First jobs offer lifelong lessons

As I drove to a meeting this morning, I passed by the campus where I had my first post-college job: Hewitt Associates on Half Day Road in Lincolnshire, IL. I knew the campus was no longer in use; I didn’t know that the buildings had been demolished.

Seeing the campus brought back a flood of memories and musing on the value of first jobs and their impact on your career. A first job teaches us a great deal about who we are, how we thrive, how we show up, and what we want and expect for the rest of our careers.

My first job as a communications consultant at Hewitt certainly set the tone for the rest of my career, including:

• Cultivate learning and curiosity – Hewitt offered an extensive library of training courses and seminars, and the expectation was that associates treated them as client commitments. You didn’t bail on them if your day or week got too busy. They were serious about investing in our continuing education. Similarly, in your everyday work, you were encouraged to ask questions and learn as much as you could.

• Seek and share feedback – After every client interaction, the senior consultant would provide the junior consultant(s) feedback on the meeting and their performance. It was fresh and relevant. It was delivered with an attitude of helping us grown. The best part? After providing feedback, the senior consultant asked the junior consultant for feedback on his/her performance, with the expectation that we’d provide the same level of thoughtfulness and detail.

• Show up as a professional – Hewitt had an entire “charm school” training, and you were schooled from the outset on the Hewitt way of doing things (keep your right hand free to shake hands; stand up as you wait for your client to meet you in the lobby; don’t order the most expensive thing on the menu, never put your briefcase on a conference room table). Some may seem silly now, but all of them were aimed at making a good impression and ensuring clients felt simultaneously comfortable and important.

• Be responsive – Respond to calls and emails promptly. Never go more than 24 hours without responding, even if it is to simply acknowledge the question/call and that you will follow up as soon as possible.

• Communicate effectively – As a communications team, we followed a rigorous process to build strategic communications plans for our clients, and Hewitt as a company did the same. We knew when to expect communications, and we knew it would be transparent and complete. Our leadership was visible and approachable.

• Relationships are critical to success…and are a gift – In addition to learning the business and how to be a communications professional, my time at Hewitt gave me mentors and friends that remain important to me many years later.

Those of us hired at Hewitt during those days were “SWANS” – smart, work hard, ambitious, and nice. The expectations were always high, but there was always support. And, for a consulting company where the hours could be long and demanding, our leadership was human-centric and conscious of balance.

The lessons I learned in my first job have set the tone for my career and continue to shape the way I work today. What lessons do you still carry from your first job?