read the rest of CareerBuilder.com‘s lessons to learn by clicking here.
About the Author: Marcy Twete
Marcy Twete is the Founder and CEO of Career Girl Network and the author of the book “You Know Everybody! A Career Girl’s Guide to Building a Network That Works.” At Career Girl Network, Marcy provides women with information, resources, and networking to empower them in their careers and to advance the work of women in business as a whole. Prior to launching Career Girl Network, Marcy worked in numerous nonprofit organizations and as a consultant in the field of nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and community relations. Marcy is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota, and a native of rural North Dakota. She is the Vice Chair of the Chicago Board of Directors for Step Up Women’s Network in Chicago and a member of the Advisory Board for Girls on the Run Twin Cities, and is dedicated to advancing the work of organizations that move the needle for women and girls worldwide.
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