Valley Forum

Remember that first job, delivering newspapers, washing dishes or working at the Hot-Dog-On-A-Stick stand at the mall? Most folks have had menial jobs, even corporate and government types. So the San Fernando Valley Business Journal asks: What was your most menial job and what did you learn from it? April Aston Bureau Liaison Santa Clarita Valley Film and Entertainment Bureau My most menial job was during my fast-food days when I was in high school. I worked at Burger King when I was 15 and Del Taco at 16. I learned it’s really hard to perform a job all day when you’re sick. And I also learned to deal with having to be a responsible member of a team. You have to be there, you can’t call in sick or just not show up like school. It’s not acceptable. Burger King was my first job and I suppose my first experience in public service, and I had a really hard time dealing with the general public. Bud Ovrom City Manager City of Burbank Gee. I’ve had so many menial jobs. I was a busboy in a pancake house, a dishwasher at a restaurant. I also worked for a meat company for two summers and would do some of the prep work and deliver the meat to restaurants. As an assistant city manager in Simi Valley, it was my job to raise the flag every morning. The job had to be done, and there was no one else to do it. All of this really did instill a work ethic in me. I learned that people rely on you to do your job. E. Kenn Phillips Director, Education and Workforce Development Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley I had so many of them, it’s hard to pick just one. But when I was 16, I worked for a guy who was 81 and went to high school in New York with Lou Gehrig of the Yankees. He had a place up in Malibu Lake and I was basically his mule. I would take horse manure in wheelbarrows from the top of a hill, where they put it, down to other parts of the horticulture area he had. I worked myself crazy. And I made 75 cents an hour. You’re talking day laborer. It took the entire summer, 10-hour days. That was a very tough job. By the time I was done with that job, he upped my pay to $1 an hour. But he was a nice guy. He told stories about Lou Gehrig. He was a funny old guy. And at the end I learned that I was allergic to poison oak, which I hadn’t experienced before. Jack McGrath Owner GM Communications I worked in 110-degree heat on top of roofs in San Luis Obispo sealing them with a big machine. I was like 20 years old. I learned at that time to stay in college because I didn’t want to do that again. It paid well, though. It was tough. And that machine, you had to walk along the edge of the roof with it, risking your life. Gary Martin Zelman President Revolution Eyewear My most menial job was when I worked as a bouncer for 13 years. As you know, the profession is very physical and very dangerous. It’s not all fun. It’s kind of a grind. The hours are tough, it’s not a safe environment. But what it taught me was to concentrate on what I really wanted to do so I would never have to go back to that job again. It also helped me develop social skills to deal with people of different ethnic backgrounds and how to negotiate and solve problems in a professional manner.