More than a paycheck

Last week my daughter earned her first paycheck. She works at a small home décor shop where she has been in a job-training program over the last school year. When 11th grade came to an end she asked the owners for a summer job and they hired her without hesitation. Since then, she's been happily working 8-hour shifts, mastering the register, helping customers, stocking, and pitching in wherever they ask while learning what it means to put in a full day of work. She is so proud and looks forward to work every day.

Earning a paycheck is a significant moment for my daughter. She had a very challenging start in life and has been working to catch up and gain ground since she was very young. She was non-verbal until she was nearly 3 and had more testing and assessments by the time she was 5 than most people have in a lifetime. So it is way more than a paycheck.

This paycheck represents hours of tutoring, studying twice as hard to get half the result, and continuously defying expectations. This paycheck means that she will have a resume that includes recent relevant work history and skills that she can apply to future jobs. This paycheck means she will be able to share her experiences, tell stories about what she learned and how she has grown, while figuring out what she likes and dislikes in a job. This paycheck is a pathway to independence.

As parents, the first time we hold our newborn we are filled with hope and optimism of the future they will pave for themselves. When you hear that there is anything that's defined as atypical, it is very easy to jump to worst possible outcome - particularly if you spent your career in risk management where worst case scenario planning is part of our DNA. Over time, you learn that creating a different path is not more, and it is not less - it is your definition of normal.

While so many of her friends are working on their college applications, essays, and doing summertime college visits, my daughter's post-graduate experience will look a little different, and that is okay. We are looking at community college, vocational school, or a blended college experience. We are more thoughtful about the experience of college than ticking off the list of AA, BA, MBA, etc. It may take 4 years or 14 years - our goal doesn't have a deadline. This means her resume will not check all the typical boxes.

Having a child who doesn't chart what society defines as the natural, expected path of progression can be challenging, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. I am a big believer in the concept of "small wins = big celebrations" because it is the accumulation of small wins that have gotten us to this point. While many hours were - and truthfully are still - spent worrying about the future, taking a moment to pause and look back at just how far she has come is a moment to be treasured - and this paycheck is one of those moments, a true core memory.

So why is this heartfelt story being shared on a work collaboration site? Other than being very proud in this big moment, as a mother and someone who leads teams and makes hiring decisions, it's made me consider the employees and associates I have hired throughout my career. How often has the job offer resulted in the first meaningful, core-memory paycheck? I've heard so many stories - a stay-at-home mom or dad moving back to the workforce for the first time after taking a career pause; the graduate stepping into their first adult job; the person making a career change to have the opportunity for a brighter future; a single parent entering the workforce to chart a better future for their children - there are so many first significant paychecks - and it is so much more than a paycheck to them. A paycheck is a path to brighter future.

As a leader, it's easy to fall into the habit of thinking about headcount and budgets and not the people and life experiences behind those hiring decisions. Saying yes to someone who doesn't have the perfect resume, has gaps in their work history, doesn't check every education box, or has any type of neurodiversity or disability can feel like a risk in the moment, but what you may find is that these are your best bets. The choices we make to extend an offer of employment can be life-changing. What seems like a transaction is so much more than that. For me, that life-changing moment was in 1996 when someone took a chance on me and set into action an unlikely sequence of events that brought me to Walmart 24 years later. For my daughter, who know what this simple summer job will mean to her, but someone saying yes may unlock a future that just 5 years ago seemed questionable. I'm sure that each of us can look back on our career and identify that moment that changed the trajectory of our life - and if not, you may be in it right now.

What about you? Do you remember your first significant paycheck?