Jorge'sthoughts

Advice for the ones starting their careers

What I wish I had known

This list is a work in progress. These are things that worked for me so far, maybe it works for you too. If you feel it doesn’t, throw out the peel and move on.

  1. You are not your job. If you don’t like it, move on.
  2. You can only discover what you like by experiencing it. Go out and try different jobs.
  3. In the beginning, chose jobs that offer you more options, more experiences and steeper growth. Be skeptical of a job that pays well in the beginning. It will tie you up.
  4. You will very likely get fired at some point. That is not a judgement of who you are. Just an assessment of your current performance at that current job.
  5. You want to enjoy your work. We enjoy what we are good at. You can get good at anything you are curious enough about. Be curious and don’t be afraid to use time to get good at it.
  6. You will encounter cynics on your journey. Avoid them like the plague.
  7. You will encounter negative people on your life. Avoid them like the plague.
  8. Bad managers/bosses are the norm. But the good news is, you don’t need your boss to succeed. What you need is to learn how to manage yourself and manage upwards. That comes with observing how things ARE instead of complaining about how things SHOULD BE.
    That also means remembering that you can always change jobs.
  9. Work with people who you like to be around with. You will spend a lot of time with them.
  10. Be wary of people that cannot fathom doing work on their free time. There’s a chance they never discovered the work that they like. That makes them bitter about their work and they might want you to be bitter too. It is contagious.

Jorge