My first non-babysitting jobs were in grade school. I hated being at home. So I found things I could ride my bike to. I worked as a gate guard for a private beach and I worked answering phones and light office work in the parish rectory after school one day a week and on Sunday. I learned how to show up on time and how to save my $$. I saved it all, and my parents would sometimes come to me to borrow money.
When I turned 16 I started waitressing. It hard work, but it was fun and I learned a lot. like Kathy I learned some espanol and I learned that wearing makeup and a sweet smile, and acting like the cooks' and busboys'
corazon, will get you what you want (oh my LORD, the personalities of those cooks.......). And if that doesn't work, unbuttoning a button or two, will
I made friends and a boyfriend that I wouldn't have met otherwise, and I learned how to balance work and school. I learned to think on my feet, be efficient, and that I'd be rewarded for hard work.
I worked in the china department at Marshall Field's. The women I worked with were quite knowledgeable and I liked learning about fine china and crystal. I even got to tour the Pickard china factory in Antioch Illinois. I got "secret shopped" and got a perfect score, and there was a special party for everyone who got perfect scores on their secret shops during the year. My mom was envious, she'd worked there for over a dozen years and never got a perfect score on a secret shop.
I worked in a variety of different offices as a temp. I liked temping -- the variety was nice. If you didn't like someone it didn't matter much because you'd be in a new place in a few weeks anyway.
I also worked as a banquet server and as a grocery cashier. I liked the banquets -- the pay was decent, the work was predictable but not boring, I could ride my bike to work, and I got free food. I didn't really care for grocery cashiering -- it was monotonous work and the pay was not great (non-union). But I did it because it was a job, I needed money, and it was close enough to walk to.
A couple summers I also worked in cash control at 6 Flags, second shift. I met the most interesting, colorful personalities at that job. I learned to keep an open mind about people, since some of the nicest and most fun people were the kind of people I wouldn't normally gravitate towards, based on appearances alone. Stealing was rampant, and turnover was really high; it was hard for them to stay staffed. Sometimes I worked 80 hours a week, well into third shift.
I'd say overall I learned to keep an open mind about people, and that a smile goes a long way. So does a sincere apology when you've done something wrong.