Kaila is an ambitious McDonald's restaurant employee from Lansing, Michigan. McDonald's gave Kaila the opportunity to meet with digital content creator Tyler Oakley as part of McDonald's campaign to help restaurant employees like Kaila develop the skills that will take them to where they want to be in the future.
Getting employees to where they want to be
McDonald’s has a program called 'Where You Want To Be', which connects restaurant employees like Kaila with a mentor like Tyler. Any McDonald’s employee can apply for the opportunity to shadow a prominent person at work in the area of their career interest.
"The goal is to show employees what day-to-day life is like, and what success looks like, in their chosen field. We’ve encouraged the influencers to talk about how they’ve learned their ‘soft’ skills, and how they apply them in their work," says McDonald’s U.S. chief people officer Melissa Kersey.
“We’d love it, of course, if people come back after they finish school and do marketing, or analytics, or management for us. But either way, more training, especially in soft skills, makes them better employees for us in the short term.”
From McDonald's to YouTube star
Kaila met Tyler last year, a McDonald's alumni, when he showed up to film at her McDonald’s. Thanks to McDonald's, Kaila got to spend a day with him at his job.
"He knows all about social media and content creation and that’s what I want to do," says Kaila.
Tyler has a YouTube channel and a weekly podcast.
"It’s been the best career I could ever imagine," says Tyler. "When I was working at McDonald’s I was also learning these skills that were really integral to what I do now."
"Whether it’s working on a team and understanding like what you each bring to the table to make something bigger than just yourself. Those things are things that I use every single day in my job today."
"Those are the types of things that every single job really relies on and when you learn that early on at a place like McDonald’s, people realize you’re an asset and you’re worthy of being on their team," adds Tyler.
The importance of team work
When Kaila spent the day at Tyler's work, she got involved in a podcast episode based around careers and jobs - which Kaila said made sense, as McDonald’s was both hers and Tyler's first jobs.
Kaila says that McDonald’s taught her a lot about teamwork.
"You’re working towards one goal and making it great," explains Kaila. "Teamwork is just everything."
Achieving her dreams
Kaila's amazing experience at Tyler's place of work gave her the motivation to pursue her own career goals.
"To see someone like Tyler start from McDonald’s and be a star showed me that I can do anything I want to do," adds Kaila.
Fulfill your potential at McDonald's
McDonald’s is known for its diversity and inclusion efforts. There are many opportunities at this global company committed to making a difference. Search and apply for opportunities with this prime employer today.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.