Career Key

Author: Career Key's President and CEO, Juliet Wehr Jones, GCDF, J.D.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Getting skills while choosing a career


Does a McDonald's job lead to lifelong career ruin? Probably not - but a more valuable skills oriented job would be a smarter stepping stone to a better career.

Like most people, in my work life I've worked a number of different jobs that eventually led to my career choices. While after college I chose law as a career, before graduation I worked as a desktop publishing assistant for a small town newspaper, a law clerk for a law firm (a quasi-receptionist/file clerk job) and a desktop publishing intern for a non-profit organization.

These jobs, low paid and unglamorous, enabled me to see how lawyers work and also how small organizations are run. I learned how to serve customers with a smile and work a cash register, while learning about personality clashes at the office (watching others handle them well or badly) and the basic flow of office work. All of this prepared me for my ten years of practicing law.

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