Experience is often valued because of the lessons prior jobs have theoretically provided us with. While hearing about those lessons isn’t a replacement for actually experiencing it, we thought it would be very helpful to create a space where sharp and generous members of the community can come together to share stories and lessons learned at prior jobs for the benefit of others.

Yuwei Lin

I completed my internship at Riot Games in the summer of 2022, and it was a challenging yet inspiring experience. As a young designer, I felt nervous and uncertain about the changes I was working on. Here are some questions and answers I learned that may help new game designers ease into a new environment: Read more>>

Dingding Hu

Before I became a full time creative entrepreneur, I once worked as an assistant in a home textile show room. My day to day was mostly revolving around handling emails between the company and its vendors, as well as organizing inventory in a large quantity. Read more>>

Cesar Carrasco

The most important lesson I learned that helped me as an entrepreneur is, give more than what was expected. This gesture is what I like to call putting extra love into your work. Love is a beautiful thing to witness and experience. It only takes one moment to change somebody day or life, so why not change it for the better? Love will take you as far as you take it, and even in the mist of hate love will prevail! Read more>>

Sandy Middleton

I had a variety of jobs when I was in photography school and just after. I worked in hospitality and events for a major concert hall in Toronto. I really learned more about business in that job, more so than I was ever taught in school. People do comment that I seems to have a good sense for business unlike so many artists. Read more>>

Darcey Lacy

One of the most important things I learned in my career prior to founding Watermark was that design needs to be function as well as beautiful. Working as a graphic designer within Marketing Groups at large International companies taught me to design for the needs of my clients – primarily sales people. I could make it beautiful, but at the end of the day, it also had to clearly get across what they needed to sell Read more>>

Beret Loncar

Before I owned my massage practice, I was co-owner of a Gorment food store in Ontario, Canada. Being part of that is the only reason I can run my company today. I am disabled. At the time, I thought that I was dyslexic, but I now know that I am additionally Autistic (ASD). As a child, I struggled in school, not just with spelling and math but with understanding the meaning behind things. Read more>>

Elan Pasmanick

I owned two businesses before the one I operate currently. The first one was a retail business me and my wife owned and operated. More specifically, kiosks in shopping malls. Over the 14 years we had countless kiosks with many different products. It was a simple business to run. Read more>>

Elda Alceme

The most important thing I’ve learned from my previous employer is to prioritize quality over quantity. I felt as though my previous employers didn’t care about the clients and were all about just making money. Not to mention how they treat their employees. It was time for a change, so I went into business for myself and vowed to do things differently! Here I am 3 years later and business is better than ever! Read more>>

Maryann Roberts

I learned the importance of customer service while working for Nordstrom for a decade in the 90′ s. My position as East Coast Fragrance Director required that I interact with clients on the selling floor everyday and also at special events. I also hired and trained our fragrance associates and I was always looking for superstars in the service industry to join us. Read more>>

Stephanie Moore

In 2010, fresh out of college, I landed a job a the front desk for a local gym. It was a job I had really wanted because it came with a free gym membership and as a broke twenty-one year old, I was all too happy to eliminate a bill. I worked the opening shift, coming in just before 5 am to open for all the early birds. Read more>>

Tammie Bennett

I’m currently a mindset coach for creatives and the biggest lesson I learned that helps me now is one that I learned as an artist. Read more>>

Jeannette George

Becoming a Nurse Practitioner (NP) requires that you obtain and maintain a license as a registered nurse (RN). I worked as a registered nurse for nearly 7 years before I transitioned into being an NP. Being an RN was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. Read more>>

Eleonora Balducchi

My journey into tattooing started with a career change. After graduating in architecture I worked for around 15 years as an architect, both in Europe and the US and at the age of 39 I made the decision to entertain a career in tattooing. Read more>> 

Rob Richardson

The most important lesson I learned is that every perceived failure is a lesson itself. If you can understand this and not get lost or discourage in the moment you can achieve anything. It’s not the outcome but how you respond that determines success. Read more>>

Katie Mack

I started working when I was 16 years old, so I have a lot of experience in different fields doing different things. Working was always just a means for me. A means to pay bills, to buy things I liked, to help my parents. I’ve never felt joy in working for someone else. Read more>>

Sammy Bennett

I was working for a gallery and we were driving art upstate for the weekend. I had forgotten to order a truck that had a lift gate and had to scramble to find another truck. I finally found one outside the city limits and swapped them out. Read more>>