3 jobs everyone should experience at least once

If you’ve ever had a job in retail, waited tables or worked as a receptionist, you’re better prepared for the professional world than most of your peers.

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Working in PR is like being a hair stylist: You can either do it, or you can’t. Landing anywhere in between just creates bad results for the client.

However, in every profession there are things you can learn and skills you can perfect to make you better at whatever you do—to bring out your natural skill, so to speak.

You can obtain many of these skills while working jobs you never thought would matter. These are the three jobs that everyone should experience at least once in life:

1. Receptionist/assistant/secretary

I was a spry 17-year-old when I landed what I thought would be a cushy job as an executive assistant. As a senior in high school I had class until noon, which meant I worked from 12:30 p.m.-5 p.m. every day, accruing vacation time and even starting my first IRA. My goal was to get an easy, well-paying job to save money for college.

Little did I know it would become my first PR job. It taught me essential office-navigation skills I would never forget:

Computer skills: I was already pretty computer savvy, but I had no concept of how to use Outlook and other common office software in a formal setting. Learning how to compose a professional email/letter/memo was invaluable.

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