Worst career advice ever: “Think about what you want to do”
People love to say this. “Think about what you want to do.” Ummmm, make money? Have a reason to get out of bed in the morning? Even if those are the real answers, that’s not what you’re supposed to say. You’re supposed to say something about this incredible opportunity to apply your unique skillset to international M&A or public-private partnerships, and not just because those were things you were Googling yesterday.
Here’s the truth. Thinking about what you want to do is a faster route to an existential crisis than gainful employment. You’re unlikely to discover your dream job through the sheer force of your own pondering. That doesn’t mean you should stop thinking--not after you’ve just spent all that money going to college for brain training.
What IS helpful to think about is what a job enables you to DO. Ok obviously, make money. But also, you can travel, talk to interesting people, learn how to do something, make new friends, and yes, get a free lunch every so often. Paychecks are good. It’s a combination of valuable experiences and small perks that make some jobs great.
What they want, baby you got it
Ok, back to your unique skillset. You definitely do have one! But it may not be what you think it is. If you’re creative or good with numbers, you’ve probably figured that out already. But school and jobs are completely different. What you bring to your employer will be more than just that, and probably more than you realize. Your blend of professional skills, or soft skills, is likely what will set you apart.
So how are you supposed to discover those, and what do you do in the meantime? For starters, don’t sit in your bedroom scrolling through pictures of employed people. That does not count for inspiration, no matter how happy they look.
Less thinking, more doing
Just get started. Take that creativity or quantiness and find someone who will hire you for it. Maybe you’re a champion of organization. Maybe you’re good with kids. Go with that. Start working somewhere, anywhere. You don’t need anyone to tell you that it’s tough out there right now. Making a paycheck will feel great no matter where it comes from. Some really successful people, celebs included, started out in the weirdest places.
And more than that, you’ll learn something at that first job that you can take into the next one. You’ll discover something else you’re good at, or something unexpected that you’re interested in. You’ll find a problem that you want to help solve. It will happen.
Be ready to adapt
Here’s the other thing. The world is changing all the time! (2020 amirite?!) Every day, hundreds of thousands of people go to work at jobs that didn’t even exist 5 or 10 years ago. That means adaptability, learning to roll with change, is critical.
So even if you already “thought about what you want to do” and decided you “know the answer,” that answer may change. That’s ok. You may start a job you really wanted and then realize, whoa, I definitely don’t want this, not at all. That is ok. Or you may have no idea what you are doing right now. That is ok too! Just make sure you are doing something. The thinking will come later.
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Talking to lots of Boomers, I learned that they really didn’t have any idea what they were doing when they started working, unless they went into a family business they were already familiar with. Some of them will pretend now like they planned everything all along, but others are more honest. I talked to one guy who decided on the job he wanted when he was just a kid because that was his neighbor’s job and he really liked his neighbor’s car. Another one moved out to California because a friend was moving out there and he figured he’d tag along. Very few of them spent hours agonizing about their one true calling. They just got started doing something, one thing led to another, and you know what? They managed to create happy, productive lives for themselves.