What important lessons or skills did you learn in your first job that have been instrumental in your success?
You have to keep a good attitude and understand that not everyone will be nice back. I learned the value of perseverance by working six days a week until I reached my goal of buying a horse. In my first job I got to meet good people from all walks of life, which is so important in the work I do today.

Which of those lessons, and how, carried into subsequent jobs after your first? How do you use those skills in your position today?
Everything is a function not of what you do, but how you go about doing it. You can't fear failure or things not turning out exactly as you planned. When working with a team, you can't lose confidence when the group arrives at an outcome that is different than you expected. Sometimes you have to change directions to meet your goals and keep moving forward. When you can understand different kinds of people, it is easier to adapt your original plan to meet their needs.

Have you seen how lacking those first job skills had negative effects on others?
It's all in the attitude. Those who don't succeed show up with an “I'm better than that” attitude, and think that people owe them something don't succeed. Being willing to work as a team is invaluable. If you treat everyone with the same respect and don't shrug at tasks that you think you are too good for, you will learn and succeed.

Is there a specific event in your first job that you learned something you still use today?
There were two:
1. At the supermarket, there was a checker who was fired for stealing. She had worked there for 20 years--people would wait in line to be waited on by her! It really broke everyone’s heart that she did that. It was disappointing to learn that she jeopardized having everything she wanted from her job just for a few extra dollars.

2. When I was a cocktail waitress, I learned how truly rude some people are. I believe everyone should work in the service industry at some point in their lives to experience that. It teaches you quickly how not to treat people, especially when they are providing a service to you.

What obstacles that you faced had the greatest impact on your career path?
I wanted a horse, and I had to buy it myself so I worked all summer to save the money. Then I had to work to afford to board it, and care for it. It felt good though, knowing that I worked hard to earn what I wanted instead of it being given to me.

What people or outside factors affected your work ethic or motivated you the most to succeed?
My father made me earn the money to pay for the horse and that's when I got my first job and learned the value of hard work. I also gave up making $150/night as a cocktail waitress to make $250/week as a financial analyst, but he taught me that I had to step back to actually move forward.

What advice would you give to someone starting his or her first job?
Go in with a positive attitude. Learn to understand people and how to work with the public. To become successful you have to like what you're doing, so try new things and experiment learning new skills. Don't do something simply because you think you should do it for stature or remuneration.