southernfriedsales

Senior AE & Business Owner

What was your first job?

It would be interesting to know where everyone in this community comes from originally.

Myself, I served with the elite. The guiders of selection, the keepers of the new releases, and the enforcers of the late fees... Good ole Blockbuster. I even got the experience of my first sale there pushing our Rewards Program. Actually made top 250 in the company.

I probably would've happily worked there for minimal pay for the rest of my life. It was wonderful.

There were 3 months at a movie theater, but I don't count that terrible summer...

Where did you get your start? Was it sales-related or something else completely?

😂 Sales Humor

🏰 War Stories

🏄 Personal Life

75 comments

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MMMGood

Celebrated Contributor

Senior Account Executive

I was a part-time, youth soccer referee over the summers when I was about 14 years old. Got yelled at more in that role than ANY sales roles.

Savage soccer moms. 🥴

YoungMoney

Good Citizen

Director of Sales

I was a baseball umpire and got yelled at by savage baseball moms. As an adult, I know realize those Starbucks cups don't have coffee, but they have wine in them. Can't drink all Saturday if you don't start in the morning, Karen!

MMMGood

Celebrated Contributor

Senior Account Executive

Can't "kick out" a parent at a youth soccer game...but you can ask them which child is theirs, and then promptly yellow card the child saying "Go tell your mom to keep it down or the next time it happens, it will be a red card and you'll be ejected."

True story. Did it only once...but man did it feel awesome.

southernfriedsales

Opinionated

Senior AE & Business Owner

I feel I met many of these moms right after games. They were also savage about late fees...

Lambda

Tycoon

Sales Consultant

hahah i've been there, zero tolerance!

MMMGood

Celebrated Contributor

Senior Account Executive

They have no shame. 🤦🏼‍♂️

BillyHoyle

Tycoon

Senior Account Executive

I was a basketball ref for 3rd graders, what a life that was.

MagicFan1998

Politicker

Account Executive

I did the same. I was at the YMCA. The games were straight chaos and the parents would yell at me the whole game. Awful experience lol

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Customer service at a grocery store.

Probably why I like the show Superstore so much 🤷‍♀️

JuicyKlay

Celebrated Contributor

That show makes me want to work at Walmart so bad!

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Cashier at McDonald's when I was 15. Eventually got promoted to drive thru, I was a very promising employee.

Working there was fun. They actually had a great training program and treated us well.

southernfriedsales

Opinionated

Senior AE & Business Owner

This is actually very interesting to read. Most people I've known have loathed their fast-food jobs.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

I'd probably loathe it now, but at 15 it was a great time.

Lumbergh

Politicker

Sr Account Exec

I worked at Subway, Quiznos, and a local burrito joint in college. While far from great, there were some funny stories and you got free food so it wasn't all bad. People are mad assholes at fast food places too--the customers were a trip

rekled

Opinionated

Strategic Account Executive

My first job was McDonald's too. I was known at school as "McD's Dave" cuz I worked nearly every Friday night during football season. Unlike you, I hated every second. After the game, everyone would come through the drive thru asking for free shit - so I would pick scraps from the trash. (ha. kidding.) And then the smell of onions on my hands and my skin smelling like grease would last for days. Ugh.

Me and food references. Ha. Go figure.

southernfriedsales

Opinionated

Senior AE & Business Owner

"McD's Dave" lol - That is amazing.

Santipodero

Politicker

Sanix

i also worked at mc donald's when i was 20 years old it was a very fun experience and i met many influential people while serving clients

Santipodero

Politicker

Sanix

even if I quit because I hardly like customer service

Santipodero

Politicker

Sanix

2 years later

CrushingQuota

Enterprise Account Executive

Retail sales at the Adidas store on 3rd st promenade in Santa Monica... good old times, helped out Tom Hanks once

MMMGood

Celebrated Contributor

Senior Account Executive

Man, if that doesn’t fit the bill for Tom Hanks, I don’t know what does. White Adidas running shoes.

