First knows what she wants and refuses to take no for an answer. She headed to Chicago after college and landed—unannounced—on the doorstep of auction specialist Sheldon Good & Co. “I showed up with my resume and said, ‘I’m here to interview for the position you offered.’” She got an interview—and a job. 

SOLD ON AUCTIONS: First earned the Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate designation and has sold everything from condos to the mineral rights to land. “I really like the fast pace of auctions,” she says. “I wear a dozen hats a day, and within six to 12 weeks, I’m on to another project.” 

TRAVELING WOMAN: First travels every chance she gets. One four-month trip to an island off Australia—where she worked as a hostess at a beachfront restaurant—came after what she calls her “quarter-life crisis.” Says First: “It taught me to follow my heart.”