The Childhood Grind

At some point in everyone’s life, they have their first job. And I mean Job, not a career, as they are two completely different things. A job consists of simply accomplishing a mundane task for money, while a career has a much deeper importance to your long-term goals. This article focuses on my “Childhood Grind”, or my first experiences with work and how it helped me grow into the person I am today.

The first job I applied for as a kid was caddying at a country club down the street, Meadowbrook Country Club. This was right around the time I had started getting into the frustrating yet rewarding game of golf. Country clubs are also an area where wealth isn’t a major concern, so I decided to throw my hat in the ring and make some money.

The club required me to wake up around 5am on weekends and show up later for the evening weekday leagues around 5pm. You weren’t guaranteed a spot unless you had a regular member or the Clubhouse caddy master liked you. Early on I was forced into a frat-like networking environment that required strategy and relationship building to rise to the top.

Below I have listed a few of the major aspects of the job and how they impacted me today:

Flexibility

I have always been very good at accomplishing tasks at a high level within a deadline. This position gave me the opportunity to pick and choose when I wanted to work. I was also able to learn that flexibility is a good way to show commitment, build trust, and see how passionate people are about what they do.

Networking and Work Relationships

As a caddy, you are able to interact with all kinds of members. Personality and skill set come in huge variances, which is great preparation for someone going out into the business world. Do I want to work with someone who values my opinion or someone who makes me participate in mundane tasks and disregards my knowledge when adversity shows up? I’ll let you answer that yourself.

Working Environment

With the assumption that you and I have met in person, you know I like to be active and have a pretty high energy level. Caddying allowed me to offer advice, gain knowledge and experience from the members and be active in a beautiful outdoor environment. My current role at thyssenkrupp allows me to travel the US and visit a variety of people in different working environments and I enjoy the change of scenery.

Please feel free to share your first job and what you learned about yourself through working there! Tweet me @evbtuesdays, or simply comment below. Sign up on the homepage if you would like to get my Tie Tuesday updates right in your inbox.

Stay business casual until next Tuesday!

EVB