Making Copies Was My First Strategy Job

🍋 Making Lemonade Out of Making Copies What I learned at the bottom that shaped everything at the top

I graduated from an Ivy League school with an engineering degree and a head full of ambition. I was lucky, it was a good year to enter the job market where there were more roles than résumés. I thought I’d be solving big problems and dazzling executives with my creativity in no time.

Instead?

I found myself lugging a 15-pound laptop through airports, putting sticker page numbers on slides (software couldn’t do that yet!), making copies at midnight, and sitting through meetings where my only role was to take notes, and maybe refill the printer toner.

All while wearing a skirt suit, hose, and heels. Oooof, indeed.

I landed at one of those prestigious consulting firms, the kind people name-drop at cocktail parties. But the day-to-day was not exactly cocktail-worthy. It was tedious. Boring, even. Definitely not what I pictured when I imagined “using my degree.”

But looking back?

Those unglamorous years were the foundation for everything that came after.

Entry-level jobs aren’t really about the tasks. They’re about what you do with the access, the exposure, and the hours. If you’re willing to see it, those mundane hours can become a masterclass in how organizations run, how leaders think, and how decisions are made.

• I read every single page I copied. Client decks, strategy memos, research reports. It was like getting a free MBA.

• I paid attention to what made the final cut in client decks and what ended up in the appendix. That taught me what mattered most.

• I watched how the senior people spent their time - when they spoke up, when they listened, and how they built trust.

• I asked questions. Not to impress anyone, but to understand everything.

Eventually, I was the one writing the decks, leading the client conversations, and mentoring the new analysts who were making the copies.

And now, after years as a VP, senior exec, and board member, I can say with confidence:

The best leaders I know didn’t skip the copy room. They made it their classroom.

If you're just starting out, here are five ways to turn the grunt work into growth work:

1. Be a sponge. Don’t just do the task, absorb the context. Ask: What’s this document for? Why does it matter?

2. Stay curious. Ask questions that show you want to learn, not just get ahead. People notice.

3. Watch the room. Who talks? Who listens? Who is the decision-maker? Who do they listen to and why? Learning that will serve you forever.

4. Make yourself useful. The faster you become someone others can rely on, the faster you’ll earn more interesting work.

5. Choose your attitude. You can either resent the copy machine (or your laptop) - or realize it’s teaching you how the whole engine runs.

Your first job may not be glamorous. But that doesn’t mean it’s not valuable.

The key isn’t to wait for the perfect project. It’s to turn every experience, even the messy, late-night, coffee-fueled ones, into a stepping stone.

And maybe some excellent lemonade.