Your First Job Is Not “Just” a Job — Lessons From a 30 Year Career At McDonald’s

In this episode of Flashback Files, I sit down with Cindy — my former McDonald’s boss — who turned a job she was hesitant to keep into a 30-year career. Cindy started as a teenage crew member, went to College for a correctional officer program, and thought McDonald’s would just be a paycheck on the way to something else. Instead, she moved from crew to store manager, regional consultant, national operations consultant, and now business consultant, earning top awards along the way, including the Global Ray Kroc Award (top 1% of managers worldwide).Together, Cindy and I talk about:• Growing up in a strict, structured house with six sisters and how that shaped her work ethic• Low self-esteem as a teen, but high confidence at work — and why work became her safe place• Why she walked away from her college path and came back to McDonald’s• The suspension I got as a young crew member and how that tough call changed me• Why feedback is a gift (even when it stings) and how to use it to get better• What Cindy sees in young workers today: strengths, blind spots, and professionalism red flags• How to keep your career feeling fresh, even if you stay in one company for yearsIf you’re in your late teens or early twenties, juggling school and a “just a part-time job,” this conversation will challenge how you think about early work, confidence, and the habits you’re building now.Flashback Files is for students, recent grads, and young professionals who want to reflect on how early experiences shape confidence, identity, and leadership.