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.
Raven Reinmuth
The most important lesson I’ve learned in my career—and one that has greatly shaped my role as a property management company owner—is the importance of the business model in delivering quality service. This realization stemmed from my firsthand experience working under a team-based model at a previous property management company. It was a challenging experience that ultimately shaped the way I run my business today, using the portfolio model instead. Read More>>
Breindy And Matt Klawansky
One of the things I’ve learned is to get the people who are good at certain things to work with you on something that you either don’t have capacity to do or don’t know how to do. It’s always worth it in the end. Read More>>
Tiffany Vogel
I was incredibly fortunate to secure a paid internship during my junior year of college, which not only introduced me to my field but also led to a full-time job offer. As an analyst with the sales team, I supported them with various financial and non-financial metrics. This role opened doors for travel, allowed me to meet amazing people, and eventually led to a telework position—before remote work became mainstream. Read More>>
Monique Ray
During my time as a funeral director, I had the unique privilege of witnessing the end chapters of many lives. It was a humbling experience, one that taught me one of the most profound lessons I’ve ever learned: be present and live your best life. Read More>>
Kelyn Naveed
Before becoming a small business owner, I previously worked in accounting for a large, multi-specialty healthcare group. With the fast paced volume of the company, I quickly found that adaptability became my most valuable skill—one that I still rely on every day as a business owner. When I first joined, the company was undergoing rapid growth, acquiring new practices, expanding into new regions, and constantly upgrading systems. Read More>>
Dave Ricketts|
Like many young people, when I was in high school, I had a band and I was mainly self-taught. I was also deeply in love with the Beatles, I’d been a fan since I was ten and then poor John Lennon was murdered when I was twelve so music and rock and roll became very important to me. When I graduated high school I had no money to go to college and so it was off to find a job. Read More>>
Natalie Capano
I am glad to have learned the importance of setting and enforcing professional boundaries and limitations early on in my career. I have experienced burnout as a direct result of struggling to maintain boundaries in my work as a young professional. When I first started seeing clients during graduate school, I was so eager to apply the knowledge I learned in the classroom into actual practice that I felt like I could do it all. Read More>>
Elizabeth Herremans
I grew up immersed in the world of competitive dance—it wasn’t just a hobby; it was my entire life. My first jobs all revolved around dance: teaching classes before I was even old enough for working papers, modeling for dance costume catalogs to showcase the latest trends, and assisting a dance school photographer. Read More>>
Mccall Cascaes
As an exercise science major, I spent two years working in outpatient therapy clinics, where I encountered a wide range of patients— from elderly individuals in wheelchairs to athletes and young children. In those hours, I administered electrical stimulation to muscles, guided clients through exercises, and most importantly, engaged in conversations with each one. It wasn’t just about the treatments; it was about the human connections. Those interactions, sometimes lasting for hours, were by far the most fulfilling part of the job. Read More>>
Dima Kontar
Females, especially moms, wear different hats throughout their life journey. Every job I worked taught me a lifelong lesson. And every situation I faced was an opportunity to learn to grow and be more mature. Read More>>
Jon Berne
Working as a chef in the fine dining industry, you learn a lot about the value of perseverance—facing tasks that initially seem impossible, yet gradually mastering them through dedication and practice. Along the way, you learn to navigate criticism, overcome self-doubt, and push through physical and mental exhaustion. Read More>>
Joan Gelfand
Before I left the corporate world to write full time, I was in B2B Sales. I worked for a company that designed space saving storage facilities for large companies. The most important lesson I learned was persistence. As an English major living in California, I didn’t have many options to work for a magazine or a media company – at the time I graduated those businesses were centered in New York so I really wanted to make this career successful. I had a lot of disappointments starting out but I also learned that success breeds success. Read More>>
Madeleine Davis
Clarity is kindness. As a business owner, it signifies foresight and more importantly, respect.
With previous experience in nonprofits and hospitality, I like to say that I am filled by serving others. You may be familiar with the saying, “the customer is always right.” My primary goal while in the hospitality industry was to de-escalate situations from growing into the need for someone to be right, and thus, the need for someone else to be wrong. Read More>>