Business Leaders Reveal Their #FirstSevenJobs on Twitter
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Richard Branson famously sold Christmas trees and magazines in his teen years before founding the Virgin Group and making his billions. Elon Musk coded his own video game at age 12. Warren Buffett peddled chewing gum door to door when he was only 6.
Everyone has to start somewhere.
Last Thursday, a Twitter user named asked her followers, “What were your first seven jobs?” She was soon inundated with mentions, as several celebrities, from to , shared their first gigs. Aldrin, one of the first two men to set foot on the moon, started as a dishwasher. Colbert, who’s hosted two eponymous talk shows, was once a busboy and even a futon salesman. Many business executives and entrepreneurs also tweeted their career trajectories.
Related: The Wild and Crazy Career Paths of 5 Self-Made Billionaires (Infographic)
If you dream of wild success but are slogging away to save up in the interim, let the early resumes of these founders and CEOs inspire you.
— Debra Sterling (@debbieblox)
Snow shoveling
— Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner)
Newspaper delivery
Reading tutor
Boat crew
Caddy
Biz ops intern
Consulting analyst
Cafe hand
— Kate Kendall (@KateKendall)
Sales assistant
Retail administrator
Editorial assistant
Online editor
Digital director
Marketing director
1) House painter’s assistant 2) Construction worker 3) Office janitor 4) Newspaper design intern (3x) 7) Â鶹Éç
— Ben Huh (@benhuh)
Dishwasher
— Andrew Cohen (@acohenNY)
Pizza boy
Waiter
Congressional intern
Economist
eLearning Consultant
EdTech Â鶹Éç
— Paul Graham (@paulg)
mowing lawns
scooping ice cream
working in a library
programmer
programmer
programmer
programmer
— Ellen Pao (@ekp)
Library clerk
Babysitter
Tutor
Dishwasher
Math book editor
Lab tech
Cafe cashier
— Kevin Colleran (@KevinColleran)
TCBY
Baseball Cards
Web 1.0 Â鶹Éç
NYSE
Neato CD Labels
Liberty Media
… , , , &
1. ? 2. Bartender ? 3. Bridal shop ?? 4. Waitress ? 5. Banker ? 6. IPO-er ? 7. Â鶹Éç & Co-Fo ?
— Emma Sinclair MBE (@ES_Â鶹Éç)
failed entrepreneur
— Kashyap Deorah (@righthalf)
qa engineer
product manager
sales engineer
intl biz dev
entrepreneur
ceo of acquiring co
Richard Branson famously sold Christmas trees and magazines in his teen years before founding the Virgin Group and making his billions. Elon Musk coded his own video game at age 12. Warren Buffett peddled chewing gum door to door when he was only 6.
Everyone has to start somewhere.
Last Thursday, a Twitter user named asked her followers, “What were your first seven jobs?” She was soon inundated with mentions, as several celebrities, from to , shared their first gigs. Aldrin, one of the first two men to set foot on the moon, started as a dishwasher. Colbert, who’s hosted two eponymous talk shows, was once a busboy and even a futon salesman. Many business executives and entrepreneurs also tweeted their career trajectories.
