I feel very fortunate to have made it where I am today – but it wouldn't have happened if I didn't work for a company that recognizes dedication, merit, and individual contribution as promotable qualities regardless of educational attainment.
My family didn't come from money. My mother had abandoned any real chance of a career while she was helping raise my two younger sisters and me. My father had worked multiple jobs in order to support us as far back as I can remember. As I grew up, I would learn that he was the hardest worker I'd ever know.
After I got my high school diploma, I figured I'd do what was expected of me and work toward completing my AA degree at my local community college. It was always drilled in that the only option after high school was college. I was a decent student for most of my life, but my parents asked for help covering the mortgage and I wanted to be able to start building up my bank account, so I tried balancing full-time work and school. I quickly learned that was going to be a very steep hill to climb, and after two semesters I decided I wouldn't enroll for the next one. I told myself that I'd take the break, gather funds, and come back after a gap year.
While I was working, my father – who had gotten older and began to concentrate his hours at one job – was working at a grocery store in our town and had only the best things to say about it. He encouraged me to apply, and I was hired in 2008. It turned out to be the catalyst for my career.
My father recognised that there were a lot of people in this company who became successful not because they got a degree and tried to apply what they learned, but because they genuinely cared about their role and worked toward being better each day. This was a company that rewarded them for it. I remember him telling me, "man, if only I had been here 20 years ago, what a different path I'd have taken." I left my second job and focused all of my available time at the store.
It had the added bonus of being able to work alongside my dad. We were the "Landa boys."
I was young, but I excelled. Over a couple of years I was given the opportunity to lead multiple sections of the store and was recognised for the contributions I made. Eventually, I expressed my goal to move up in the company with my store manager, but mentioned that I hadn't completed any higher education. She was quick to reassure me that college doesn't always teach you what you need to be successful and that she would be willing to pair me up with some of the other managers who could coach me. I grew within the supportive culture, built new skills, and applied myself. By watching, learning and absorbing all I could from those in the role, I was promoted in 2011.
That time spent working alongside my father would end up containing some of the most fun and engaging moments I'll ever have with him as an adult. He was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in 2014 and passed away in 2015.
Fast forward 14 years and I've been in three different states, worked in 9 different stores, and led hundreds of people. I have been able to interview and hire many people who were in similar situations as my own. I've also hired many people who have received higher education and for one reason or another were not able to apply that into developing a career. I've had the pleasure of seeing several of these hires (of both backgrounds) develop themselves and move up in the company.
I feel very fortunate to have made it where I am today – but it wouldn't have happened if I didn't work for a company that recognizes dedication, merit, and individual contribution as promotable qualities regardless of educational attainment.
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