CrushingQuota

Enterprise Account Executive

Lol, have you seen the Ali G show? Tom Hanks at the time was buying his kid Adidas outfits for Halloween so they can look like Ali G hahaha

MMMGood

Celebrated Contributor

Senior Account Executive

Bahaha! That's epic, and totally unexpected! Great memory.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

I ran and headlined a fetish night once a month at a gay bar. Drag queens. Live shows. I was 18. My face was plastered on posters all over downtown.

my mother was horrified.

but we got 600+ ppl through the door every event.

my absolute favorite performance was Halloween 1999. It was a “necrophilia/autopsy” theme. Some dude on a table. I had a fake knife. We had a pig slaughtered hours before the performance (dude had a cousin who worked in a slaughterhouse) and then had the innards soaking in tomato juice. So dude is on a table, only one side facing the audience with a sheet covering him. I enter the stage in a lab coat and “sexy coroner” vibe. All the pig innards are along the side of him the audience can’t see.

so I come out all sexy evil looking. Red lights. Screechy music with a tap dripping. Rip off the sheet to expose my “corpse” (motherfucker was supposed to be wearing a nude thong, but was buck ass naked).

I ran my fingers along his “dead flesh” (making sure I gave a good pinch here and there because fuck he was naked), went in my autopsy bag and grabbed a knife and a blood bag. Pretended to stab him in the sternum with the knife and blood bag. Smearing blood everywhere. Climbed on top of him and started “digging”’for innards.

pulling them out One. Piece. At. A. Time. Slowly.

im grabbing the liver. Lungs. Spleen. Kidneys. The *entire* length of intestines and rubbing each part over my mostly exposed breasts before violently tossing them onto the front of the stage. Definitely splashing those in the front row. People are freaking the fuck out.

finally I get to the heart. I make sure to *really* give it a few good tugs before I finally get it free, squeezing all that juice everywhere.... and brought it to my lips slowly, and gave it a good, long lick.

*fake orgasm *

curtains.

Several members of the audience had vomited.

People still talk about that.

JuicyKlay

Celebrated Contributor

Omg that is one of the craziest stories I’ve ever heard 😮

Lambda

Tycoon

Sales Consultant

was this in P-town? sounds like an act i've seen before being from the cape

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

Canada

DonDraper

Politicker

National Sales Manager

first job was as a waiter at the Sheraton in Port Douglas QLD. First Sales job was as SDR for a company that sold Franking Machines. Franking machines basically put electronic stamps on envelopes... tough gig but some good commission if the Rep's eventually closed the deal.

southernfriedsales

Opinionated

Senior AE & Business Owner

I did service industry all throughout college and then some. Great way to learn about grit and genuine hard work! Also, how to treat people correctly.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Everyone should spend at least one year working in hospitality. The world would be a much nicer place!

Lambda

Tycoon

Sales Consultant

must have been a long sales process, big capital

BigCheese

Notorious Answer

Agency Recruiter

I worked at our local ice arena. Got promoted and was whipping the Zamboni at 16! Fun job besides being the guy that was responsible for everyone who got seriously injured before the ambulance showed up.

southernfriedsales

Opinionated

Senior AE & Business Owner

Did he whip it too hard?

Beans

Big Shot

Enterprise Account Executive

Delivering newspapers, I was 11.

southernfriedsales

Opinionated

Senior AE & Business Owner

Got into the hustle early.

Lambda

Tycoon

Sales Consultant

never had the chance to do that, did you do it on a bike or had ur parents drive u?

CoorsKing

WR Officer

Retired King of the Coors Knights

Lifeguard, then manager of the club. First dose of selling was slanging ice cream out of the office when it got hot out!

Coachlasso

Catalyst

VP - Revenue/Growth

I worked as a lifeguard, swimming instructor for many years starting at 15. Not sales-y at all, but definitely lots of "customer interfacing."

southernfriedsales

Opinionated

Senior AE & Business Owner

I would think learning those kinds of skills, and dealing with so many parents and tough situations would present the perfect intangibles for sales.

