The Easy Sloping Career Ladder

I started my career in fast food.  It was just to make money in college.  Not cutting it at college in my youth, though I seemed to always know where the beer was so I joined the Navy.   I tried college again when I got out, but being shortsighted, I was in despair.  When you have had money in your pocket, the poverty of college is hard to do.  And I had no career goals. 

Then I remembered my friend Jack who had used an easy sloping career ladder approach to getting a good job.  Simply put, it’s to use all of life’s details and put them together for a career ladder using the merit of accomplishment as a start for the first job and then using that job for the next jump upwards.  And you always take a job that you can use to either move laterally to a job closer to your final career desire or to move up, which, of course, if what we all desire. 

So, I went to an employment agency with a resume which took into account my fast food and Navy experience, gleaning the good for a resume.   Now with fast food, you don’t want to exaggerate here because it stretches your credibility to say that you were the manager of the Wopper station.  

I had worked opening and closing shifts though, which looks good for dependability and it showed the ability to put things together and take them apart because you have to do this with the equipment you clean.  It also showed versatility. 

Now with my Navy experience, I had good luck here because as a 3 year enlistment, I had two years of reserve duty.  I could; therefore, list 5 years of service which filled holes on my resume as I didn’t want to list that I went to college again after the Navy, but was too stupid to sacrifice and put up with being broke. 

Another good fortune was that, on the ship, I was the night check supervisor on a weapon’s system station.  The fact that on night check there was only one person on duty at my station, me, I didn’t feel the need to relate.  What I wrote was honest, my records would verify it, I signed the supervisor spot on my work and I doubted that they would or could check up on me by calling up people who had by now scattered all over the country. 

With my resume, I got a job as an assistant manager of a shoe store.  It was my first experience in retail and what a bunch of cut throats I worked with.   This is where I found out that you had to watch your back in retail because people can be as ruthless over who gets the Employee of the Month award as two alligators wrestling over a packet of bacon.

I didn’t care though.  I was just passing through. (Don’t get me wrong, I still worked hard).   All I needed was enough time put in the job for a resume listing, plus a good reason to leave so as to explain why I left this job for my next better employer. 

Always remember, ship jumpers are hated by employers.   Employers like long times of service with previous employers.  I knew I didn't need time served for this job though.  I was using my head now.  My Navy service showed that I had the ability to stay on a job, and when new in the workforce, you can jump ship if the job you’re jumping from is really bad. 

I got my good reason for leaving after 3 months on the job.  My brother called.  He said there were a lot of good jobs in Maryland where he was, and I should come down.  I could leave now, and I knew what I was going to tell my new employer. 

Don't you just love a cliff-hanger?  Stay tuned for the rest of the story!