Whether it was lifeguarding at a local pool, manning the drive-through at a fast-food chain, or babysitting the neighbor’s kid, you probably remember your first job. While you likely took it to make money, early roles often came with valuable life lessons, too (although you may not have realized it then). Is that job on your LinkedIn profile? If not, Dean Carter, chief people and purpose officer at career platform Guild and former head of people and culture at Patagonia, says it should be. “You can learn a lot about someone by starting at the bottom of the résumé,” he says. “Even though they don’t often wind up on our LinkedIn profile, I met very few people who didn’t have a first job of some sort that they did in service to someone else. First jobs lay a powerful foundation for lifelong skills that matter.” Sharing those jobs is important for a few reasons. It’s often easier to look backward than it is to look forward. When you reflect on your first job years later, you’re better equipped to connect the dots and recognize how the tasks you did then built the professional skills you have today. For example, Carter’s first job was as a waiter at the Lone Star Cafe in Austin, Texas. “Someone pulled me aside and pointed out that I was going from table to table to table,” he says. “The best advice I got was, ‘Dean, you have one table, not five. Think about it as a single table when you’re going around, and you’ll save so much time.’” That lesson taught Carter to change how he worked in any job, becoming more efficient and effective with his processes. He says he also learned team building, customer service, and organization. “I think about that job even today,” he says. Another early job for Carter was as a camp counselor. “I was responsible for 10-year-old boys for an entire summer, making sure they were safe and taken care of,” he says. “I learned empathy. There was also a lot of conflict management. Those fundamental experiences shaped what I wanted to be and wanted to do.” Sharing the jobs and lessons learned can be empowering to others. People who currently hold the types of roles you had while in high school or college may need help recognizing and articulating the lessons they’re learning. “The work and the skills people develop in these jobs are often underappreciated, yet they are some of the most valuable and critical skills for the jobs many companies are searching for now,” says Carter. “[Sharing those skills on LinkedIn] helps other people currently in those jobs value that work and articulate the skills that they have.”It’s Where You Built Fundamental Skills
It Helps Others Who Are Currently in Those Roles
It Showcases Another Facet of Yourself
Managers who screen for culture fit will often look for people who did hands-on work or worked in service to others as a selection criterion when hiring. While at Patagonia, for example, Carter says he often searched for candidates who did volunteer work or held outdoor jobs. Putting those early roles on your LinkedIn profile can provide a more well-rounded look at your background and personality.
“Particularly for purpose-driven companies like Guild or Patagonia, [hiring managers] can find people who are highly aligned to their purpose by looking at first jobs,” says Carter.
These jobs also demonstrate your work ethic. “When someone was a grocery store bagger, I see them as someone willing to get their hands dirty,” says Carter. “They likely are hard workers, showing up at that job every day and doing it well.”
Don’t be afraid to put early jobs on your LinkedIn profile, says Carter. “It matters and people like to see you’re a human being,” he says. “They want to see your path. They want to see you started as a cashier, and now you’re the head of HR. You’re putting the ladder back down for people to climb; you’re showing that this job mattered, and I can get here from there. I think that gives people hope.”
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