When young professionals enter the workforce, it’s very tempting to focus on the negative: what they don’t know (and what others know much better), or what they can’t do (and what others can do so much better). And there’s certainly a grain of truth to this: when you’re new to a profession or industry you don’t have as much job-specific ability and knowledge as people who have been there for so much more time than you. How could you? The mistake, though, isn’t in acknowledging what you don’t know. It’s in overlooking and discounting what you do know—and what you can do. One of the biggest misconceptions I see among young professionals just entering the workforce is that their youth and relative lack of experience is a liability. And the fact of the matter is that it doesn’t have to be. Here’s why:
Young people too often focus on what they don’t have, while overlooking all the very powerful resources that they do have at their disposal.
1. You have time. You might not think of time as a resource, but when you have a spouse and a family and a wide range of other commitments and obligations outside of work, you will see that time is most certainly a resource—and as a young person who perhaps doesn’t have these various commitments, you actually have an advantage over your colleagues. So, the key, of course, is to use it. Take on extra work to dive into topics that will be useful to your job. Take on extra assignments senior colleagues might mention at a meeting and do whatever you can to do really well on these assignments. And take time to develop you network. Find opportunities to get advice and cultivate a network of mentors. In short, the time you have early in your career is a precious commodity, not to be wasted. And, if used properly, it can be a tremendous advantage in setting yourself up for a positive career trajectory.
2. You already have networks. As a young person, you might not necessarily think of them as networks, but those friends you hung out with in college, the ones you went to spring break with and worked on the school newspaper with, those are your network. And so too are those family friends you know, and those friends from summer camp and your baseball team. You get the idea. Really work hard to keeping up these relationships, especially with people in careers you might be interested in one day. I can’t tell you how many people found their second or third jobs by doing exactly that—seeing what friends from college were up to in their mid-20s and finding a great opportunity from these connections.
3. What you learned in college can actually help you—a lot! Think about what you learned in college, even outside of your classes. You learned communication skills and have probably put together your share of PowerPoint presentations and delivered presentations in front of an audience. You also probably have some good communication skills, understand and respect diversity and have learned to work and live in an inclusive working environment. You are probably a quick study (you kind of have to be in order to survive college), have learned how to evaluate issues from multiple perspectives and write about them succinctly and persuasively. You have some solid research skills and can relatively quickly and reliably determine the state of knowledge in a particular field. In short, even before learning a thing about your field, you already come in well-prepared to make a significant contribution. So, recognize what you already can do and use it to your advantage.
In the end, while it’s easy to focus on what you don’t have—and what you can’t do—early on in your career, try as best you can to do the complete reverse. You may not be an expert in your field right away, but you have lots to add and plenty of resources at your disposal. Use them wisely to make a positive immediate impression as a reliable and hard worker, and you’ll already be ahead of the game.
