Wrike-Up Wednesday: My First Job Flashback! 🔙

Hi Wrikers! 🙋

It’s time for another Wrike-Up Wednesday—and this week, we’re going down memory lane to revisit the earliest days of our working lives! 🚀

✨ My First Job Flashback! ✨

We all have a “first job” story—sometimes filled with laughs, surprises, and lessons we never expected to learn. Whether you scooped ice cream, interned at a local business, or worked the register at your neighborhood store, those early days laid the foundation for important skills and memories that stick with us.

What to do:

👉 Tell us about your very first job!

Did you learn something surprising, develop a new skill, or just make a memory you’ll never forget?

Let’s inspire each other and share a few laughs as we look back on where it all began. You never know, your story could be just what someone needs to hear to make their Wednesday! 😊

I’ll start:

My first job was at a motocross facility, where I spent my time shaping the track, planning social media campaigns, and occasionally diving in to rescue stuck riders. Safe to say, I perfected the art of mud removal from bikes and myself! 🤪🏍️

It was truly one of a kind. I learned people skills, how to handle unexpected changes, and ultimately made a lifetime of memories.

Now it’s over to you. Tell us about your first job in the comments below!

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Florian Kislich

My first job was at a sound company. In addition to events, I also worked in the workshop repairing or creating new cables. When working on my very first Harting multipin connector, I forgot to put the housing cover over the cable before soldering the 24x3 individual cables. So I had to unsolder everything and start again, which cost me at least two hours of extra time.
I like to pass this experience on to my trainees to warn them in advance.

Eric Fiero

My first job (other than self-employment on some things) was as a skipper at Disneyland's World Famous Jungle Cruise. Best job I've ever had still. Loved getting to take groups around the jungle telling jokes and entertaining. I still say random jokes from those years.

I learned how to be repetitive and look for opportunities to improve and got better at public speaking.

Fabio Bartolini

My first job was as a waiter. I learned a lot, especially how to be patient and calm when dealing with situations and people. Many years have passed since then, and back then we didn't have watches or apps to count steps, but if we had, I would probably have seen numbers close to those of a marathon runner. Oh yes, I also developed physical endurance as a skill...

Emily Neat

My first job was at a farmer's market! I sold produce for a local farmer and helped unload the truck and stock tables. It was a great job for an extrovert! I made great friends with the farmer and other workers, in addition to learning how heavy veggies can be.

Heather Hernandez

My first job was as an engineer for Conoco at a natural gas plant in Louisiana. I learned how to be friends with anyone! And learned about Cajun culture of course!

Kelly St Cyr

My first job was at a grocery store, where I began as a cashier and eventually advanced to the photo lab (remember those?) and the customer service desk. It was an invaluable experience that taught me the importance of hard work and how it paves the way for growth. Unfortunately, I also learned a tougher lesson about trust, after experiencing dishonesty firsthand when money was stolen from my register.

Florian Gascho

My first job was at an IT firm where I worked on PCs and laptops, as well as visited customers to fix their systems.

During that job, a planned 30-minute appointment once turned into a 6-hour task.

Since then, I’ve learned to always prepare for the unexpected. Also the classic "Have you tried to turn it off and on again?"

Gabriel Stangl-Riehle

My first job was a waiter at the local country club. Some nice people and some not so nice people.

Alyssa Spangenberg

My first job was busing tables and washing dishes. Later at the same place, I worked the butcher counter. (It was a restaurant that raised its own beef). While I might not have learned much about project management or graphics (my degree) I sure know how to pick out a steak!

David Simmington

My first job was delivering newspapers in my neighborhood, and it's one I’ll never forget. A few memories stand out:

Riding my bike during the sweltering summer heat
My dad waking up early to drive me on those freezing winter mornings
The kindness of our neighbors, especially around the holidays

It taught me responsibility at a young age and the value of consistency, no matter the weather. As for another core memory? A classic one is folding and bagging the papers at the crack of dawn. The quiet, early morning routine before the rest of the world woke up really stuck with me. I think plays into how much I enjoy quiet, uninterrupted, focused work still today.

Eva Jouaux

my 1st job ...back at school ...was during summer vacation at an assembly line for roof windows in houses...drilling-in 4 screws around the frame. I learnt how hard it is earning money and how important it is to get education

Sarah Dungey

I learned very early in my career that it's better to admit when you don't know the answer to something (and own that you don't know it!) than it is to try to guess at the answer that will likely be wrong in the end.

