Sixteen CEOs offer wisdom gained from their first job

When you think back to your first job, which was probably when you were quite young, what do you think about it? A number of folks reading this now may in fact be the CEO of a company. What kind of lessons did you gain from your first job, if any?

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the first jobs of 16 current and former CEOs, who shed some light on how their first jobs out of school impacted them, one way or another. Some of these CEOs gained critical skills that they didn’t know they needed, some taught core career skills, and others helped these individuals learn about what they didn’t want to do. In fact, some 7 in 10 executives are working in fields that they weren’t planning to pursue when they began college, according to a survey of 600 executives last year by Korn/Ferry International, a talent management company.

Here is an interesting one for you. Which famous businesswoman and television personality said this of her first job as a stockbroker?

“I was one of a very few women in a man’s world. I learned how to deal with the most aggressive behavior. When I saw “The Wolf of Wall Street,” I said, Aha, finally, a movie that depicts how it really was.’”

The answer may surprise you.

Continue reading about lessons learned from 16 CEOs’ first jobs by clicking here.