I know that it can be difficult to find success and satisfaction early in your career. But I also know it is completely possible.
This past summer marked my 10-year anniversary of joining the workforce. Ten years have come and gone since I’ve walked across the stage with a master’s degree in one hand and a five-year plan in the other. Unfortunately, my five-year plan crashed and burned after two short years. Fortunately, I’ve come out the other end of a decade with a new perspective.
Over the past 10 years, I changed careers, changed companies, received raises, took pay cuts, became a people leader, and learned so much more than I could have ever imagined when I received my first job offer.
As I leave the first 10 years of my career in the rearview mirror, I’ve done a lot of reflection on the lessons I wish I knew. While I believe experience can be a valuable teacher, I also know how impactful advice from others who’ve been there can help throughout your career. For those still navigating the first 10 years of their career, here’s what I wish I had known sooner:
The only constant is change
We embark on our careers with certain expectations (at least I did). But I wish I knew that no matter how many plans you make or aspirations you have, the only constant throughout your career is change. Companies change their structures, your interests or goals may evolve, or your personal circumstances could change in a way that you didn’t see coming. If you learn to be adaptable and not only expect change but also embrace it, you’ll be more apt to flourish. This can be accomplished by keeping a growth mindset related to your role, career paths, and opportunities.
It’s never too early to establish your support network
When you’re starting your career, most of your network is made up of family, friends, and classmates. But as the years pass, you’ll begin to interact with and meet new people who can serve varying purposes in your career. You might wonder what’s the point of starting a network when you’re early in your career or not looking to change roles. But networking is essential at every stage of your professional journey, no matter how early.
Every person in our network plays a crucial role in various capacities. I strongly recommend that all young professionals establish a personal board of directors, if you will, that you can consult with in different scenarios. For example, you will want a cheerleader when you need encouragement, a coach when you need someone to guide you, and a candid contact who has no qualms about telling you like it is to challenge you. The best thing is you don’t need to formally ask these individuals whether they want to serve as a mentor. Make a mental note of who you know and trust who you can turn to and proceed as needed.
Trust your gut
My gut has always steered me right. I used to think trusting your gut wasn’t always the best decision because logic should outweigh intuition. But now I know that’s the furthest from the truth. My gut reaction is a compilation of all my lived experiences thus far. Those experiences served as data points of information I’ve previously gathered due to past scenarios and situations. So while it might feel illogical to follow your gut, there’s usually a sound reason it’s your initial reaction.
If I had taken the advice of those I looked up to and didn’t listen to my gut, I would have never left my first job out of college and found a career I love. At the end of the day, you need to make decisions that are best for you. So, throughout your career, do your best to tune out the noise and listen to what you really need.
Get your money right (whatever that means for you)
So much of our early careers is spent discovering what we like, don’t like, want to do more of, and where we see ourselves going, which is so important. But I don’t think enough emphasis is put on our finances, and understanding how to lay a solid financial foundation for the rest of our lives.
Many people enter the workforce after high school or college, meaning that in the first 10 years of our careers, we’re in our twenties and thirties. Many life events typically happen during this time, like marriage, paying off student loans, starting a family, and saving for a down payment on a house. But because all of our paths are different, this often means we’re all in very different places in our lives and financial journeys.
Most people have to work to make a living. We have to remember that in the most basic form, our careers are contractual agreements with an employer to perform a service. So while money is the reason most of us have careers, what to do with that money once we get it is often not discussed enough. The first 10 years of our careers should be spent getting our money right, which means determining our priorities and goals, and understanding how to make our money work for us.
There is no such thing as a linear career path
I graduated from college with a full-time job and a five-year plan. It was linear and defined, and I loved the absoluteness of it. Two years later, I threw my linear career path out the window when I realized what I thought was my ideal was actually far from it. While I felt like a failure for venturing off the beaten path, the more I grew in my career, the more I learned that my journey is more the norm than the outliner. Each career path will look different. There are always nuances and differences, even when, at face value, two people’s paths may appear identical.
Career paths used to be seen as ladders: linear and direct. But they’re more like an entire playground. Sometimes you move up, sometimes over, and sometimes you get entirely off one piece of equipment and hop on to another. Careers are malleable and require flexibility, so kiss linearity goodbye and say hello to multidimensional careers.
Having fun and being happy at work is okay
A lot of people don’t associate work or labor with happiness. But over the past 10 years, I’ve discovered that my career provides me with joy and fulfillment that only work can give me. I left my first job because I was unhappy, and in every job since I’ve leaned into finding satisfying work that lights me up.
We spend years and years of our lives working in one way or another. That’s too much time to spend miserable. Of course, we all have bad days and aspects of our jobs that are less than stellar, but building a career you love is possible. Every day won’t be awesome, but the majority can be. At the very least, you owe it to yourself to find what feels good and do your best to steer your career toward enjoyment and happiness.
