The start of professional life is a particularly hard time for a young man. He was a carefree student just a few days ago, and suddenly he has this pressure about getting a job. You have to take care of your family, and there is also a competition with other class fellows. You might see others getting great jobs at a high salary while you might still be struggling to find a job. This pressure leads most professionals down the wrong path that they regret for the rest of their lives. Here are some experienced-based pieces of advice for those professionals about making their careers.
Choosing a Profession that You Love
You most probably want to join a profession that you studied or that pays high salaries. That’s not the right way to start your professional life. You need to find a profession that you will love; otherwise, you will always be mediocre and never achieve the highest of success in it. This job will feel like a burden where you have to go every day. On the other hand, if you find a profession that you love, you won’t feel like you are going to a job. You will actually look forward to going to work again.
Finding your passion is a challenge itself. Many people only realize it after they have worked in multiple fields. You need to make a list of all things you love and shortlist the ones that could be used as a profession. If you love sports, you can become a sports coach while also training and applying to reach the big leagues.
Don’t Look for Money
The worst thing you can do to yourself at the start of your professional life is run after money. That’s not the time to do it. There is pressure on you because your friends are getting good pay and you might also have to support your family. It is suggested to remain homeless a few more months but get into a profession you love. You will start to make money out of it and more than your friends once you get good at it. An expert in a low-paying profession earns a lot more than a mediocre in a high-paying profession. The start of your professional life should be about learning, not earning.
Find the Best and Most Strict Environment for First Job
You might look for a job that is offering the highest salary even if you have found your passion job. This is another mistake. Work at a place that is known to be the best in your profession. It might be hard to get into, so you will have to do some self-learning to ace their interviews and test. Such great places don’t offer a lot of salaries, but the exposure you get is priceless. Work in a strict and productive environment where you are forced to push your limits. The more you learn, the sooner you will be able to start earning.
Find a Mentor
A mentor in professional life is more important than college professors. They only taught you theories and how to pass an exam, but a mentor will teach you real-life skills that actually have an impact on your career. You will get to learn from their experience. They will guide you in the right direction whenever you need help. It takes a lot of time and research to find answer to a question, and even then, you might be making a mistake. A mentor would have already experienced what you are going through and he will save you all that trouble with a few words.
Avoid Temporary Contract Jobs
Many companies don’t want to take a risk with new professionals by hiring them as a permanent employee with benefits. So, they look for professionals who would be interested in working temporarily until the contract expires, and after that, they may be offered another contract or permanent job. They usually pay a little higher salaries to attract professionals. You should learn all about the pros and cons of contract-based jobs and choose them only if there is learning you can’t find elsewhere.
Create and Follow a Five-Year Plan
When you decide on a profession, you should create a plan for the next five years. This should have clearly defined goals. However, make sure all these goals are achievable and realistic. In addition to goals, you should also decide how you plan on reaching those goals. Do not include a high paying job in the first year and only add learning milestones. After that, do everything in your power and work hard to go after those goals.
Don’t Get Worked Up About Little Things
You will make a lot of mistakes and many of your ideas will be rejected. That’s how the life of professionals work. It becomes a problem when you start to feel those things and take them to heart. It’s a part of learning and you should focus on why this happened. As a junior, you might also have to take some strictness of your seniors. You are only punishing yourself if you gave up at this position.
Keep Comparing Your Past with Today
You will find many people that are way ahead in life. They could motivate or demotivate you. If they motivate you to work harder, then it’s great. However, a young professional can’t afford demotivation, especially after working so hard. So, instead of comparing yourself to others, keep looking back to your past. Compare where you were yesterday what you have become today. If you are going ahead in life, you should feel motivated.
Develop Great Communication Skills and Manners
Communication skills are extremely important for young professionals. Make sure you have good manners and give respect to everyone. People will like you and this opens new doors for you. Professionals with great communication skills always get faster promotions and higher salaries because they know how to prove their skills.
