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Millennials on the Best Career Advice They’ve Taken

Millennials on the Best Career Advice They’ve Taken

“Don’t let ambition get ahead of opportunity” and other words of wisdom that make sense this year 

 

 

For members of the workforce, taking the New Year head-on always entails some form of introspection; that’s whether or not we see the New Year as a construct. We take mental notes of last year’s blunders we swear to learn from. If feeling a little ambitious, we set our sights on entirely new ventures. We brim with excitement over a crisp list of career goals 2.0.

 

Still fresh in our memories, though, are the events from the start of the pandemic leading up to today. It’s no fun recounting how the dumpster fire of a year that was 2020 set off the beginning of disrupted work plans, work relationships and work life, in general. But coming out the other side, there’s no denying that the last few years have scared us (maybe even scarred us) into looking carefully, critically into and beyond our careers like our lives depended on it. (Because for some of us, it did.)

 

RELATED: Does Doing What You Love Mean Never Working a Day in Your Life?

 

Weeding out what works from what doesn’t, what’s fluff from what’s realistic, we checked in with working Millennials to ask about career advice they’re glad they’ve taken.

 

 

Toni Potenciano, 29

Writer & Strategist, And A Half Design Studio

Millennials on the Best Career Advice They Took in 2020

 

A mentor/editor of mine told me that I need to “write with blood.” I think I never really knew what that meant up until I started writing for myself instead of writing from a brief or for clients. The few things I wrote and were published were often products of really just putting my whole mind and body into writing them. It’s both fulfilling and emptying. I love writing and I dread it, ever since I heard about writing with blood. It’s changed my view as a writer.

 

RELATED: 3 Essential Things I’d Tell My New-to-the-Workforce Self

 

Mikko Tung, 37

Entrepreneur, Odd Job Bob

Millennials on the Best Career Advice They Took in 2020

 

The best career advice I received came from my wife. As someone who has been in the startup world her entire career, my wife sat me down. She told me to not let failures and setbacks discourage me, and to have faith in myself and my vision. She simply told me not to be afraid. I launched my own startup, Odd Job Bob, a property management and construction company. Today, I still run the business with some fear, hesitation, and doubt, but I now also have faith in myself, and trust in the vision of the company and brand. And as any entrepreneur today can attest, you can’t find success without a little faith and trust.

 

RELATED: Our Startup Is on Lockdown

 

Hans Allí, 29

Managing Director, Dthree Digital

Millennials on the Best Career Advice They Took in 2020

 

The best advice I learned is to accept the fact that a person can only do so much. If you can delegate tasks and ask for help, please do. Trust, communication, and readiness to help colleagues are so much more important than raw individual abilities.

 

My parents and I had this conversation over lunch. They both also handle their respective businesses and professional practices and were greatly affected by the pandemic. With so much going on, all the mental stress and its internal effects within our company, we needed to tackle issues as a community and to trust the input of our colleagues.

 

RELATED: A Tell-All: The Worst Career Advice These Industry Insiders Have Ever Received

 

Jenica Magquilat, 27

Video Producer, ONE Championship

Millennials on the Best Career Advice They Took in 2020

 

When our goals are not met and we base these on a timeline we set for ourselves, we get frustrated, we get demotivated. In my years in media production, I learned the great value of patience. If it’s not our time to shine, it’s not our time—not yet. Being impatient with career growth won’t do us any good. I know it sounds cliché, but resigning ourselves to patience humbles us and makes us embrace our own pace. Last year, I read a book about Disney CEO Robert Iger’s lessons in creative leadership where he says, “Don’t let ambition get ahead of opportunity.” It’s straightforward yet significant. It teaches us to appreciate and value where we are at present, and not to dismiss the fact that we are all a work in progress.

 

RELATED: Job Hunting in the Time of Coronavirus: How Fresh Graduates Are Coping and Expanding Their Options Online

 

What career advice were you glad you took in recent years? Sound off in the comments below and let us know.

 

 

Art Matthew Ian Fetalver

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