Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You

Posted on February 23rd, 2010 by Keith Ferrazzi

MackayBookCoverLarry King made my day once by mentioning me in the same breath as Harvey MacKay. So needless to say I'm thrilled to have Harvey, the best-selling author of Swim with the Sharks, as a guest tipster here. He's got a new book out, Use Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You.

If you’re smart enough to buy it before Feb. 26th you get a bunch of great freebies, including a money-back guarantee if you don’t land a job in six months! The info on the free stuff is all on Harvey's site.

And now, here’s Harvey’s tip:

YOU CAN'T GET ANYWHERE UNLESS YOU START
By Harvey MacCay, adapted from the new Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door

Today I'm chairman of a $100 million envelope company. Outside of paper routes and setting pins in a bowling alley, my first real job was as a summer fill-in at Howard's Men's Store in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.

Sounds like a pretty remote switch, but was it really? I still consider a CEO to be any firm's #1 salesman, and what I learned about sales at Howard's was epic:

  • Choices: Never put more than three ties on the counter. It only confuses the customer.
  • Convenience: Never start locking up, even if the customer is a couple minutes late.
  • Commitment: When the customer tries on the pants, it's usually a done deal.

How you tackle your first job will likely shape how you manage your career for the rest of life. And, I surely learned from my share of mistakes: such as asking for time off, even though the main reason I was hired was so that senior staff could enjoy their vacations.

If you're like most people, you'll churn through 3-5 career shifts and 12-15 job changes in your working life. Smart people probably switch less, and they surely determine when and why they make most of the changes.

The difference starts with positive attitude and perseverance. Remember, if you think you can . . . or if you think you can't . . . you're right.

Question for readers: What did YOU learn from your first job?

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18 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. littlepitcher says:
    February 23, 2010 at 5:26 am
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    My first "real" job was at an insurance company. I learned that if they don't promote you, learn the job on your own, take over the excess work, and then let the supervisor explain why they didn't give it to you. Second lesson: if they don't give you the raise, bring in a counter-offer from another company.

  2. My first job was at a spend management firm, where I learned that sometimes you have chart your own territory. My supervisors didn't understand my own needs or even the basic responsibilities of my job; so, I came up with my own "strategic" plan about how to tackle what I am doing and set goals for myself that fit in with the overall understanding of the companies direction. Needless to say, it paid off big time. Not only did my boss recognize what I was doing, and I was doing it quickly, but the Senior Vice-Presidents brought me in after I finished a record-breaking year and wanted to know what I was doing. I laid out my immense planning and strategy, and all I had to do was follow it. There was no guess work into what I should be doing everyday--I already laid it out there for myself.

  3. My first job was with a manufacturer of railroad passenger cars and subway cars. I was walking to the office building one day when I passed the manager of the factory. He was a respected and admired man closing in on retirement. He was actually carefully looking at the roses planted along the walkway. He said to me, "stop and smell the roses". That is exactly what he was doing. I learned at that time; no matter what is going on -- a little balance in my life is important. Try it. Take 30 - 60 seconds to smell the roses and it refreshes you. You'll find new answers to the questions in your mind.

  4. My first job was pouring coffee at a local diner where my first boss told me, "If you smile more, you'll make more tips." Her advice was correct and has carried through to every other job I have had.

  5. My first job was working as a sales associate at a local soccer store. I learned I needed to find my passion, then find a career. If you have a job you enjoy, it will feel like you are never working a day in your life. As a lifelong athlete and sports fan, I now work in collegiate athletics.

    • I'm 7 months in to my first "real job." No doubt, I'm finding a lot of value and gaining experience in my current position, however I think often about finding a job that more closely meets my passion (athletics). I'd be interested to hear the path that took one from working at a local grocer to a career in collegiate athletics.

  6. My first job was in sales and the sales manager told me to always use the client's name at least twice on the phone call - it helps to build rapport quickly.

  7. I began working in our family grocery store at the age of 12 and learned a great deal from my father. However, it always bugged him that sales people would park in the best spots near the front door and force his customers to park farther away. 36 years later, I still make it a point not to take the best parking locations when meeting with my clients.

  8. One of my first jobs was teaching American History 1865-present at a Community College. It was a required class scheduled 3 days a week, 8:00-8:50 AM. In those days, it was just me and the chalkboard - and occasionally a few maps.

    I learned that it IS possible to engage an audience of 30 potentially bored, half-asleep teenagers and young people - I told stories, moved around the room a lot, asked questions and tried to make the past come alive to them. I also demonstrated my respect for them by showing interest in what was going on in their world and admitting when I didn't know the answer. I learned that energy and enthusiasm are contagious and that I can't force people to be motivated - I can only set up the environment.

    The biggest compliment I could receive from my students was that by making history interesting and fun, I had helped them realize its importance. And, for those who came into the class thinking they were "stupid" in history, that I had helped them realize they weren't stupid and that they could "do" history.

    Years later, I still remember these lessons when I conduct training programs for corporate clients, speak in front of an audience or get on stage to perform improv comedy.

