20 things 20-year-olds don’t get
I started Docstoc in my 20’s, made the
cover of one of those cliché “20 Under 20” lists, and today I employ an amazing
group of 20-somethings. Call me a curmudgeon, but at 34, how I came up seems so
different from what this millennial generation expects. I made a lot of
mistakes along the way, and I see this generation making their own. In
response, here are my 20 things 20-year-olds don’t get.
Time is not a limitless commodity
I so rarely find young professionals that have a
heightened sense of urgency to get to the next level. In our 20s we think we
have all the time in the world to A) figure it out and B) get what we want.
Time is the only treasure we start off with in abundance, and can never get
back. Make the most of the opportunities you have today, because there will be
a time when you have no more of it.
You’re talented, but talent is
overrated
Congratulations, you may be the most capable,
creative, knowledgeable & multi-tasking generation yet. As my father says,
“I’ll Give You a Sh-t Medal.” Unrefined raw materials (no matter how valuable)
are simply wasted potential. There’s no prize for talent, just results. Even
the most seemingly gifted folks methodically and painfully worked their way to
success. (Tip: read “Talent is Overrated”)
We’re more productive in the morning
During my first 2 years at Docstoc (while I was
still in my 20’s) I prided myself on staying at the office until 3am on a
regular basis. I thought I got so much work done in those hours long after
everyone else was gone. But in retrospect I got more menial, task-based items
done, not the more complicated strategic planning, phone calls or meetings that
needed to happen during business hours. Now I stress an office-wide early start
time because I know, for the most part, we’re more productive as a team in those
early hours of the day.
Social media is not a career
These job titles won’t exist in five years.
Social media is simply a function of marketing; it helps support branding, ROI
or both. Social media is a means to get more awareness, more users or more
revenue. It’s not an end in itself. I’d strongly caution against pegging your
career trajectory solely to a social media job title.
Pick up the phone
Stop hiding behind your computer. Business gets
done on the phone and in person. It should be your first instinct, not last, to
talk to a real person and source business opportunities. And when the Internet
goes down… stop looking so befuddled and don’t ask to go home. Don’t be a
pansy, pick up the phone.
Be the first in and last to leave
I give this advice to everyone starting a new job
or still in the formative stages of their professional career. You have more
ground to make up than everyone else around you, and you do have something to
prove. There’s only one sure-fire way to get ahead, and that’s to work harder
than all of your peers.
Don’t wait to be told what to do
You can’t have a sense of entitlement without a
sense of responsibility. You’ll never get ahead by waiting for someone to tell
you what to do. Saying “nobody asked me to do this” is a guaranteed recipe for
failure. Err on the side of doing too much, not too little.
Take responsibility for your mistakes
You should be making lots of mistakes when you’re
early on in your career. But you shouldn’t be defensive about errors in
judgment or execution. Stop trying to justify your F-ups. You’re only going to
grow by embracing the lessons learned from your mistakes, and committing to
learn from those experiences.
You should be getting your butt kicked
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” would be
the most valuable boss you could possibly have. This is the most
impressionable, malleable and formative stage of your professional career.
Working for someone that demands excellence and pushes your limits every day
will build the most solid foundation for your ongoing professional success.
A new job a year isn’t a good thing
One year stints don’t tell me that you’re so
talented that you keep outgrowing your company. It tells me that you don’t have
the discipline to see your own learning curve through to completion. It takes
about two-three years to master any new critical skill, give yourself at least
that much time before you jump ship. Otherwise your resume reads as a series of
red flags on why not to be hired.
—forbes.com
Culled from Punch
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