Ploymint

Many millennials have found themselves in the position of having to accept or stay in an hourly position that has nothing to do with the college degree they recently earned. Whether it’s in retail, food services, or entertainment, an hourly position is where most of us start, but usually don’t plan on staying in the long run. Unfortunately, when finding a full-time salaried job in your chosen career field becomes difficult, you have no choice but to take what you can get. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn anything valuable while you’re there.

While I was in high school and college, and even for a time post-college, I worked in a movie theater. The pay wasn’t great, but I had a flexible schedule that worked with my classes and allowed me to have time off when I needed it. Once I graduated, I had a hard time finding a full-time position, so I stayed where I was. After my college graduation, my availability opened up and my employers decided to start training me to move up within the company. This wasn’t my plan at all, but I decided to stick with it and along the way, I picked up a few things that have actually helped me be successful with the jobs I have taken since then.

Take Advantage of Growth Opportunities

One thing I was extremely hesitant about was being promoted at the movie theater. I had this idea that if I took on a higher position, I’d have to commit to staying with the company for good. No such thing. There’s nothing that says you’re permanently stuck with a company by taking on a higher position. Hourly positions are usually employment-at-will, meaning you can leave at any time or can be let go at any time. If an opportunity comes to take on a higher position, especially one that requires leadership skills, take it. You don’t have to do it forever, but you might as well take advantage of the higher pay rate. This is also a great chance to demonstrate to your future employers that you can handle additional responsibilities. I wound up making it all the way to the management level where I not only demonstrated what I was capable of, but learned additional skills as well.

Participate in Training Courses

If you do move up the ranks, chances are there will be training courses offered to you. Take them. They may not directly relate to what you’d like to do in the long run, but you can learn the basics of how a business works. Some principles like Human Resources, customer service, budgeting, setting goals, etc., are similar across the board. By being familiar with how these processes work, you have something you can take with you to your next job and demonstrate you’re already familiar with what’s expected. You may even find your new company isn’t as organized or isn’t taking advantage of all the things you’ve learned. You can then pitch ideas to help your new company grow, but you need to take the time to learn the basics first.

Learn How To Solve Problems

Working in any job will present you with problems that need to be solved. For an hourly position, this can range from dealing with an unexpected rush of customers, running short on a particular item or on staff, or interacting with an unhappy customer. You may not ever deal with these specific situations in your future career, but you will most likely face problems that will need to be solved quickly and efficiently. Learning how to solve problems through your hourly job will help prepare you for the bigger challenges ahead and give you something to talk about during interviews with your future employers.

Take Ownership

No matter what your position is in your hourly job, own it. Do the best job you can and realize that you’re a valuable member of your company’s team. Constantly push to go above and beyond and to be proactive rather than reactive. This is something employers like to see in all their staff and it will help you to get that letter of recommendation or ace the interview. It also helps to learn more about your company’s financial goals and take ownership of your role to help achieve those goals. Play an active role in your company and don’t ever sell yourself short.

An hourly post-graduation job may not be where you envisioned yourself, but if you take the time to learn all you can while you’re there, you’ll have more skills and information to present to your future employers. This makes you more appealing as a candidate and can help get to the next stage of your career.