Ice Breaker – First Job

Each week on The Stretched Blog, we ask an ice breaker question.  The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community.  I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments.  While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

From time to time, I tap into my family and friends for Ice Breaker ideas.  This week’s Ice Breaker came at the suggestion of my wife, Leanne.  She is in the middle of investigating new job opportunities.

Question:  What was your first job?

My Answer:  I shoveled a lot of snow and cut a lot of grass over my early adolescent years.  This led to a job taking care of 11 acres for an elderly couple in our church.  When I started this job, they paid me $3.15 an hour which was minimum wage at the time.  I earned every single penny of that pay.  After this, I land surveyed for an older gentlemen at my church.  This was a great learning experience.  I think the first job in which I earned an official payroll check was my job at Samuel Miller Christian Retirement Center.  This job involved serving lunch to residents and washing the dishes afterwards.  I don’t remember what I was paid, but I remember talking to the residents as I helped them with their lunch.

I’ve had many other jobs over the years including:  house painter, cafeteria supervisor, babysitter, recreation room host, telemarketer, medical billing technical support staff, high school maintenance summer intern, facilities management intern, project engineer, and project manager.

Today, I’m an operations manager for a building automation company.  I like my job; in fact, I love my job most of the time.  I like the fact that I get to help people succeed.  I like that I can help customers save energy and money.  And I like the team I get to work with every day.

There you have it – my answer.  Now, it’s your turn.  Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment.  I look forward to reading your response!  (Feel free to share links.)