My first job was as an assistant buyer within the trend jewelry department at Bloomingdale’s, where I learned that flawless execution across every step of a process is critical to a successful final result. My job was to assist my buyer select products at market week, key in purchase orders, track inventory, replenishment and sell-through. Sometimes I’d notice that products we had ordered weren’t selling — only then to  discover that hundreds of units had never even made it out to the ground! I remember spending many hours within the stockroom helping store associates find lost boxes and untangling necklaces so we wouldn’t have to break them out and will put them on the ground on the market. — Vennette Ho, Managing Director, Global Head of Beauty & Personal Care, Raymond James

I used to be 15 and worked in a store called Tennis Lady on Madison Avenue, modeling tennis clothes within the window. A person stopped in front of the window, watched for some time, then asked me to come back home and shower with him. What I learned? Just say no. — Cathy O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer, Naturopathica Holistic Heath

I started my beauty journey as an intern at Cosmair, before it was L’Oréal USA, within the Beauty Response Center. On the BRC, we tested in-house products with consumers, and I learned the importance of consumer-centricity at every stage of the journey. At the top of the day, the buyer is boss, drives the money register and wishes to be at the guts of any good marketing strategy. This starting become a 16-year profession chapter with L’Oréal, constructing lifelong relationships within the industry that I tremendously value today. — Tennille Kopiasz, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Mistral: Fekkai & Bastide

I began as a retail management and sales intern at Nordstrom within the Indie and Dresses department. This role is where I caught the “retail bug” and learned firsthand the ability of shoppers; nothing compares to interacting with customers directly! While I’ve since moved to the merchant side, day-after-day I still draw on the client obsession that I picked up on the Nordstrom sales floor. — Christina Tran, Head of Business Development, Amazon Beauty

While my very first job was as a babysitter where I learned the importance of getting patience, my first corporate beauty role was as a secretary at Revlon, the entry point into the industry at the moment, and where I fell in love with beauty. Although I had an admin role, I volunteered for any marketing project, which paid off as I used to be offered a marketing coordinator role inside 12 months and was promoted 3 times in 4 years. I learned so many lessons, including the importance of being resourceful and curious, to go over and above what’s asked, bring a notebook all over the place with you, the ability of networking and, in fact, love what you do. — Lori Singer, President, Parlux Ltd.

Working for my dad’s accounting firm during highschool. I had the hardest manager, and I quickly learned that being my father’s daughter made no difference. Being thorough, consistent, curious and dedicated is what made me successful. I followed those principles throughout my profession. — Marthina Sochodolak, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Dyson

My very first career was in secondary education as a math teacher. I loved sharing my passion for math with my students, especially those that otherwise may not be confident in the topic. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing someone construct confidence that they’ll learn and achieve. I still depend on and use most of the communication, creative and mentoring skills I learned in education, and still take a whole lot of pride in helping my teams learn and construct confidence within the business of beauty. — Stephanie Headley, Senior Vice President, Global Olay and North America Skin Care