My First Job: The Essential Lessons of My Summers

My sister Sarah and I in the mid 1990's when we worked together selling fleeces

I had a great many summer jobs that all blend together. Prior to the age of 15 I had: scooped ice cream, been a camp counselor assistant, chopped vegetables in the back of catering store, and sold clothing.

I didn't particularly like going to summer camp, and I felt much more comfortable in these jobs, being exposed to older college kids and adults and functioning in the real world. I did some of my summer jobs in tandem (camp counselor by day, ice cream scooper by night) so I thought I'd just recount the stories that stick most closely with me after all these years.

Order Size and Value

My sister, Sarah, and I sold clothing together at a store in East Hampton, New York called Springers that in the 1990's sold a mix of sweatshirts, t-shirts, Patagonia athletic wear, and high end fashion. The Patagonias were at the back of the store. I'd bust my hump running all over the store, and Sarah hung back at the high value Patagonias. I'd sell 5 items running around the store with the customer for a total of $100. Sarah, in contrast, knew everything about the Patagonias (wicking fabrics, etc.) and would close a single $200 item in 10 minutes.

This experience taught me the importance of order value and time allocation. I learned that given a common infrastructure (a set amount of space and employee time), if you can work smart on items with high order value and high margin, you will always be better off than working hard on low value, low margin items.

I also learned that study and expertise matter. I got the Patagonia catalogs and technical books, and I studied them and developed a concise pitch about why their fabrics and products were worth the premium.

Sarah and I worked an evening shift, I think it was 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., and we were a very productive and decently grossing team catering to the pre and post movie and dinner crowds. We also had to lock up the store at closing. Some nights, I'd worry we forgot to lock the back door and head back to the store to check. It was a ton if responsibility and one I never took for granted. I can thank Judy and John Springer for that.

Energy

One of the highest paying and most coveted jobs that I was aware of was working at the Sagaponack General Store, also in the 1990s. I had older friends working there that were making what sounded to me like an insane hourly rate.

The store sold non-perishables as well as a wide array of freshly prepared salads and dishes made daily. Their meatloaf was to die for, and I ate it almost daily.

Arrival time for the days work was, I think, 6 a.m. I could not drive at this point, so I would ride my bike 5.4 miles in the dark around 5:30 a.m., and then stand on my feet chopping vegetables, spinning salad, and separating dill for 8 hours. The end of the day was a ton of dish washing. The toughest task was washing down the walk-in fridge, which I think we did every few days. There was also a lot of produce crate carrying.

I would end the day soaked and stinking, ride the bike home, and collapse. I had to take my clothes off outside the house.

This job taught me the importance of energy and endurance. And that if I moved quickly, I could be and feel energized. I learned to pace the day properly, take quick breaks to refresh, and plow through with enthusiasm. People today often comment on my energy level and that I drink too much coffee or don't need coffee. I learned my energy at the Sag General Store, and I can thank the owners Mary and Don for that.

Being Generous

Ice scream scooping was a short stint, and I was not good at it. I was continually criticized by my manager for making my scoops too large.

She began to insist I use a scale to measure my scoops, when the better scoopers where not asked to do the same. This was embarrassing. I was the worst scooper in the shop, and everyone knew it.

This was a stupid policy. The scale slowed me down during the evening post-movie crush. Also customers liked my large scoops, and we were charging very expensive prices for this ice cream. A little extra made the customers feel well treated and was a minimal margin hit to the shop.

I decided that if ever I was in a position to determine things like this I would be generous to my customers, especially when it was a small cost for me and a big show of appreciation to them. I am a large scooper and will always be so.

These are just a few experiences from a ranged of memories that hit me on a frequent basis during my daily business. I found my summer jobs stressful because I was thrust into the adult world, but ultimately, I loved them, and they taught me lessons about business and myself.

I can't wait for my young children to get summer and after school jobs. And I hope these experiences will be as meaningful to them as they were to me.

I'll be answering your questions about my career lessons live with LinkedIn Today Tuesday 11/14 at 3p EDT.