#MyFirstMcJob — Laura Abraham, founder of The Grown-Up School
In our regular #MyFirstMcJob series, successful grown-ups remember where the careers began
Hi, Laura! Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Laura Abraham, founder of The Grown-Up School, a website that teaches people how to be grown-ups. It’s a completely free open access online educational resource to help people feel more prepared for grown-up life. I always say that adulthood doesn’t come with survival guide, so it teaches people how to look after their money, career, wellbeing, relationships, home and more.
What was your #MyFirstMcJob?
Working as a sales assistant at the Superdry Clothes Shop in Cardiff, age 17.
How did you get that job?
I was always keen to get a job, so I applied online, then had to do a large group interview where we had to pick a piece of clothing and sell it to the group and that’s how they decided who they liked.
A bit like in The Apprentice?
Yes! They just put a massive pile of clothes in front of us and we had to pick up an item and sell it to the rest of the group.
What did you have to do?
Helping customers with sizes and finding the items they wanted. Folding clothes, tidying the shop floor, looking after the changing rooms, managing the tills, and helping people with sales.
How long did you work there?
Four months as a stock gap before I started college. I would have continued working during college but they didn’t have the right hours.
What were the perks of the job?
The employee discounts was a massive one. Even now, 10 years later, I’m still wearing the clothes I wore from my old uniform, because the uniform is entirely created from Superdry clothing.
What was the most memorable thing that happened?
I got talking to a customer for so long that everyone was convinced that we must be best friends. Actually we were about to go to the same college in September. So they thought that I was skiving off, but actually I was just giving really good customer service!
What skills did you learn that you still use today?
Valuing money was a huge one, even if I did end up spending most of my salary on doughnuts and clothes! This was one of the reasons I founded The Grown-Up school — to help teach people to manage their money so they understand to value it and not just spend it all on doughnuts!
Are you still in contact with anyone you worked with?
I was a lot younger than all of my colleagues, so it didn’t really feel appropriate at the time. Now I realise the importance of networking, I probably should have held onto those relationships.
Why is alumni important?
Alumni are really important because finding role models is really difficult when you’re starting out, especially the sort of people who are local to you, who’ve worked at the same organisations as you and who’ve created success for themselves. When I was younger I tried and I failed to find mentors. Meeting alumni would have given me so much more confidence.
What would happen if you went back and did a shift in Superdry today?
I would get laughed at for my terrible folding! As much as I run for school for grown-ups, I’m still very bad at folding. But I reckon I would still sell a lot of clothes.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I think: make an effort to build a network and keep in touch with people because you never know what opportunities they might create down the line. Nowadays I walk into networking events and there’s so many people that I know just from past jobs. The world of work is smaller than you realise.
What’s your number one favourite Superdry item?
It’s got to be a classic Superdry hoodie. They are just the most comfy hoodies!