  9. My first job was in high school, working for a local newspaper advice columnist. I learned how pleasurable life is for those who find the perfect outlet for their personality through work. I also learned I don't like filing. :-)

  10. My first job was at a bank and I learned to learn as much as possible about everything so I could determine what I really wanted to do as a career. I was able to create and deliver training, run the customer service department, design marketing ads, etc. It was a great learning experience to help me hone in on what I wanted to do for the rest of the career - training and development.

  11. My first job was as a busboy at a restaurant in downtown Chicago. Lessons I learned were:
    1) Hustle,
    2) Efficiently Multi-Task;
    3) A smile and politeness goes a long way.

  12. My first job was at the local public library. I always wanted to work there and one day the guy behind the desk asked if I was the member of my family that wanted to work at the library. I said yes and he said, today would be a good day to apply because XXX is quitting. He put my application on the top of a huge pile in a drawer. So, right away I learned (1) timing means much in clinching the spot. Fast forward and a patron is screaming at me because I suggested to her son that he try books from a different (more challenging) section for the summer reading contest. The head librarian approached and calmed her down by saying "I am sorry you feel this way." I learned (2) the patron/customer may have to be right, but management need not put staff down to accomplish that. (I also learned to zoom in on the insincere apology so prevalent in public today!) Just a few out of many. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Boy, I loved that job. (Love the one I have now, too.)

  13. I'm sorry to say I learned unwelcome lessons in my first job, stirring dye pots in a customer service laboratory at Celanese Corporation in Charlotte, NC. I learned the first week, "Take it easy; if you work too hard, you make all these guys look bad. We don't want to run out of work." I learned a more useful lesson in week 2 when I was asked to write to a customer about black specks in their cloth. "Be brief. They don't care what you tried that didn't work, tell them what they need to do." That lesson has been helpful all these years. The other one, well I usually try to forget it.

  14. I learned that you should always answer a ringing phone - whoever's phone it is, wherever you are in the office, whatever time of day - because it might be a client who needs something. Of course then you have to act on the caller's request.

  15. Blog idea

    What did you learn in your first job?

    My first job was shoveling snow during a major blizzard. The reason I mention this even though its not a "real" job is because I learned a few major lessons:
    - It Will Snow Again - Asking for more then you should, or not doing a good job will burning your bridges could also leave you feeling bad as you count your money.
    - Be Strategic with your Market Choice – While my friends were staying local, I went to the "rich" blocks. Harder work, but better pay and a good chance for return customers.
    - Work Ethic - While my friends shoveling for a couple hours and then sledding or sitting around playing video games, I was working from 7am – 7pm for 4 days strait (2 big blizzards in a row).
    My first “real” job was in a sales job where I learned three major life lessons.
    - You Control Your Own $$ - The managers avoided conflict resolution, so you had to fend for yourself. I built relationships with the entire sales floor and learned how to keep myself from getting stepped on.
    - Don’t Bend on your Ethics - I worked with others in my department to maintain a informal code of ethics. If there was someone in our department stealing sales or not respecting the rest of the team, the entire team would work against them, negatively impacting their sales. This led to tight relationships w/in the department and kept the conflicts at a minimum. The store manager also did a lot of horrible things to his employees and even customers. Many times I was told to "lose my conscience." I ignored him and learned early that a sale I couldn’t feel good about wasn’t worth it. The results? I was one of the most profitable people in the store and had a return rate that was 50% of most of the sales people.
    - Research and Hard Work will Avoid the "Winner's Curse" - As soon as there was niche market…. cable internet, digital cameras, etc., I jumped on it and researched immediately to learn the ins and outs, becoming the expert of the store and reaping the commission benefits while the rest of the store didn’t feel like taking the time to understand the new technology.

  16. One of my earlier jobs was waitressing and I was horrible at it, aways forgetting to put up orders. The other waitresses yelled at the cooks and often stiffed the bus boys at the end of their shifts.

    I learned that, if I was nice to the cooks, they would put my order in front, so that the customers would not know that I didn't get their orders in promptly. I tipped the bus boys very well and they always cleared my tables first.

    I still got fired from that job, but I learned that if you treat others with respect, that respect comes back to you.

  17. My first job was right out of high school in the Finance Department of HBO (Century City, CA). I LOVED it. It was a Yes to Jobs program that allowed students right out of high school to work full time in the entertainment industry.

    Eventhough I am not the best "finance" person, the experience taught me the importance of budget management, tracking expenses etc. We used Lotus 123 to track budgets on spreadsheets and to create/write very large checks to HBO vendors, actors, actresses etc. There was also a bank in the same building as HBO and I was tasked with picking up million dollar checks from the bank to actually pay people. I now recognize how MAJOR that was but as a young adult it went over my head.

    I also recall the people in the Finance Department to be very friendly and I got to see free movies on Fridays. Since this experience, I've tried to make sure that every work experience has rewards and learning built in and to always "enjoy" the work that I do for others.

    Thanks for posting the question - its always nice to reflect on "first experiences" whether good or bad!

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