The new CEO of Target began as trainee at the retail giant of $ 44 billion 20 years ago – he advises the Z generation who wants to copy it to adopt the comments ”

What started as a summer investment in the Target finance department two decades ago has become the first job: on February 1, the 49 -year -old will succeed Brian Cornell as CEO.

While Gen Z has an affinity for the workplace, Fiddelke said that he instantly loved people and the pace of the retail giant of $ 44 billion. He quickly realized that he was “built to” operating in his environment at a quick rate and has not looked back since.

With hindsight, the new CEO admits that he would probably not have guessed that he would still be here today: “While I started my target career as an intern, I have never planned or even imagined the path that my career would take,” said the CEO entering the experience in a recent LinkedIn article. “Where you start, it’s almost never where you will finish.”

Fiddelke’s work ethics was forged long before setting foot in business retail, growing in a small Iowa farm. His family cultivated beef, sheep, corn and soy. After that, they spent time building small businesses, including an alcohol store and Super 8 hotels.

He then studied engineering at Iowa University, work as a Deloitte consultant and win an MBA in Northwestern.

It was while Fiddelke was at business school, that he landed this fateful summer internship in Target – and the rest is in history. Since his participation in 2003, he has worked through merchandising, finance, operations and HR. More recently, he was a financial director then COO, roles which gave him a seat at the largest quarters of the retailer.

The new chef tells the trainees of Gen Z to “get the most out of the moment”

With more than two decades of experience in the retail giant, the director general of several million dollars recently shared his advice for graduates of the Z generation, launching their internships, reflecting at a time when he sailed in his trip to American companies.

“Be implacably curious. Slow down and ask questions. Kiss the comments. And take advantage of the moment by establishing ties at Target and with your colleagues in trainees,” wrote Fiddelke in the same Linkedin article, a few months before the official announcement of Target from his promotion to the CEO.

Like many recent graduates tilting their LinkedIn status at “#OPentOWork”, Fiddelke reminded Gen Zers that he reflected in pressure to understand everything when you are 18 years old.

“The moment you start is almost never when you finish. Your career, your passions and even your goals will evolve. Make the best decisions possible with what you know now. Stay flexible and give permission to adjust yourself as you go,” he said by addressing a group of adolescents in his hometown.

Fiddelke also urged General Zers to “be kind and curious”, noting that his teams have performed better by doing so. As managers qualify the most difficult group to work, it reminds young workers that being pleasant to work can help you stand out and succeed.

“In a rapidly moving world that often feels divided, kindness is nourishing,” he said.

Fortune contacted Fiddelke to comment.

These CEOs have also climbed the bottom ranks

Fiddelke is not the first CEO to start his career in the lower ranks. Juvencio Maeztu will become the new IKEA CEO in November after engraving the company’s business scale for 25 years. The current and financial deputy chief began as a store manager in Spain in 2001.

The best Walmart boss has followed a similar path. Doug McMillon began to unload trailers for $ 6.50 per hour at 17 years in the summer of 1984, before making a path through a series of promotions. Since then, he has climbed the ranks of the retail giant to become the youngest CEO of the company since its founder, Sam Walton.

Likewise, Pano Christou only started working at Pret’s only because his colleague from McDonald’s left the company to join the food chain – intrigued by the brand new sandwich, he left his work as McDonald’s to join him. “I was just thinking: it looks like a fun environment in which to work – so I joined them at 22”, Christou said Fortune. “The rest is the story.” He is now his CEO and earns millions in the first job.

“I am in a very different situation now, but I do not forget that £ 2.75 ($ 3.40) at the time was the starting point for my career.”