The most beneficial experience I've had in my life is when I got my first job after graduating from college. It was a job as an assistant manager at a local retail store. The job was pretty much a stepping stone to bigger things, but I really enjoyed working there for several reasons:
I liked the work itself. There were many aspects of the job that were interesting and challenging, such as learning how to run a cash register, manage employees, and deal with customers. This made the work enjoyable because I felt like I was accomplishing something worthwhile.
It gave me a sense of independence. Working at this job meant that I didn't need my parents' help anymore. My father provided financial support while I attended college, so it was nice not having to rely on him anymore.
However, he still paid for some of my expenses, including my cell phone bill and car insurance. But he never offered to pay my rent, which meant I needed to get a job once I graduated.
It helped me learn about responsibility. As an assistant manager, I was responsible for managing the sales floor, supervising employees, making sure the store looked presentable, and dealing with customers. In other words, I had to make sure everything ran smoothly. When I started working at this company, I thought it would be easy since I'd been doing similar tasks in high school and college.
However, I quickly realized that running a business isn't as simple as it seems. You can't just do whatever you want because there are people who depend on you to keep them employed. For example, if one of my employees called out sick, I needed to find someone else to cover their shift. If the store wasn't clean enough, customers might complain. And if the cash register didn't work properly, I wouldn't be able to ring up customers' purchases.
These responsibilities taught me that I couldn't take anything for granted.