The Door’s Wide Open
I wrote about the availability of entry-level opportunities in the job market a few months back. I’m interested in this subject, especially considering the continual push of all things digital on the job market and, most recently, AI and what that will mean.
There’s no shortage of material on how different generations feel about work, including Gen Z and later-stage Millennials’ irritation with my generation’s continual grumbling about work ethic. So, I won’t go there. However, I regularly ask retail managers how things are going in the entry-level worker department, and the same concerns keep coming around. Here’s an article link that nicely sums up the attributes they would like to see in new employees but frequently don’t. I’ll expand on this below. Here's a similar article for those starting on a professional track.
Success at the entry-level can be viewed as a partnership: the young worker-to-be needs to show up with a willing attitude, and the employer needs to provide training and guidance. However, antidotal examples exist in every direction of first-time workers being wholly unprepared on the one hand and employers unable or unwilling to train and guide on the other (or maybe worse, as I refer to it, “the untrained training the untrained”).
The first link lists ten qualities first-time workers should focus on to position themselves to get their first job, which will start their journey of gaining the experience and skills they will need to advance (see the list for more information on each attribute).
Well-groomed / professionally dressed
Reliability
Punctuality
Positive, “can-do” attitude
Courteous and well-mannered
Trustworthy
Self-motivation
Willing to learn
Ambitious
Good oral and written communication
There’s an irony here. Entry-level opportunities abound, yet many who need a foot in the door can’t capitalize on them because they lack things they have never had a chance to learn. Moreover, many businesses are fighting turnover by line staff and managers and aren’t in a position to properly onboard new employees.
All this aside, opportunities exist for those willing to work with intention and diligence. I remember an article I read a few months back about a young manager of a Raising Cane’s restaurant in California. She had worked her way up to store manager. She was local and loved her city and her company role. She worked hard, put in long hours, and was rewarded with income into the six figures when her base, OT, and bonuses were summed. She felt blessed as she loved the work and the people she managed.
Who knows if our young manager had a Raising Cane’s advancement plan when she started? Likely not. She may have devised one quickly once she was through the door and firmly “in.” In any case, she likely understood that just getting through the door wasn’t enough. Success would come to her from having a plan and having or acquiring the tools required to keep her there and move her forward.
Back to the list above. I’ll bet our young Raising Cane’s manager had many of these attributes when she started and quickly learned those she didn’t. Where does she go from here? Regional manager? Area director? And from there? VP of operations with her current employer or another?
It all started for her with an entry-level position, and she’s made the most of it.
Onward!