Anna Giacobbe

My first job was at a gelateria (Italian ice cream shop) at the age of 14! 🍨

People used to complain that the pistachio ice cream wasn't "green" enough, so my tip to the community is that if your pistachio ice cream looks neon green, it's not the real thing 😅 (aim for one that's more muted green / beige)

Ryan Holmquist

My first job was working at a department store, I started off as the "stock boy" getting carts, unloading trucks, breaking down boxes and doing garbages and then moved over to being a cashier and then working the electronics department. It was good times, but also 30 years ago now, but made a friend that is still one of my best friends today, so without that job I wouldn't have him in my life.

Emily Bressler

My first job was working at a local place similar to Chuck E. Cheese. It was fun, but it also made me never want to send a kid into a ball pit because they are filled with germs!

Jamie Murphy

My first job was at a factory where I did monotonous tasks for the entire day. I actually liked getting to do the same things over and over because I got really quick at them plus I got to listen to lots of audiobooks. I met some really cool people from all over the world and got to try all their amazing food when we did potlucks!

Kendra Ciszczon

My first job (other than babysitting and tutoring) was actually scooping ice cream! I definitely appreciated coming home at the end of a shift with sticky arms up to my shoulders over some of my high school friends who came home from fast food restaurants smelling like the friers.

Amber Barber

My first job was a small local chain department store, working in women's clothing. I mostly returned clothes to the right racks, and kept things clean and tidy. It was pretty boring, and none of the clothes were my style (high schooler) so the employee discount wasn't really a perk. I quickly learned that being friendly, smart, and a quick learner didn't matter for getting more responsibilities when you were seen as a short-timer - and that I hate busy work.

Steve Mruskovic

My first job (other than a soda boy at the local Bingo hall) was at a chain discount department store popular in the NE USA, Bradlees. Besides having some folding money in my mid teens, I met friends, had girlfriends, lost girlfriends, left for college, came back on breaks, eventually leaving for the career world. I learned patience in customer service and the importance of having a neat presentation both professionally and personally. That was a long time ago, but to this day I walk through department stores noticing the little things that make for a better shopping experience.

Elloa Davis

I worked at Chick-Fil-A starting at age 15! I learned how hard I had to work to make any kind of "real" money!

Brian Bulthuis

My first job was as a waiter at a German-themed restaurant. They took the theme seriously—beer was served in steins, waiters wore lederhosen, and bratwurst with sauerkraut were staples on the menu. An oompah band played every night, and the songs still echo in my head to this day. Whenever they played the Chicken Dance, the entire place erupted—patrons and staff alike would drop what they were doing to swarm the dance floor or dance around the tables in unison. Even now, whenever I hear the Chicken Dance, I’m transported back to that wonderful establishment, vividly recalling the sights, scents, and sounds.

Sherrie Besecker

My first job was at Wendy's - I normally worked in the drive thru - I loved being fast and accurate! One time I was assigned to wash dishes in the back kitchen and not knownig how to use the fancy commercial grade faucet/HOSE - I DRENCHED myself and had to work the entire shift soaking wet... never again - BAH!

Andrei Shkvarok

My first job was coaching kids gymnastics. It taught me a lot of things - the most important was that I want another job. Also, I learned a lot about time management, leadership and communications. In the future, my experience working with kids made me more patient and empathetic in communications with my colleagues at work.

Amanda Parks

My first job was at a daycare. I learned patience and how to communicate with different audiences (children, parents).

Now on my worse days at work I can think at least I'm not changing diapers for 20 toddlers - although somedays it feels like I'm talking to toddlers!

Jessica Kvanvig

My first job at 15 was at Burger King, where I quickly realized the importance of customer service. I also learned how to communicate effectively with people of different age groups and discovered how many calories are in fast food. Wow!

John Egleston

It's so fun to read these - thanks for doing this!

My first summer job was at a camp in Michigan's Upper Peninsula - a shoreline paradise for this college student from Florida. Doing buildings and grounds work was a lot of the same and sometimes something new. Then I was loaned to the program team to help teach kindergartners. Talk about a shock to my system! Thankfully I don't think any were traumatized by my efforts to relate.

Paula Barrientos

My first job was as a graphic designer at another winery. I worked on labels, presentations, and marketing materials — and quickly learned how fast-paced and detail-oriented the wine industry can be! It was a great starting point that sparked my love for design and built the foundation for what I do today.

Debbie Brownlie

My first job was a dishwasher for a little restaurant... man those individual pie tins had bloody sharp edges!

Mat Ward

My first job was working on the roof of the admin building at a sewage plant, in the middle of summer. Such a lovely aroma!

Mark Hemmis

Worked at a drugstore doing everything from checking people out, to scooping ice cream, cutting keys, renting videos, blowing up balloons, and using a forklift. In addition to learning a lot of small jobs, I also learned how to work with a lot of different types of people (and customers)!