Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison has a simple piece of career advice: Chase the job nobody wants.
“When you don’t have an impressive pedigree, when you don’t have a resume that will stand out, the way that you get people to notice you is, you take jobs that nobody else wants, and you work really hard to be successful,” he said in an interview for an episode of CNBC’s “Leaders Playbook,” set to air on Wednesday.
Taking that job and “turning it around” could result in a better opportunity for you, he said.
Ellison, who has helmed the home improvement retailer since July 2018, learned that career lesson through experience, he said. The Tennessee native took on unglamorous roles early in his career, including forklift driver, truck driver, unloader and janitor as a college student. He juggled two jobs at a time while “trying to pay rent, buy books and cover my tuition,” he said.
As each job led to a new opportunity, he vowed to keep his high levels of effort and dedication consistent, he said. That attitude — even when you’re in an undesirable job — can separate you from the people around you, said Ellison, who later held titles like director at Target, executive vice president of Home Depot stores and chairman and CEO of JCPenney.
DON’T MISS: How to build custom GPTs and use AI agents
Ellison’s advice may apply to both early-career professionals and more experienced workers thinking about taking on a particularly difficult or challenging job. In Ellison’s case, he stepped into his Lowe’s role after the previous CEO, Rob Niblock, was pushed out of the company. Shares at Lowe’s jumped more than 6% after Niblock’s departure was announced, following years of underperformance.
Leading the company wouldn’t be easy, which attracted Ellison to the job, he said.
“For the last 25 years, every job that I’ve taken, I replaced somebody who was fired or forced out,” said Ellison, adding: “That requires a degree of self-confidence. It requires a high degree of resilience, but it also forces you to understand the power of people, because none of these assignments were successfully accomplished by myself. It was always a team working with me.”
Tackling a job that nobody else wants isn’t typically easy. Ellison sometimes felt disconnected from his managers and leaders, overlooked for promotions, or rejected for job opportunities throughout his career, he said.
“Like the old saying goes, it’s not the number of times you get knocked down, it’s the number of times you get up,” he said. “And also, don’t be a victim. Take responsibility and make sure you’re focusing on making yourself better.”
Watch Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison on CNBC’s “Leaders Playbook″ on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. All new episodes Wednesdays.
Want to get ahead at work with AI? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course, Beyond the Basics: How to Use AI to Supercharge Your Work. Learn advanced AI skills like building custom GPTs and using AI agents to boost your productivity today.