Career advice for the young and confused
And why time is going to be your most important investment
About 6 years ago, I was invited back to my university. My professors had organised a day-long session for the final semester MBAs, my super-juniors. They were being prepped for the placement season.
I wasn’t anywhere near established as some of my seniors, I was only 3 or 4 years out myself. In attendance that day were national brand managers, ad executives, bank honchos, and representatives from all the industries the MBA old-guard used to be recruited into.
I think I was there because I was one of the few who was now working in technology and startups. I also suspected that some of my teachers were curious about how this layabout was holding down a stable job.
Mine was the last session that day, with a couple more people who worked in startups. I listened to all the tips and tricks my seniors gave the current batch. I saw them hype the batch up by talking about the opportunities for them in the world, then bring them down by talking about the competition they would face. After this they told them what to do about it. I saw the kids bombarded with all this information, some enervated, some bewildered, all of them overwhelmed.
I made sure I spoke right at the end.
I told them it was okay if they did not know what they wanted to do, if they were confused, if they were terrified of the future, and if they spent their time comparing themselves to their surer, more confident classmates, who seemed to know who they were and where they were going.
I told them that I had been exactly like them once, and that I had found a way. I told them they would too.
A young marketer replied to my last dispatch, asking for some advice on her career. I remembered what I had told my juniors, and tried to frame it better.
But first, a disclaimer about who this is for.
My advice, whatever it is worth, is not for the annoying prodigies who know exactly what they want to do when they are 20. A girl I knew once was like that, confident, utterly sure of who she wanted to be, where she wanted to go, what work she would be doing at 25. And she did exactly what she told me she would.
This is not for people like her. If you are one of these, you are sorted. Go do these things you want to, don’t listen to anyone else.
My advice is for the middlers, the little-talented-but-not-so-motivated, the back benchers, the happy-go-lucky ones who have a vague idea of what they want but can’t be bothered to sit and frame it, or just aren’t able to. This is for those who are still looking, searching, and finding out.
This is what I replied:
It's a broad question, but I'll try to answer. I'm assuming you are very early into your career.
1. I bumbled along in my career, being very bad at what I did for at least 4 or 5 years before I started getting good at it. Please put in that time. You won't be very good when you start. None of us are. But we can't be impatient. We have to make our mistakes, we have to put in our time. Just put your head down, do the work, and learn along the way.
2. Learn to write simply. To the point. Clear, unadorned prose. Learn from people like James Clear, Michael Lewis, Malcolm Gladwell. Then write a lot, even if you don't show it to anyone. Your craft will get better.
3. Pick a niche. Stick to it for at least 5 to 6 years. Let it compound. Don't be tempted to go into adjacent fields. You become known for one thing, not three. If you don't know what that is yet, be patient. Just put in the time and do the work. But be sincere. You will find what your thing is when the time comes.
Lastly, don't sweat it. You are young. This isn't the time to be thinking so hard about careers and what you want to be. Enjoy yourself, explore things you are interested in, read, write, learn. You will find out, everyone does.
There is a theme in this advice above. And in what I’m about to add.
Time.
As I said, I was a late bloomer at work. In the beginning, I had the skill to do something that was better than average, which was enough then. But as the years rolled along, and I concentrated on my core skill, I kept getting better and better.
Cal Newport says it best, in his absolutely brilliant book So Good They Can’t Ignore You:
"..the happiest, most passionate employees are not those who followed their passion into a position, but instead those who have been around long enough to become good at what they do."
I know this to be true because I have lived it.
And finally, I want our young people to stay young for some more of the same: Time.
This culture we live in, this society we are part of, has speeded up. There’s so much thrown at young people, so much asked of them, so much stimulation, media, advertising, and encouragements to ambition.
When I grew up in the early aughts, I had time. Time to think, to read, to come to my own conclusions about life and love and the rat race before I joined it. Now I worry if young people are getting into status games and cred competitions even before they have a chance to think if they want to.
I understand this too. In our country, in the demographics we come from, young people may not have this time when in college or university. Our lives depend on doing well there, so we work hard, and we do.
Which is why these first years of work may be the time you have and need, when there’s confidence, and money in pockets to spend on culture, on flowers for the girl you like, on books you want to read, on places you want to explore.
Think of these as investments in yourself. The rest will follow.
Related reading
1. Five books that have shaped my career.
2. The most important thing young marketers should be doing.