Coachlasso

Catalyst

VP - Revenue/Growth

Very true, a lot of quick thinking moments...

Ace

Arsonist

CEO

I was a research assistant working on a green alternative for coal that would reduce the carbon footprint of the coal consumption.

YoungMoney

Good Citizen

Director of Sales

I was a bag boy at a grocery store, and worked my way up through being a cashier to being a stock boy in the grocery department. I was associate of the month in October 2007. It's still on my resume as a joke, and most people get a good laugh!

southernfriedsales

Opinionated

Senior AE & Business Owner

I keep all my jobs on there - show's the grit SON

Lambda

Tycoon

Sales Consultant

props to you man, i couldnt do it, well i uess i could but still

deviantzen

WR Lieutenant

Consultant

I worked as a social media intern for a struggling SaaS company

SammySandbags

Politicker

Account Executive

Saratoga Race Track as an usher. They stuck me in the last section, averaged around 3 customers a day. $52.50 flat rate for my pay. Not sure why I stuck it out, but built character.

Coffeesforclosers

Notable Contributor

Director Sales and Market Development

Pet supplies plus, stock boy. Was 13 years old. Worst part was having to climb behind the shelves cause I was small enough to pick up all the stuff that fell behind.

BorntoSell

Contributor

Global Business Development Manager

ATM Maintenance & Service Engg but it taught me more than I expected and I knew it wasn't the game I'm made for.

Cothrock

Catalyst

Account Executive

Lifeguard at 15, best job I've ever had. There was so little work actually required. Got some dark shaded sun glasses and no one knew the mischief I was up to.

Lambda

Tycoon

Sales Consultant

depends on the location for sure, in charge of someones life in a worst case scenario

mcsalesperson1

Politicker

Account Executive

I worked at a local sporting goods store. I don't think it exists anymore

Lambda

Tycoon

Sales Consultant

best discounts at stores like this!

HarryCaray

Notable Contributor

HMFIC

First job on the books was as a clerk at a local store front auction house in my small town. Lugged antiques and furniture on an off of big trucks, brought stuff out on stage for bidders to compete on, minimum wage plus some tips. More than enough for a summer job in 8th/9th grade. HARD work though.

Bittersweet0326

Politicker

Digital Business Associate

Besides a paper route when I was 12 I worked at good old Mcdonalds right when I turned 14. Man I don't miss that....

JJASBE

Catalyst

Director, Solutions Sales

I got a job at Little Caesars 1 million moons ago when I was 14. This is NOT the LC you know today. Their tagline was "Pizza, Pizza" because it was BOGO as their normal business model. Anyone remember that?

TheLaughingWolf

WR Officer

Business Development Manager

Started delivering papers at 8. But my actual first job was working in a fishing tackle shop at 15. Learned so much there and it was lots of fun.

pirate

Big Shot

🦜☠️ Account Executive

Watered plants and flowers at a greenhouse at 14 🔆

looper1010

Celebrated Contributor

Solutions Specialist

I worked for a clown. No, literally, a clown. Magic and showmanship comes in handy for sales.

Lambda

Tycoon

Sales Consultant

Part time Baseball umpire, best job ever, free snack bar food, nice weather but terrible suntan ><

AutoSmiler

Arsonist

Account Executive

Facility crew kid at Bar Anticipation, basically a janitor. Up at 5 am, 6 days a week to go clean one of the most popular bars in NJ at 14 years old. You could say there were some good ground scores! All around, the job sucked though.

Trinity

WR Officer

BusDev

My very first job (though part-time) was working at McDs (Kitchen) but quit after 2 weeks. After that, I worked at a dept store selling lamps/lighting.

Salespreuner

Big Shot

Regional Sales Director

Manufacturing electrical technician! Non sales, completely!

DizzyRascal

Opinionated

BizDev

I worked in retail sales. it was commission-based, and it is was good

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southernfriedsales

What was your first job?

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